[ROUND-UP] IN MY PLACE(MAT)

When I was a kid, my boring Republican relatives would buy me equally boring Republican gifts.  You know what an eight-year-old NEVER wants?  A placemat masquerading as a birthday gift. 

How does that crappy present get even WORSE?  When it's an "educational" placemat that lists every single US president in chronological order.  Eat your vegetables AND learn about William Henry Harrison! 

What FUN that was. 

So, whether it's based on my childhood upbringing, or that I just tend to go for the minimalist look, I really don't get down with placemats.  It may also be because I live alone and eat most of my meals in front of the TV, hunched over my coffee table.  Who's to say?   

HOWEVER,  I was doing some browsing on the internet (websurfing, if you will LOL), and I came across a few that I liked.  

Observe:

Place Setting Placemats (Burke Decor, $40 for a set of 4)

212 Placemats (Fish's Eddy, $49.95 for a set of 4)

White Washed Wood Placemats (West Elm, $24 for a set of 2)

The Beat Placemat (AphroChic, $25 each)

Knife & Fork Felt Placemats (Etsy, $35 for a set of 2)

Neptune Placemat (Jonathan Adler, $18 each)

What do you guys think? 

Do you love placemats? 

Do you hate them? 

Do you buy them for the children of distant relatives and ruin their birthdays? 

I wanna know.