Christmas gonks are the decoration that gets talked about. Put a gonk on the mantel and every visitor asks about the hat, the nose and where the eyes went, which is more than a bauble has ever managed. They are also the easiest Christmas decoration to style, because a gonk looks right almost anywhere you stand it.
Ours are ceramic and glass rather than fabric: a pair of sitting stoneware gonks, a white ceramic gonk with stars that light up in his hat, and four glass gonk jars that hold sweets. This guide covers which to choose, where to put Christmas gonks in each room, what to fill a gonk jar with, how to group them so they look styled rather than scattered, and how to give one as a gift.
Why gonks belong at Christmas
A gonk is the Nordic Christmas spirit, the tomte or nisse, in homeware form, which is why he turns up at Christmas before any other season. The history is in our what is a gonk post, and our complete guide to gonks covers how they differ from gnomes and the Easter and Halloween versions. This post is only about the Christmas ones: which to buy and where to put them.
Our Christmas gonks
Most Christmas gonk decorations are fabric and fur, which is lovely until the third year, when the beard has matted and the hat will not stand up. Ours are made of stoneware, ceramic and glass, so they look the same in December 2030 as they do now.
Set of 2 Sitting Gonks
The Set of 2 Sitting Gonks is one large gonk at 17cm high and one small at 10cm, both stoneware with a simple, modern shape. Two sizes in one set does the styling for you: the pair sits on a shelf or at the end of a mantel with the small one in front, and it reads as a scene rather than an ornament. £17.95 for the pair.
LED Ceramic Gonk
The LED Ceramic Gonk is rough-textured white ceramic with a handmade feel, a tall droopy hat pulled down over his eyes, a big round nose and a beard that sweeps to the floor. Stars are cut into the hat, and a warm LED inside lights them up, so he is a Christmas gonk by day and a night light after dark. He is 14.7cm tall, runs on LR44 batteries, which are included, and costs £24.95. Because the light comes from inside, he is the one for a dark corner, a hallway table or a bedroom shelf.
Glass gonk jars
The glass gonk jars are a gonk and a sweet jar at the same time: thick, durable glass in a gonk shape with a hand-painted hat and a removable lid, 10cm across and 17.5cm high. The Glass Gonk Jar – Black Sparkles and the Glass Gonk Jar – Black Polka Dots are the two black designs at £24.95 each. The Glass Gonk Jar – White Hearts and the Glass Gonk Jar – Black Hearts are the softer versions for a neutral or Scandi Christmas scheme. All four are hand wash only, with the painted areas wiped with a dry cloth.
Where to put Christmas gonks
A Christmas gonk is small, so the trick is to give him a place where he is seen at eye level or lit, rather than lost on a big surface. Room by room:
On the mantel
The classic spot. Put the pair of sitting gonks at one end of the mantel, with the small one slightly in front, and balance the other end with candles or ceramic houses rather than more gonks. One gonk group per mantel is plenty. Our Christmas mantel decor guide has the rest of the mantel, and a gonk slots into any of the three looks in it.
Under and beside the tree
Gonks belong at the base of the tree, where they look as though they have wandered in from the garden. Stand the LED gonk among the presents so his hat glows through the wrapping paper, or put the two sitting gonks on the tree skirt with a few pine cones. Keep gonks off the branches themselves unless they are made for hanging; a 17cm stoneware gonk is a shelf piece, not a bauble.
In the hallway
The LED gonk on the hall table is the one that greets people, and because he is lit he works in a hallway with no window. Stand him on a small tray with nothing else, or with one glass gonk jar of sweets for the people who arrive.
In the kitchen
This is where the gonk jars earn their keep. A gonk jar of mini gingerbread or chocolates on the worktop is a Christmas decoration people can open, and a black polka dot or black sparkle design suits a white or wooden kitchen. Two jars together, one black design and one with hearts, look like a pair without matching.
On the windowsill
A gonk in the window shows from the street. The LED gonk is the obvious choice after dark, and a glass gonk jar filled with battery fairy lights does the same job with a softer glow. Keep real candles away from a windowsill gonk; the LED gonk exists for exactly this spot.
On the Christmas table
One gonk jar of sweets at each end of the table instead of a centrepiece gives everyone something to pass round after pudding. On a smaller table, a single gonk jar in the middle on a wooden board, with a sprig of greenery, is enough. For the rest of the table, our Christmas placemats guide covers the settings.
What to fill a gonk jar with
The jars are 10cm across and 17.5cm high, which is the size of a large sweet jar, so there is room for a proper fill:
- Mini gingerbread or shortbread. The reason the jars exist. Line the jar with a square of baking paper first so the biscuits lift out cleanly.
- Wrapped chocolates and sweets. Foil-wrapped chocolates show through the glass and the colours become part of the decoration.
- Mini baubles. For a jar that is decoration only, fill it with small baubles in one colour. Black baubles in the black sparkle jar, white in the white hearts jar.
- Battery fairy lights. A string of micro lights coiled inside the jar turns a gonk into a lantern. Tuck the battery pack under the lid.
- Christmas Eve box treats. Fill a jar for each child on Christmas Eve, lid on, and let them open it on Christmas morning.
Wash the jar by hand, dry it fully before filling it, and keep the painted hat away from water: a dry cloth is all it needs.
How to group Christmas gonks so they look styled
Four rules that stop gonks looking like a shelf of clutter:
- Odd numbers. One gonk is a feature, three is a group, two is fine only if they are different sizes, which is why the sitting gonks come as a large and a small.
- Vary the heights. The LED gonk at 14.7cm, the large sitting gonk at 17cm and the small one at 10cm make a natural trio with nothing else needed. On a tray, the tallest goes at the back.
- One colour story. Keep what sits next to the gonks neutral so they stay the point: the matt white Set of 4 LED Christmas Village Houses, the Set of 2 Black Heart Glass Candle Holders, natural wood. Red and green decorations go elsewhere in the room. One group per surface, too; our why your Christmas decorations look cluttered post explains why.
- Put them on something. A tray, a board or a slice of wood gives a group of gonks a floor and stops them sliding about. The Raised Wooden Tray Round Feet – Natural is 38cm long, which takes the three ceramic gonks with a candle holder at the end; the Scalloped Natural Display Board is a 28cm round for one gonk jar and a small gonk.
If you already have fabric gonks, mix them in. A stoneware gonk next to a fur-bearded fabric one gives the group two textures, and the ceramic ones hold the fabric ones upright.
Christmas gonks as gifts
A gonk jar filled with chocolates is a Christmas gift that is finished the moment you put the lid on: no wrapping paper, no card needed, and the jar stays on the shelf when the chocolates have gone. It suits a teacher, a neighbour, the person who hosts Christmas dinner, or a Secret Santa with a budget. The LED gonk is the Christmas gonk gift for anyone who already has gonks and wants one that does something, and the pair of sitting gonks is the one for a first Christmas in a new home.
After Christmas
A gonk is not just for Christmas. The LED gonk is white and plain enough to stay out through January when the tree has gone, the sitting gonks are simple enough to do the same, and the glass gonk jars are sweet jars all year; the hearts versions carry straight through to Valentine’s Day. If you do pack them away, wrap each gonk in tissue, take the LR44 batteries out of the LED gonk, and wrap the glass jars in tissue with the lids on so the painted hats do not rub against anything. Our complete guide to gonks covers the Easter, autumn and Halloween gonks for the rest of the year.
Final thoughts
Buy the pair of sitting gonks for the mantel, the LED gonk for the hallway or the base of the tree, and a gonk jar for the kitchen worktop. Group them in odd numbers at different heights, keep the colours around them in the white and black family, and put the group on a tray. That is a Christmas gonk display that takes five minutes and lasts for years.
Show us where your gonks live on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or TikTok. We share our favourites.
FAQs
What is a Christmas gonk?
A Christmas gonk is a decoration based on the Nordic Christmas spirit, the tomte or nisse: a pointed hat pulled down over the eyes, a round nose and a long beard. Traditional ones are fabric; ours are stoneware, ceramic and glass, so they keep their shape year after year.
Where do you put Christmas gonks?
On the mantel, at the base of the tree, on a hall table, on the kitchen worktop as a sweet jar, on a windowsill or at the ends of the Christmas table. Put them where they are at eye level or lit, and keep them to one group per surface.
How many Christmas gonks should you put together?
Odd numbers look best: one as a feature or three as a group. Two works when they are different sizes, which is why our sitting gonks come as one large and one small.
What do you put in a gonk jar?
Mini gingerbread, shortbread, wrapped chocolates or sweets, mini baubles for a decoration-only jar, or a string of battery fairy lights to turn the jar into a lantern. The jars are 10cm across and 17.5cm high.
Do the LED gonks need batteries?
Our LED Ceramic Gonk runs on LR44 batteries and they are included. Take them out before you pack him away after Christmas.
How do you clean a glass gonk jar?
Hand wash the glass only, dry it fully before refilling, and wipe the hand-painted hat with a dry cloth. Do not put the jar in the dishwasher.
Do Christmas gonks have to go away in January?
No. A gonk is not just for Christmas: white and plain gonks suit January, the hearts gonk jars carry on to Valentine’s Day, and there are Easter, autumn and Halloween gonks for the rest of the year.
Are ceramic Christmas gonks better than fabric ones?
They last longer. A fabric gonk’s beard mats and its hat flops after a few seasons; a stoneware or ceramic gonk keeps its shape and wipes clean with a damp cloth. Mixing the two gives a group more texture.
Do Christmas gonks make good gifts?
Yes. A glass gonk jar filled with chocolates needs no wrapping and stays on the shelf after the chocolates have gone, and the LED gonk is the gift for someone who already has gonks.
