I used to LOVE candles.
When I lived on my own, in the life I had just prior to this one, I burned candles all the time. I loved them for fragrance, ambiance and vibes.
Lighting one’s favorite candle feels like a small but luxurious self-care ritual. I loved to light candles for the bath, before journaling, and just about anytime. I love the way they look, smell and even the small amount of warmth they give off.
Let’s face it, candles are a tiny pathway to joy, magic and pleasure. Candles are a vibe.
I somehow got hooked up with a Partylite candle lady back in the late 90s/early oughts and I was one of her best customers. I loved having Partylite candle parties and still have some of their candle holders… and likely even some of their candles.
But at some point, my love of pets overrode my love of candles. When I had my parrot, I couldn’t burn scented candles as much because they’re not good for birds. And cats and dogs don’t always mix well with lit candles – cats are curious and like to knock things off shelves or tables. Dogs with long, wagging tails are a major hazard around open flames.
Then, I became a parent, and candles aren’t great around babies and toddlers, either. For several years, I did not have scented wax in my life. And then, once again the multilevel marketing machine found me (they can spot a sucker a mile away!). A fellow mom during Zoe’s dance class days was a Scentsy rep and my neighbor had several of their wax warmers.
I became enamored with Scentsy wax warmers as a safer way to have the glow and fragrance of candles in my life again. I had a virtual party or two, collected several pretty, light-up warmers (I probably have one for every significant room of my house) and amassed a bunch of scented wax to melt.
It wasn’t until Z hit her teen years and fell in love with real, honest-to-goodness candles herself that I found myself drawn back to the flame. There’s really nothing like lighting a candle! It sets a mood like nothing else, except perhaps a roaring fire in the fireplace.
What is it about candles – is it the small, inherent danger of having a lit flame in one’s home? The idea of harnessing and controlling something that could otherwise be so terrifying and destructive? The fact that candles feel like such a throwback to less technological and delightfully simpler times? Or even just the lingering appeal of that beloved old song from RENT?
Whatever the case, I recently bought myself an actual candle for the first time in years. People have given me small candles as gifts over the past decade or so, but I typically find myself re-gifting them or using them as decor without ever lighting them; many of my beloved crystals sit atop candle tins or lidded jars.
Then, my teen daughter introduced me to the joys of wooden wick candles, which make a delightful crackling sound as they burn, adding another sensory layer to the experience. It’s like having a tiny, fragrant fireplace in a candle. I’m obsessed with them!
Created in either 2001 or 2006, depending on which internet source you believe, wooden wick candles are the latest and coolest innovation in the approximately 3,000-year-long history of candles. They appear to be marketed to men – they even have them at Menards – but I love them, too.
You can find wooden wick candles in many stores or online, so you don’t have to go through the awkward process of finding a friend or acquaintance who sells them, roping in your friends for a party or fending off social media friend requests and sales calls for the remainder of your life.
Are you a candle person, or have you outgrown them – and have you experienced the sensory wonder of wooden wick candles yet? If not, they could possibly make a candle person out of you again. They sure have with me!
