Using napkins/serviettes when eating - what's normal??

If we have people over and I do cake/biscuits I'll get some serviettes out. Otherwise, its just at Christmas or a special meal here!

My Grandparents in the USA use them at every meal though

Just pass me a piece of kitchen roll!!!!

Do you mean paper ones? or cotton?

Meals at my parents house always involve the table laid with placemats and cotton napkins (slightly worn around the edges port meirion ones), or if tehre are too many people to fit around the kitchen table then we eat in the dining room with a linen table cloth and white cotton napkins.

snacks - cakes, biscuits etc they don't usually bother, just small plates to catch crumbs.

The inlaws usually use paper napkins, which i always find a bit odd and wasteful. And disposable table cloths for special occasions, which I also don't get.

We use linen napkins most of the time, depending on formality and whether I can be bothered. Would use nothing if eating sandwich or similar.

Can't eat without them. We use linen at home and I even have a stash I bring with my packed lunch ?

Never use them unless we're having a buffet or bbq type food where we'll be getting our hands messy. If you have paper ones at every meal then it seems wasteful, if you're having cotton/linen ones then it seems as though a lot of extra washing is generated. If your eating a normal meal with cutlrey then you'd not get mucky hands, if you spill something then i'd just get a piece of kitchen roll.

My parents always use napkins if eating at the dining table (breakfast and main meal of the day - if it's just sandwiches or something they don't get the table out). I never use them except at Christmas, and that's because the inlaws gave us some nice paper ones which match the Christmas crockery they gave us!

HAve to say my mum's don't get cleaned all that often ? She's nowhere near"how clean is your house" bad, but you wouldn't describe her as house-proud ?

Always at dinner, either linen or paper. If I'm just grabbing a sandwich I'll use a paper towel.

I don't own any linen napkins. At christmas/birthdays I'll buy paper napkins but if we're just eating sandwiches/cake at home we'll use small side plates. Dinnertime in our house isn't a messy occasion, we just have baby wipes nearby for MissSun.

When we have a party I put out paper plates and paper napkins. Otherwise, we never use them. I had to go and buy proper linen serviettes when we had the in-laws for Christmas! ? I have used them once since when we had a couple of friends over for a proper sit down dinner.

I can't eat anything without a piece of kitchen towel. I need new linen napkins as mine are black and have faded due to all the washes- maybe I'm just a messy eater!

We have them (cloth ones) on the table but they're really more for decoration than anything else - they don't actually get food on them very often. I wouldn't wipe my mouth or hands with them, I'd wash my hands if they were sticky.

We nearly always use napkins, as in proper linen, with dinner or any sit down meal. I know this is unusual as people (Both Brits and Americans) comment on this all the time. It's a standing joke in H's family that he married me becasue his mum is also obsessed with what she calls "proper napkins".

What is way more common over here is to use a serviette, as in paper disposable things with everything. You'll often get one when you buy just a can of coke.

I didn't realise people used napkins/serviettes. I use them in restaurants and they'll be put on the table at Christmas, special meals etc but I can't see what I would use one for as part of a normal meal. If I'm eating something a bit messy, say fruit then I'll just use a piece of paper towel and wash my hands after.