Folding Napkins as Festive Table Decoration

In the hustle and bustle of daily life, there's often little time or energy for extra things, like folding napkins. You're just happy if a healthy and tasty meal is on the table without too much fuss. After a long workday, you might prefer to curl up on the couch with your dinner plate on your lap rather than sitting down at the table. The last thing on your mind is folding napkins.

However, there are moments when it's really fun to make your dining table extra special. Think of the festive atmosphere you can create with our styling tips for a Christmas table. But also for birthday dinners, when you're hosting guests, or just to keep the romance alive with a cozy dinner, napkin folding is an easy way to beautify your table. An artistically folded napkin instantly turns any meal into a special occasion.

There are many different types of napkins, ranging from simple paper ones to luxurious jacquard fabric napkins. Everyone has their own preference: some swear by paper napkins, while others prefer fabric. Both options have their own charm and advantages. A cloth napkin has the major benefit of being reusable, which makes it more durable, while paper napkins are designed for single use, so you don’t have to worry as much about stains. A cloth napkin looks beautiful in an elegant napkin holder, while paper napkins can be casually stacked on the table for a more informal feel.

When it comes to napkin folding, everyone has their own preference. A fabric napkin instantly gives your table a luxurious look, but it’s often a bit trickier to fold than a paper napkin. Paper napkins, on the other hand, hold their shape better thanks to sharper crease lines—ideal if you want to go for a more complex design.

To fold festive napkins, you’ll first need a stack of napkins. Choose ones with a fun pattern that will look great when folded, or go for solid colors that you can decorate with craft materials. Think carefully about the occasion for which you're folding the napkins. For example, is it Christmas? Then it’s fun to fold napkins in a Christmas theme, like a Christmas tree, star, or Santa hat. Every holiday has its own typical motifs that you can use for your napkins.

With a little online searching, you’ll find countless tutorials that guide you step by step through the napkin folding process. Once you’ve found a shape you’d like to make, add some extra decorations, like holly leaves, red berries, glitter, stars, or moss. Always make sure you have a hot glue gun and some paper clips on hand to give your folded napkin extra stability. Origami enthusiasts can, of course, work without any tools, but for the rest of us, a little extra support is just fine!

TIP: Not great at folding? Simply roll up the napkin and wrap a festive flat Christmas ornament around it! Quick, easy, and still full of festive charm!

Napkin folding is a task best done while sitting comfortably at the dining table. When you fold a napkin without using glue or paper clips, the folded napkin can be quite delicate and your creation may fall apart easily. That's why it’s best to fold your napkins where you plan to place them. This way, you’ll move them as little as possible, preventing frustration.

Also, think ahead about where you want to place the folded napkins. Will you put them on the table, beside or on top of the dinner plate, or maybe even in the soup bowl or wine glass? Set the dinner plates out in advance, or if you plan to place the napkins on the table, make sure there’s enough space left to serve the food easily without having to move the folded napkins around.

Napkin folding is an art form that has been practiced since the 17th century. During this time, it even experienced a true "Golden Age." Napkin folding was considered a serious art form, and in the German city of Nuremberg, a special school was established to teach people this skill. Butlers in noble households had shelves full of books with folding instructions and patterns, as table decoration had very specific requirements.

The folded napkin became especially popular during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King of France. Everything during that time was bigger, more colorful, and more extravagant, from clothing to table decor. A napkin was no longer just a simple cloth on the table but became a work of art in itself, shaped into animals, mythical figures, natural elements, or even architectural masterpieces.

At one point, napkin folding even became a popular way to convey a personal message at weddings. The bride and groom would exchange folded napkins with specific shapes so that guests could tell whether they were a friend or family member of the bride or groom.

Though the art of napkin folding faded somewhat in the 19th century, when table decorations in the form of napkins were replaced by porcelain artworks, it remains a special tradition that still evokes memories of a bygone era of elegance and refinement.

A few centuries ago, folded napkins were used as table decor. Bring this old tradition back to life by diving into vintage instruction books on how to fold these napkins and turn them into beautiful table decorations. For intricate folding patterns, you’ll need cotton napkins and a generous amount of starch to keep the napkins in shape. If you search online for old patterns, you’ll come across artworks of rearing horses, bunnies with long ears, and turkeys with a full plume of tail feathers. Today, there are also many origami instructions available that let you create the same designs using paper napkins. Your dinner guests will undoubtedly be impressed by this forgotten art form, and who knows, it may even become a rediscovered trend to fold napkins for an elegantly dressed table.

When it comes to folding napkins, decoration is usually the first thing that comes to mind. The table is set, the napkins are placed on the plates, and the food is served. A folded napkin is not only an atmosphere enhancer at the table, but it can also be quite practical. You can fold napkins in a way that allows you to store utensils in them in a decorative manner. Sometimes, folded napkins are even used to present menus in an attractive way or to place name cards at the plates. Or, you could fold the napkin into a small gift and tuck in a little Secret Santa surprise. The possibilities are endless, so let your creativity run wild and think of all the things you can do with a folded napkin. This way, folding napkins becomes not just something fun and decorative, but also a versatile tool for purposes beyond simply wiping your hands or mouth.

Of course, beautifully folded napkins deserve to be paired with equally beautiful matching tableware. Our Blauw Vouw dinnerware is perfect for this. The porcelain pieces feature subtle folds that evoke the art of origami. This concept inspired the designer of Blauw Vouw when creating the collection for Heinen Delfts Blauw. She aimed to visually connect the shared porcelain history of China and the Netherlands in a single set. To achieve this, she combined Asian origami with traditional Delft blue design. The molds for the dinnerware were made from folded paper, onto which the clay was poured. This technique gives the white porcelain a paper-like appearance. When paired with a beautifully folded napkin on or next to the dishes, the whole setting comes together beautifully.