Candle Gift Ideas for Every Occasion

The most thoughtful candle gifts match the occasion: a pair of dinner tapers for a host, a scented candle in a ceramic vessel for a birthday, a boxed set for a wedding or a new home. A luxury candle gift is one you can describe in a sentence, such as pure beeswax, poured by hand, burning for dozens of hours, and that arrives ready to give.

What makes a candle a good gift

• It is useful and then gone. A candle adds nothing to the clutter of a home. It is enjoyed, burned and remembered.
• Its quality is easy to explain. “100 % beeswax, hand-dipped” says more than a brand name.
• It lasts. A candle that burns for 45 or 100 hours is a gift that comes back evening after evening.
• It suits the person. Scent is personal. When in doubt, unscented beeswax smells only faintly of honey and suits almost everyone.
• It arrives ready. A box, a ribbon and a handwritten card do half the work.

Candle gift ideas by occasion

A host gift for a dinner

Bring something for the table rather than for the shelf. A pair of hand-dipped beeswax tapers fits any candlestick, is unscented so it never competes with the food, and burns for about ten hours each, enough for several dinners. It is the kind of gift that gets used the same evening. If you know the host loves scent, a single stoneware vessel is a generous alternative.

A birthday

Choose a scented vessel in their colours. Our three stoneware cups each pair a glaze with a scent of organic essential oils: Bone, a bone-white glaze with linden blossom and beeswax; Clay, terracotta-sand with fig leaf and cedar; and Ash, speckled grey with smoked vetiver. Each burns for about 45 hours, and the empty cup can be washed and kept for flowers or matches.

A wedding

For a couple, give something for their first evenings at home. The Evening Set, a vessel and a pair of tapers boxed together with a card, is everything for one slow dinner, about 65 hours of light in total. The Three Glazes, all three vessels in one box, is the larger gesture. Planning the wedding itself? We can dip tapers in quantity for weddings and events; tell us your date and numbers through Wholesale.

A new home

A new home needs light before it needs objects. Pure pillars, set of three, one of each height, is boxed and ready to give, and burns for about 225 hours in total. Grouped in a niche or on a mantel, the pillars become part of the room. The Three Glazes suits someone who would rather have a scent in each room.

Christmas

Winter evenings are when candles are burned most. Six hand-dipped tapers for a long table, a set of pillars for the darkest weeks, or The Three Glazes for someone who likes to change scent with the mood. Order early in December: we pack every order by hand.

A thank-you

Something small, specific and well made. A single vessel, or a pair of tapers with a handwritten note, says thank you without asking anything in return.

For someone sensitive to scent, or with pets

Choose unscented. Our pillars and tapers contain nothing but beeswax and a cotton wick. Unscented candles are a gentler choice for homes with pets; read more in our guide to unscented candles.

A luxury candle gift, without the guesswork

Luxury in a candle is not the box or the price. It is what you can say about it honestly. Ours are 100 % European beeswax and a cotton wick, with no paraffin, soy, dyes or synthetic fragrance. Each is poured or dipped by hand in small batches in our atelier in Europe, then left to cure for at least three weeks so it burns slowly and evenly. Burn times are measured on our own shelves, and rounded down rather than up. If the person you are buying for cares about ingredients, our guides to natural candles and beeswax candle benefits explain what sets beeswax apart.

Choosing a scent

• Floral and soft: The Vessel, Bone, linden blossom and beeswax.
• Woody and leafy: The Vessel, Clay, fig leaf and cedar.
• Smoky and deep: The Vessel, Ash, smoked vetiver.
• No scent at all: pillars or tapers, smelling only faintly of honeycomb.

Wrapping, gift notes and delivery

• Ready to give. Our gift sets are boxed in oat paper and tied by hand.
• A handwritten card. Add a note at checkout and we will write it by hand on a card.
• No prices in the parcel. Prices are never included, so you can send it straight to the recipient.
• Free shipping over 80 € to the EU and the US. Orders placed before 12:00 CET on a working day are usually packed the same day. Delivery takes 1 to 3 working days in Germany and 2 to 5 across the European Union, with express delivery in the EU in 1 to 2. See Shipping.
• 30-day returns. If a candle is not right, unused and unlit candles can be returned within 30 days of delivery.

A note to include with any candle

A candle is a flame, so a gift of one is also a small responsibility. If you write a card, a line of care is a kind touch: trim the wick before lighting, let the first burn reach the edge, keep it away from draughts, children and pets, and never leave it unattended.