Decorating with Placemats

Here's a look at my table decoration for thanksgiving.  I used to not use placemats but table cloths with a clear plastic vinyl cover to keep it clean.  The vinyl cover looked great for awhile but it got dirty  too fast with grandkids.  But the problem with this cloth was it just wouldn't come clean when washing it.  I tried several times to scrub and clean it.  So I bought a new one and started over, once it was dirty tried and tired to clean it, the surface looked clean but when held up to the light it still showed finger prints.

I finally gave up the idea of using the vinyl cloth and just use fabric cloths and decorations to make it look nice.  Now, my idea was to use a table runner with placemats. I like the look  here above.  Now the question I pose to you is,  are placemats for look or for use?  My daughter uses her's only for looks and I use mine for looks and use.  I want the kids to use the mat so the table cloth will stay clean longer.

Share you opinion on do you use your placemats for decoration or use them as a function to keep the table cloth clean or table clean?