The Importance of Having a Dining Room

I'm trying to think how this compares to modern things, like what's a type of serving vessel or some type of food related thing that you wouldn't really use just for you in your own household? You only break out to certain, like when you're hosting a party, I guess maybe a punch bowl or maybe a fondue set. They're like an object that symbolizes your power to host. That's alienware.com.