HOLIDAY DECORATION : Keep Home Fires Burning With Candles

As the evenings grow darker, candles once again are taken out of cupboards and drawers to add a soft light. During the holiday season especially, candles seem to burn brighter whether they’re used to decorate Christmas tables or in menorahs to celebrate the eight days of Hanukkah.

In fact, it’s hard to imagine a holiday or occasion without candles: Birthday candles topping a cake. Stately white candles at weddings. Brightly lit jack-o’-lanterns. Citronella torches at outdoor parties and barbecues. And any variety of novelty candles for other special occasions.

“Christmas is a very popular time for candles,” said Phyllis Gay, owner of Candle Crafters, an old-fashioned candle shop at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. “People always seem to enjoy candles. They’re a simple and relatively inexpensive pleasure.”

Candles can cost from 30 cents up to $60.

In Gay’s shop, candles range from elegant tapers and scented votives to outrageous novelty candles in the shapes of pigs, dragons, dolphins, unicorns . . . even a Nativity scene.

Do-it-yourselfers can dip their own candles in one of 14 colors available.

“There’s something very nostalgic about candles and candle-making,” Gay admits. “We have a lot of parents and children dipping candles here. At first, I would have suspected that dipping would be of more interest to children, but we have at least as many adults coloring their own candles as well.

“I think people like the idea of creating something of their own. It’s fun for me to watch the adults. They become like little children at play.”

The fact that it only takes a few minutes to dip the candles also adds to their appeal.

Gay has classified her customers into two primary groups: those who enjoy candles for their own beauty, and those who want a candle to add to an existing collection.

“For instance, with the novelty candles, someone who may collect castles wants a castle candle to add to their collection,” said Gay.

With a return to Victorian and country-inspired decor, candles are once again making a comeback as a decorative device.

“People like having candlesticks hanging from holders or in a candle ring in a window,” Gay said. “It adds a certain warmth and feeling of home. And with the variety of candles currently available, there’s a look for just about everyone.”

Hurricane lamps are also experiencing a return to popularity and so are candles for the various styles of these lamps.

These paraffin creations can take on almost any form.

Tapers in a wide range of sizes are always popular. For the holidays, many take on a peppermint stripe. Candles molded to resemble shining snowballs are used to provide holiday cheer as well as novelty candles in the shapes of snowmen, sleighs and old St. Nick.

A tradition from south of the border is also becoming increasingly popular in Southern California--the use of luminarias to light up walkways. In its simplest form, a luminaria is a sand-filled brown paper bag, with a small votive candle placed in the center. The bags are lined up along a sidewalk or entry way and provide a cheery welcome to those entering.

If brown paper isn’t quite your style, however, bags are also available in red and green with Christmas trees and other patterns punched in them.

Votive candles are also making a comeback and are often grouped together. According to Gay, it’s not necessary to have the same style. Mixing and matching is fine.

No time to bake but you still want that mouth-watering scent? No problem. Simply select a gingerbread-scented candle, complete in its own jar. If it’s a holiday scent you’re after, choose candles that emit such favorites as pine or apple. Of course, there are the old standbys as well: vanilla, dozens of floral scents, orange and lavender.

Looking for a unique way to relax? Try tossing a few floating candles in the bathtub if you’re feeling adventurous (there shouldn’t be a mess as they burn, according to Gay. The wax simply evaporates as it burns just as it does when candles are burned elsewhere).

Candles come in a variety of qualities as well. If you’re looking for a long-lasting candle, chances are, you’ll pay more for it.

“There are different qualities of wax and the better quality will naturally burn longer,” Gay said. “Obviously a 30-cent candle will not burn as long as a candle you purchased for a couple of dollars. Unfortunately, you really can’t tell the quality of the wax just by looking at it. You can tell once you start to burn the candle. For that reason, if you need a long lasting candle, expect to pay a little more.”

Some, however, like the look of dripping wax. For this reason, some candles are specially designed with a softer wax to burn more easily.

Small candles generally burn for a few hours. Larger tapes and novelties can burn for five to six hours or more depending on the size.

While some recommend freezing or refrigerating candles to extend their life, Gay isn’t sure that it adds that much. However, she does recommend storing candles in a cool place. That also means making sure these wax creations aren’t sitting in a car either.

“Anyplace that gets too warm can melt or soften the wax,” she said. “It seems pretty obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people forget that the car can get very warm even during cold weather. They’ll put candles in there while they’re running errands and some arrive back to find them misshapen.”

If you’re planning on mailing candles, Gay recommends wrapping them and placing them in a box, adding plenty of padding, and putting this box in a larger box.

“Mail candles early in the week,” she said. “That way, you won’t have the candles sitting around in a warehouse somewhere over the weekend.”