Christmas tea towels are the cheapest way to make a kitchen feel festive, and the one decoration that earns its keep. A wreath or gingham print over the oven door does the job of a garland, then dries the glasses after dinner.
We make two Christmas tea towel sets: the Set of 2 Christmas Tea Towels – Wreath & Mistletoe and the Set of 2 Red Christmas Tea Towels – Gingham & Wreath. Both are 100% cotton, 73 x 50cm and £14.95 for the pair.
This guide covers what is in each set, where to hang them, how to mix them with your everyday towels, how to match the kitchen to the living room and how to wrap them as a gift.
Why Christmas tea towels are the easiest festive update for a kitchen
The kitchen is the hardest room to decorate for Christmas. There is no sofa to dress, the worktops need to stay clear, and anything near the hob has to survive steam, splashes and being moved every day.
Tea towels solve all of that. They hang in the places you already use, cost less than a garland and go through the wash rather than up to the loft. A pair on the oven rail and a Christmas mug on the side is a finished kitchen.
They are also the one Christmas decoration you use more because it is Christmas, not less.
The two Christmas tea towel sets
Wreath & Mistletoe
The Set of 2 Christmas Tea Towels – Wreath & Mistletoe is the quieter of the two. Both towels are cream with a textured weave: one has a green wreath, the other a mistletoe sprig, each tied with a small red bow. They suit white, sage and wooden kitchens, and they look right from the start of December through to January.
Gingham & Wreath
The Set of 2 Red Christmas Tea Towels – Gingham & Wreath is the bolder pair. One towel is a red and cream gingham check, the other is cream with small green wreaths and red bows. Hung side by side they look like a set rather than two odd towels, and the gingham one works all year.
Both sets are the same size and the same cotton, so you can mix one from each: the gingham with the mistletoe, say, if you want more red.
Where to hang Christmas tea towels
Oven door
The oven rail is the main spot, because it is at eye level and in the middle of the room. Fold the towel in half lengthways, hang it so the print faces out and leave the second towel folded on the worktop. One printed towel over the oven is enough; two can look like a shop display.
Hooks and rails
If you have a hook by the sink or a rail under the wall units, hang the gingham there and keep the wreath for the oven. Two prints in two places reads as considered. Two prints in one place reads as busy.
Draped over a board or basket
A tea towel folded over the edge of a wooden chopping board, a bread basket or a tray is how most styled kitchens get that soft, lived-in look. It also hides the cut end of a loaf.
Five more ways to use Christmas tea towels
- Wrap a jar. Tie a towel around a jar of chutney or homemade jam with string. The jar becomes the gift and the towel the wrapping.
- Line a bread basket. The wreath towel in a basket of rolls on the Christmas table does the job of a runner without covering the whole table.
- Dress the hot chocolate station. Lay the gingham towel under the Ceramic Heart Snacking Station – White and the mugs, so drips land on cotton rather than the worktop.
- Cover rising dough. A clean tea towel over a bowl of bread or cinnamon-roll dough is the traditional way. The Christmas one just makes a nicer photo.
- Stand in for napkins. A tea towel folded on each side plate is bigger and more absorbent than a paper napkin, and it suits a relaxed Boxing Day lunch.
Mix them with your everyday tea towels
Christmas tea towels look best next to plain ones, not next to each other. If every towel in the kitchen has a wreath on it, the print stops being special.
Keep your plain towels in rotation and let one Christmas towel be the accent. The Set of 2 Scalloped Off-White Tea Towels and the Set of 2 Ruffled Off-White Tea Towels sit under either Christmas set without competing, and the Set of 2 Gingham Beige Tea Towels picks up the check in the red gingham in a softer colour.
If you are switching over from autumn, the Set 2 Autumn Tea Towels – Embossed Acorn/Leaf can come down on 1 December and go in the wash ready for next year.
Match the kitchen to the living room
The small wreaths on the Gingham & Wreath set are the same print as our Christmas Wreath Cushion Cover, the red gingham matches the Red Gingham Cushion Cover, and the single wreath on the Wreath & Mistletoe set uses the same green and red. A wreath towel on the oven door and a wreath cushion on the sofa make the two rooms feel like one scheme without buying a matching set of everything.
We show how to build the sofa side in our Christmas cushions guide.
Christmas tea towels as gifts
A tea towel is the gift that gets used on Boxing Day. It lies flat, posts for the price of a letter, wraps in a minute and costs under £15 for a pair, which makes it a useful answer for the people who are hard to buy for.
Stocking fillers and Secret Santa
A single set is a stocking filler that is still in use in February. Fold it in three, tie it with ribbon and it needs no box. There are more ideas in our 8 of the Best Stocking Fillers post.
Teachers, neighbours and hosts
For a host gift, roll the Gingham & Wreath set around the Christmas Mug – Matt White Tree or the Winter House Mug and tie the roll with string. It looks thoughtful, costs under £30 and travels in a handbag.
Make a bigger gift
Put a Christmas tea towel set, the Set of 2 Embossed Christmas Tree Mugs and a bag of good hot chocolate in our Luxury Large Gift Box and you have kitchen giftware for around £45 that does not look like it came off a shelf. If they love hot chocolate, our hot chocolate station guide has the rest of the kit, and our home gifts for Christmas guide has more thoughtful Xmas gifts that suit the kitchen.
Caring for cotton Christmas tea towels
Both sets are cotton tea towels, which is the right fibre for a towel that has to look good and dry glasses. Three rules keep them that way:
- Wash before first use. New cotton has a finish that stops it absorbing. One cold wash removes it.
- Cold wash, no bleach, no softener. Softener coats the fibres and makes a tea towel push water around instead of soaking it up. Wash with similar colours so the red gingham stays sharp.
- Tumble dry low, iron low. Hang the printed towel to dry when you can, as it keeps the print crisp.
If a towel has gone shiny and stopped absorbing, our post on why tea towels stop absorbing explains how to bring it back.
After Christmas
The gingham towel never has to go away. Keep it in rotation all year and pack the wreath and mistletoe with the decorations in January. Wash, dry fully, fold and store them somewhere dry; damp is the only thing that spoils Xmas tea towels over a year in a box.
For fabrics, how many you need and how to choose everyday towels, see Choosing the Perfect Tea Towels for Your Home.
Final thoughts
One Christmas tea towel over the oven door, one plain towel in rotation and a matching mug on the side is a festive kitchen with no clutter, no fixings and nothing to put away in the loft. Buy two sets and you have a gift as well.
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FAQs
What are Christmas tea towels?
Christmas tea towels are kitchen tea towels printed with festive designs such as wreaths, mistletoe or red gingham. They dry dishes and glasses as normal and hang over an oven door or rail as a seasonal decoration.
Are Christmas towels and tea towels the same thing?
No. Christmas towels usually means bath or hand towels. Christmas tea towels are the smaller cotton kitchen towels used for drying up. Ours are tea towels, 73 x 50cm.
What size are Christmas tea towels?
Our Christmas tea towels are 73 x 50cm, the standard UK tea towel size. Both sets are 100% cotton and come as a pair.
Are Christmas tea towels just for decoration?
No. A good cotton tea towel is absorbent and lint-free, so it dries glassware properly. Hang one as the decoration and keep the other in use, or use both.
How do I hang a Christmas tea towel on an oven door?
Fold it in half lengthways with the print facing out and drape it over the oven handle. Use one printed towel per oven door and keep the second towel folded on the worktop or on a hook.
Do Christmas tea towels make a good gift?
Yes. A pair costs £14.95, lies flat for posting and gets used every day. Roll a set around a Christmas mug and tie it with string for a host gift, or add a gift box for something bigger.
How do I wash Xmas tea towels so the colours last?
Wash before first use, then machine wash cold with similar colours. Avoid bleach and fabric softener, tumble dry on low and iron on a low setting. Cotton tea towels get softer and more absorbent with washing.
Can I mix Christmas tea towels with plain ones?
Yes, and it looks better. Use one Christmas tea towel as the accent and keep your plain off-white or gingham towels in rotation so the print stands out.
When should Christmas tea towels go out?
Most people swap them in on 1 December or the first weekend of Advent. The red gingham towel works all year, so it can stay out after the wreath and mistletoe are packed away in January.
