In this guide · 5 sections
If you’re hosting Christmas dinner this year and trying to decide which linens to buy, the choice usually comes down to three things: the shape of your table, how much cleanup you’re willing to do, and whether you want the pieces to work after the holidays too. This guide walks through the MacKenzie-Childs Christmas placemats and table runners we carry at Dekado, with their verified dimensions and care, so you can work out what fits your table before you order. In short, placemats suit round tables and everyday use, a full-length runner suits long rectangular tables, and the two work together only when your table is wide enough for both, which is easy to check with a tape measure.
Placemats, a runner or both: how to decide for your table
When placemats are the better choice
Placemats define each seat, protect the tabletop directly under the plates, and work on a table of any shape. On a round table they’re almost always the better choice, since a straight runner has nowhere natural to start or stop and tends to collide with the place settings at either end.
When a table runner does more
A runner is most useful on a long rectangular table, where it gives the centerpiece, candlesticks and serving dishes a defined path down the middle. A short runner works well off the dining table too: on a sideboard, a buffet or a kitchen island where you’re setting out dessert, it frames the platters without needing any placemats at all.
Using both without crowding the table
Placemats and a runner look generous together, but only if there’s clear table showing between them. You can check this with simple arithmetic: add the depth of two placemats (one for each side of the table) to the width of the runner, and compare that with the width of your table. If the total is close to or wider than your table, the pieces will overlap and the setting will feel cramped. We worked through the same idea of leaving breathing room in how to layer a MacKenzie-Childs fall table without crowding it, and the same principle applies to a Christmas table.
Choosing MacKenzie-Childs Christmas placemats: beaded holiday designs or check
There are three types to choose between, and they differ in shape and care as much as in pattern.
Beaded holiday placemats: Natural Noel and Confetti Jolly Ornaments
The Natural Noel Jolly Ornaments Placemat and the Confetti Jolly Ornaments Placemat are the most openly Christmas pieces in this guide. Each measures 15″ wide by 15″ long and has an asymmetrical outline inspired by the shape of an ornament. MacKenzie-Childs describes both as intricately beaded on cotton, with Natural Noel in swirling black, brown and soft blue and Confetti in brighter colors.
The drawback is care: these placemats are spot clean only, so they suit a seated dinner better than a crowded buffet. They’re sold individually, which means you can buy exactly the number of seats you have, including an odd number.
Rectangular cork-back sets: Courtly Check and Mocha Check
The Courtly Check Cork Back Placemats and the Mocha Check Cork Back Placemats are the more practical option. Each is a rigid rectangle, 11.5″ wide by 15.7″ long, made of MDF with a cork backing and a heat-resistant printed surface. You wipe them clean with a damp cloth, which makes them the easiest choice here for a family dinner, and they’ll carry on through the rest of the year once the decorations come down. Both come as a set of 4, so a table of eight needs two sets.
The 17″ round: Courtly Check Round Placemat
The Courtly Check Round Placemat is 17″ in diameter, printed with Courtly Checks and trimmed with a black ruffled edge. It’s the largest placemat here and suits a round table particularly well. It’s dry-clean only, though, so think of it as a placemat for occasions rather than for Tuesday night. It’s sold individually.
How the placemats compare
| Placemat | Shape and size | Surface | Care | Sold as | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natural Noel Jolly Ornaments | Ornament-shaped, 15″ x 15″ | Beaded cotton | Spot clean only | Single | A seated Christmas dinner with a quieter palette |
| Confetti Jolly Ornaments | Ornament-shaped, 15″ x 15″ | Beaded cotton | Spot clean only | Single | A colorful, clearly festive table |
| Courtly Check Cork Back | Rectangle, 11.5″ x 15.7″ | Heat-resistant print on MDF, cork back | Wipe clean | Set of 4 | Family dinners and year-round use |
| Mocha Check Cork Back | Rectangle, 11.5″ x 15.7″ | Heat-resistant print on MDF, cork back | Wipe clean | Set of 4 | Warm, natural holiday tables and year-round use |
| Courtly Check Round | Round, 17″ diameter | Printed fabric, ruffled edge | Dry-clean only | Single | Round tables and special occasions |
How many placemats fit, and whether a runner still fits
The figures below are practical guidance worked out from the stated dimensions, not MacKenzie-Childs sizing rules, so measure your own table before you buy. A general rule of thumb used in dining table sizing guides allows roughly 24 inches of table edge per guest, so a 6-foot (72-inch) table seats three on each side. Every placemat here is narrower than that along the edge, so depth is what limits the layout.
The cork-back placemats, laid with the long side along the table edge, reach 11.5 inches into the table. Two of them facing each other take 23 inches, and adding a 14-inch check runner brings the total to 37 inches, so you’d want a table at least 38 to 40 inches wide to keep a little gap on each side. The Jolly Ornaments placemats reach 15 inches in, which makes 30 inches for a facing pair; add a 13-inch beaded runner and you need about 43 inches, which is wider than a lot of dining tables. The 17-inch round placemats take 34 inches as a facing pair, which leaves very little room for anything down the middle unless the table is unusually wide. In practice, that means the cork-back sets are the easiest placemats to combine with a runner, while the beaded and round placemats usually look best with the centerpiece sitting directly on the table.
Sizing a MacKenzie-Childs table runner to your table
The runners here come in two very different lengths, and that matters more than pattern.
Short beaded runners under a centerpiece
The Natural Noel Jolly Ornaments Table Runner and the Confetti Jolly Ornaments Table Runner each measure 13″ wide by 36″ long, with the same asymmetrical silhouette as the matching placemats. The Bows and Ornaments Beaded Table Runner is a little smaller at 12″ wide by 34″ long, and it’s worked in reds and greens with holly leaves, bows, ornaments and textured stripes. All three are beaded and spot clean only.
At three feet or a little under, these won’t run the length of most dining tables. They work best as a defined base for a centerpiece in the middle of the table, or on a sideboard, console or kitchen island where a long runner would hang off the ends. On a dining table, the numbers above suggest pairing one with the cork-back placemats, which leave enough room down the middle for a 12-inch or 13-inch runner on a table about 38 inches wide or more.
Check runners that run the length of the table
The Courtly Check Table Runner in Black, the Courtly Check and Stripe Table Runner and the Mocha Check Table Runner are all 14″ wide by 72″ long and made of 100% cotton. The black version has a black center bordered with a wide band of checks; the Check and Stripe has a chartreuse back and apple-green piping; and the Mocha Check is bordered in Mocha Stripe and reverses to plain mocha cotton.
At 72 inches, these lie exactly the length of a 6-foot table, so they’ll reach the ends without hanging over. On a longer table, say 84 to 96 inches, you’ll see roughly 6 to 12 inches of bare table at each end, which looks deliberate. On a shorter table, the runner will drape over the ends. A practical advantage over the beaded pieces is care: the Courtly Check runners are machine wash cold and the Mocha Check is machine wash cold with like colors, so a spill at Christmas dinner isn’t a disaster. There’s more on the pattern itself in our guide to MacKenzie-Childs Courtly Check.
A good combination for a long table is a check runner underneath the full length with a short beaded runner laid in the middle as a holiday accent. The washable piece takes the spills, and the spot-clean beading sits under the centerpiece, away from the serving dishes.
Finishing the setting with napkin rings, a napkin holder and candlesticks
The Courtly Check Enamel Napkin Rings come as a boxed set of 4, each 2″ in diameter, in hand-glazed steel with a bronzed stainless steel rim. They’re a natural match for the cork-back sets, since both come in fours. For a buffet or a more casual meal, the Courtly Check Enamel Napkin Holder measures 2″ wide by 6″ long by 4.5″ tall, and MacKenzie-Childs pairs it with paper napkins. Both wipe clean with a soft damp cloth; if they need more, hand-wash them with mild soap and dry them straight away.
The Courtly Check enamel candlesticks come in three heights: the small is 8″ tall, the medium is 11.5″ and the large is 14″. MacKenzie-Childs describes these candlesticks as working alone or in a trio, and a graduated trio looks good down the middle of a 72-inch runner. For pillar candles, the medium pillar candlestick is 9″ tall and the large pillar candlestick is 11″. The widest of them measures 5.75 inches across, so each one fits within the width of any runner here. Because the candles add height of their own, keep the shorter pieces in the center if you want guests to see each other across the table, and put the tallest toward the ends.
