Candles provide an instant glow that makes everyone look just a little bit more beautiful than usual — what else could you wish for at Christmas? Not to mention that changing candles instantly transforms the mood of the room, which is perfect if you find yourself entertaining repeatedly during the holidays. Thanks to these candle buying and decorating tips, your home — or your guests — will never have looked so good at Christmas.
1. The good news is that you can forgo luxury candles that come in expensive, branded containers. Who wants someone else's name around the house when hosting? Relegate those to the guest room and bathroom, and focus instead on simple candlesticks and candleholders.
2. The key to decorating with candles is to vary their height and stick to one color. Besides having the advantage of keeping your shopping simple, this creates a polished look that is perfect for the occasion. Buy an assortment of pillar, tapered, votive, and tea light candles. Many stores sell them by bags or boxes of several dozens. Whatever you don't use at Christmas will work for late summer nights on the patio.
3. Tea light and votive candles can fit in the same type of holders, such as short glass ones. Candlesticks are available in all shapes and sizes, from traditional to contemporary. Either choose them to be best match the style of your home, or create a contrast by featuring antique candelabras alongside your square white plates. Use clear glass so that the light shows well. Arrange several pillar candles on a rectangular platter, or place them individually on small, platelike holders.
4. Low square and tall round vases also work wonders as candleholders. Use them with regular candles, or fill them with water, a Christmas ornament, or cranberries, and place a floating candle in them. A bowl also works well with floating candles. For a mixed arrangement, cut roses in your color theme very short, and place them in the water with the candle.
6. Keep scented candles as far away from the food as possible, so that nothing competes with the caramelized aroma of the ham or turkey. In the entryway and in the living room, use one or two lightly scented candles, along with unscented ones. The subtle scent will add to the welcoming feeling of the house without being overwhelming.
7. White taper candles in silver candlesticks and white pillar and votive candles on silver platters will give your room instant elegance. This particular color combination is well suited to a four-star late-night Christmas Eve dinner.
8. Candles in warm colors create a cozy atmosphere and invite lingering conversations around the table as a fire crackles in the fireplace. Deep red or rust-colored candles make for a luxurious look when used with gold decorative elements. Ivory candles are the easiest to use because they work with everything.
Anne E. McBride is a writer and editor for consumer, trade, and academic food media. She is the director of the Experimental Cuisine Collective at New York University and of the Center for Food Media at the Institute of Culinary Education. She wrote Chocolate Epiphany and Bite Size with Chef François Payard, and is currently co-authoring a book about working in the food industry.
