My solution was to buy a few punch bowl sets at a local resale shop and just mix and match them. One set cost $10 and came with 16 cups, one which broke on the way home, and the other set cost $15 and came with 8 cups. I bought both sets and supplemented with five additional cups that were on clearance (about 10¢ each) and another five cups that I happened to have at home, ordered from eBay a while ago (the sixth cup had broken en route during delivery anyhow).
So now I have two pretty punch bowls and 32 mismatched glasses. That should be more than enough to serve my guests, and if a few break, it won't be a big deal. This has always been my philosophy at home, where you will have a hard time finding a set of matching cups or dishes in my cupboards. Besides my china, nothing matches, and I prefer it that way. And it also allows me to buy random dishes that I find and add them to my collection.
