An easy hostess gift or way to add holiday decor to your home is a custom Christmas hand towel. This project cost less than $10 and takes less than 10 minutes!

A white towel with a gold deer tied with green velvet ribbon.

Originally published December 11, 2012 and updated June 22, 2021 with fresh details and content.

I love the simple charm of these hand towels. The metallic paint adds a bit of interest, but still keeps the Christmas hand towel mostly neutral, to fit with anyone’s holiday decor.

Silhouettes from stencils are sweet and allude to holidays without being commercialized.

Use these for your own home, or make them to give away as hostess gifts, neighbor gifts, or teacher gifts. Everyone needs hand towels, so these are both functional and beautiful!

Homemade gifts are so thoughtful and everyone loves receiving them. Look here for more homemade gifts. Use this Christmas gift tags printable to finish the gift.

Craft supplies for a handmade DIY Christmas hand towel.

Table of Contents

Supplies for Christmas Hand Towels

Paint – I used Martha Stewart multi-surface metallic in gold, but you can use any color you want.
Foam brush – I recommend using a small size, like 1″ for easier control and accuracy.
Stencil – Choose whatever shapes you like. I like designs that are more winter-themed than just Christmas-themed.
Hand Towels – I used bandanas in a pinch and you’d never know the difference. I don’t recommend using terry cloth because the paint won’t go on smooth due to the rough texture of terry cloth.
Cardboard – You just need a small piece to insert behind your fabric to keep paint from bleeding to the other side.

How to Make Holiday Hand Towels

Place your stencil where you want the image to be on the cloth. Hold firmly in place with one hand.
Add a little paint to your brush and gently paint, using a dabbing motion.
Gently remove stencil to avoid smearing paint.
If doing multiple images, make sure the back side of the stencil is free from the previous image’s paint so you don’t end up with an unwanted blob of paint.
Let dry and remove cardboard.

Gold spray painted snowflakes and deer on hand towels

A white napkin with a gold deer tied with green velvet ribbon.

Variations

Use different colors and sheens of paint.
Wrap a small gift with a stenciled hand towel, gathered at the top and tied with a bow.
Use cream, light gray, natural, or other colored towels.

More Easy Holiday Ideas

Did you make this? Rate the recipe and tag me on social @julieblanner!

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DIY Christmas Hand Towels

Cook Time 10 mins

Additional Time 5 mins

Total Time 15 mins

Print Rate

An easy homemade gift using hand towels and paint. Create a custom hand towel for a gift that is charming and useful.

Supplies

▢ Paint – Metallic or your choice
▢ Foam Brush – Small Size
▢ Hand Towel – Smooth Surface
▢ Cardboard

Equipment

Stencil – Your choice of images

Instructions

Place your stencil on the cloth. Secure or hold in place with one hand.
Add a little paint to your brush and dab paint onto cloth.
Gently remove stencil.
If you’re doing more than one image, clean the back of the stencil between each image.
Let dry and remove cardboard.

Elli by studio34e blog says

Posted on 12/14/12 at 9:49 am

I run for velvet ribbon!!Amazing diy idea!
Happy weekend!!
xxx
Elli

Coordinately Yours says

Posted on 12/12/12 at 3:05 am

No need! Each takes just about 2 minutes!

Yelle says

Posted on 12/12/12 at 2:29 am

This is so perfect! It is so easy and so lovely. I am saving this for one of my fays off because this will make lovely gifts!

Coordinately Yours says

Posted on 12/11/12 at 10:21 pm

Velvet is so rich and timeless, isn’t it?

Terry says

Posted on 12/11/12 at 10:05 pm

Very pretty. Love that ribbon – it really makes the tea towel pop.