Gift-Giving
Candles are always welcome gifts — especially when you have made them yourself. Giving your art away is gratifying when you know how much pleasure you are providing for a friend or loved one.
Theme gifts are always appropriate. These can be based on specific holidays or religious celebrations, or made in a person's favorite color. For example, when I redecorated my home in sage and peach, I received a dozen lovely handmade tapers, six of each color that exactly matched my décor! Be aware that candlemakers have their personal trade secrets — when I exclaimed over the colors and said, “How did you get those colors?” the answer was along the lines of, “Oh, I just fooled around until I got it right.”
If you are giving candles as holiday presents, you can make candle sets appropriate for whichever one you are honoring. Giving your handmade candles in the correct colors and holders and quantities to light for each night of these oncoming holidays is an especially thoughtful gift. The recipient will appreciate an early arrival of such a gift in order to plan their celebration with family and friends, using your gift as a showpiece.
Traditionally, New Englanders believe that a gift bayberry candle, burned down to the end on New Year's Eve, will bring the recipient many benefits in the coming year. They say, “A bayberry candle burned to the socket, puts luck in the home, food in the larder, and gold in the pocket.”
For a single candle, taper or pillar, simply roll it in a sheet of tissue paper and twist the ends of the tissue, securing with a ribbon tie (or a twist tie). To wrap pairs, wrap one first, overlapping it with paper to protect from scratching, and then lay the other in the paper and wrap, twist, and tie. You can do this with multiples, too.
See-through wrapping is particular nice for candles. You can use cellophane or plastic food wrap for bundles of tapers, tying a ribbon around the heavier bottom end. A strip of interesting fabric that doesn't clash with the candle's color can also bind several candles together for an attractively presented gift.
You can also use construction paper to make a holder for the candles. Cut a section about half the height of your candles. Roll it first around each candle, making a tube, and then continue rolling around the others so that in the end each candle is nestled in its own protected enclosure. Wrap the end of the paper totally around the package. Tape and tie with a decorative ribbon and bow.
