Christmas Gift Towel Sets UK: Which to Buy and Which to Skip

Which Towel Sets Make the Best Christmas Gifts in the UK?

The best Christmas towel set is a matched bale of bath and hand towels at 500 GSM or heavier, in white or cream, bought as one set so every piece is dyed together. For most gifts that means a 4 to 6 piece set between £17 and £35. Step up to 700 GSM double yarn for someone who would never spend that on towels themselves, choose bamboo for sensitive skin, and pick our organic cotton range if you want it to arrive ribboned. The last day we deliver before Christmas is 21 December.

Nobody judges a towel set on Christmas morning. They judge it in March, after the tenth wash, when the pile has either held its thickness or gone flat, and when the "matching" hand towel turns out to be a slightly different shade from the bath towel.

That is the fear worth buying around, and it's why most search results for Christmas gift towel sets miss the point. They are tea towels with a robin on, which are fine for a stocking and no use in a bathroom. This guide covers bath towel sets: bales of bath towels, hand towels and face cloths, dyed together so they match, in weights that will still feel good next year.

We manufacture these ourselves in Bolton and have done for over 25 years. The prices and review counts below are what the live pages showed when we wrote this. Sale prices move, so check the page before you order.

What makes a towel set a good gift

Three things decide whether a set is still appreciated in spring: weight, construction and whether the pieces actually match.

Weight comes first. GSM is grams per square metre, so it measures how much cotton is in the towel. At 500 GSM you get a dependable everyday towel that dries quickly, which suits most households. At 600 GSM it is noticeably thicker. At 700 GSM it is the heaviest we make, and ours is double yarn, meaning two threads are twisted together before weaving, so there is more cotton in every square metre rather than just a bigger number on the label.

Construction is the second thing. A bamboo and cotton blend feels softer than plain cotton and is naturally antibacterial, which matters for sensitive skin, and GOTS-certified organic cotton suits anyone who reads labels.

The third is matching. Buying a bath towel here and a hand towel there is how a gift ends up with two shades of cream. A bale is packed and dyed as a set, so the pieces are far more likely to sit together properly. If you are weighing up sets against single towels, our guide on bath towel sets vs individual towels covers the trade-offs.

Which towel set suits which person

A housewarming or first flat, under £20. When you don't know what they already own, a complete small set is the safe choice. The 4 piece 500 GSM bale is two hand towels and two bath towels at £17.33, and its 33 reviews are the most of any set under £20. If they are setting up from scratch, the 5 piece 500 GSM set adds two face cloths and a bath sheet, so there is one of every size, for £18.62.

Ribboned and ready to give: organic cotton. If you don't want to wrap anything, the 100% organic cotton range arrives ribboned. GOTS, the Global Organic Textile Standard, means certified organic fibres and responsible manufacturing, and the towels are a substantial 630 GSM. It isn't a bale: you choose one size and a pack, such as two bath towels, two hand towels or six face cloths. The colours are sage green, white, grey, blue lagoon, navy and black, and prices start from £7.20. It has only two reviews so far, so treat it as a newer line.

A step up in weight, still under £35. The 6 piece 600 GSM bale is £16.76 with 10 reviews and is noticeably thicker than the 500 GSM sets. For someone who would never spend this much on towels themselves, the 4 piece 700 GSM Royal Egyptian set at £26.06 is the one we'd pick: two hand towels and two bath towels in double yarn, with 26 reviews behind it. The 6 piece 700 GSM set is £34.37 with 26 reviews, and you can add a gift ribbon at checkout for £1.

Sensitive skin, or someone who cares about materials. Bamboo fibre is naturally hypoallergenic and resists odour, so it suits anyone whose skin reacts to ordinary towels. The 5 piece 700 GSM bamboo set is £36 with 18 reviews, and the 6 piece bamboo set is £40.80 with 35 reviews, the most of any bamboo set. Our comparison of cotton vs bamboo explains the difference in more detail.

A bigger gift: a new home or a couple's first Christmas. The 10 piece 700 GSM set is £56.11 with 14 reviews and holds four face cloths, two hand towels, two bath towels and two bath sheets, so it is two full sets in one box. The 12 piece at £64.42, with 22 reviews, swaps in four hand towels instead of two, because hand towels are the pieces that wear out first.

Something to wear: a hooded robe. If a set feels too much like a towel, the Egyptian Collection hooded dressing gown is a gift people use every day. It is 470 GSM, 100% cotton terry towelling weighing around 1.5kg, with a hood for drying hair, two front pockets and a matching belt. It comes in white, charcoal, silver or navy, from £15.54 at the current sale price, and it has 434 reviews, including 117 for the white one. The risk with a robe is size, so go by a robe they already own and check the size chart on the page. One reviewer found the L/XL smaller than expected, so don't assume it runs big.

The colour mistake to avoid

Cotton is dyed in batches, and shades drift. A handful of reviews on our 700 GSM sets mention a shade coming out lighter than the photo, with silver reading closer to beige, and a gift is the one purchase where you can't hold the towel up against their bathroom. So for a gift, choose white or cream, which leave the least room for a surprise. If the recipient has a colour scheme you want to match, order a free face cloth sample now and check it before you commit to the set.

Ribbons, delivery and what to do if it's wrong

The organic cotton range arrives ribboned as standard. On the 6 piece 700 GSM bale a gift ribbon is a £1 add-on at checkout, so check each product page before assuming a set can be ribboned. Standard delivery is 3 to 5 working days and free over £35, and DPD next working day is £5.75 if you order by 2pm. This year the last day we deliver before Christmas is 21 December, so order well ahead of it, ideally in the first week of December. Embroidered towels have a two-week lead time, so if you want embroidered towels, order them by the end of November. Our delivery page has the detail, and our 365-day returns policy is worth reading before you buy a gift, in case a shade or size is wrong.

FAQs

What is the best towel set to give as a Christmas gift?

For most people, a 4 or 6 piece set at 500 GSM or heavier in white or cream. It's matched, safe and fairly priced.

What GSM should a gift towel set be?

500 GSM is the everyday baseline and dries quickly. 600 GSM is a visible step up in thickness. 700 GSM is the heaviest we make and the one people notice the moment they pick it up. If you are unsure, 600 GSM is the sensible middle.

Are your towel sets ready to give?

The organic cotton range and the 550 GSM Zero Twist bale arrive gift ribboned. For other sets, check the product page for a gift ribbon option before you order. If you need something specific, call us on 01204 455755.

Which colour is safest for a gift?

White or cream. Shades can vary slightly between dye batches, which matters more for a gift than for your own bathroom. For a coloured set, ask us about a sample first on 01204 455755.

How do I pick a robe size for a gift?

Go by a robe they already own rather than their clothes size, and use the size chart on the product page. The three sizes are S/M, M/L and L/XL. Reviews are mixed on fit, with one finding the L/XL snug, so if in doubt, size up.

Will a set arrive in time for Christmas?

This year the last day we deliver before Christmas is 21 December. Standard delivery is 3 to 5 working days, and DPD next working day is available if you order by 2pm, so allow the full five days and order early. Embroidered towels need a two-week lead time on top of that.

Keep reading

Our guide to buying towel bundles shows how to get the best value from a set, and the full bale sets range runs from 4 to 12 pieces. If you would rather give a single heavyweight towel, browse our bath towels or the 700 GSM towels, or see the full hooded dressing gown range.