Beach towel designs range from simple to beautifully intricate. Choose a different towel for everyone in your family, matching favorite colors and interests (see the Sports Team Beach Towel below). A monogrammed or personalized beach towel also helps keep a towel and its owner together.
Following are some fun and functional beach towels, all of which you can order online.
Colorful, Inexpensive Old Navy Beach Towel
Oldnavy.gap.com sells fun, hip beach towels at a reasonable price (see sample towel below). Choose from stripes in pink and blue, brown or pink cheetah patterns, and blue and yellow starfish designs. The 100 percent cotton terry towels measure 32 by 64 inches. Price: $12.50. Shipping is $7 for any amount.
Scottish Kilt Beach Towel
After drying off, wrap the Insta-Kilt towel (pictured below) around your waist and transform into a beach bum Scotsman. Thescottishpiper.net sells these kilt towels, which measure 30 by 60 inches, in red and green tartan plaid. Price: $25. Flat rate shipping, however, is $23.
Gigantic Surfboard Beach Towel
The oversized beach towels from Garnethill.com (see Surfboard design in photo below) are thick, thirsty, and stylish. Measuring 36 by 70 inches, they are also generously sized. Reviewers on the site overwhelmingly recommend the towel, which they praise for its sturdy thickness and jaunty design. Price: $19.50. Personalize for $6 more. Shipping is $4.95.
Mickey Mouse Personalized Beach Towel
Colorful, iconic Mickey Mouse stands larger than life on the Personalize Mickey Mouse Beach Towel at Disney Shopping.com. The 100 percent cotton towel is 34 inches wide by 65 inches long and can be personalized with up to 12 letters for $7.95. Price: $14.95 (or two for $20 at press time). Shipping is $4.95.
Sports Team Beach Towels
Choose a beach towel bearing the logo of your favorite team from major league baseball, professional football, hockey, and basketball, and from a few college teams as well. GetBeachTowel.com offers officially licensed towels such as this Dallas Cowboys beach towel at a flat shipping rate of $7.99. Price for the 30- by 60-inch Dallas Cowboys towel: $13.95.
Choose the Right Beach Towel
While more expensive, thick beach towels offer cushy comfort and dry off a wet swimmer quickly, they fill up a beach bag with their extra bulk and require more time in the sun to shed absorbed water. Kids who ride their bikes to the local pool or pack their beach towel for camp or the beach may opt for a lighter, regular sized beach towel they can drape around their neck or stuff in their backpack.
And, here's a tip for a common summer dilemma. To rid a beach towel of mildew, fill your clothes washer with enough water to cover and toss in a cup of vinegar. Let the towel sit without agitating for a half hour and then complete the wash cycle.
Judith Zwolak - Judy is a mother of two and a freelance writer living in South Dakota. Raised by notoriously frugal parents, she comes by her family ...
