Make your own candles – instructions and tips

No snow has fallen yet today, but you can already smell it when you breathe in the cold winter air in the forest. Fabian and his children Giulia and Yannis have headed into the forest on this Sunday morning to try something new with Brigitte and her three boys: moulding forest candles over the fire.

There was lots of candle wax left over from Christmas this year, too, from the Advent wreath, the candles on the Christmas tree and scented candles. You don’t need to pack much in your backpack to melt and remould them – and you’ve probably already got most of it at home.

Guide to making candles – here’s how

But before cutting the wax into small pieces and removing old wick residue and dirt, Giulia and Fabian light a fire. They then take a short walk in the woods around the fire, as the children want to collect aromatic pine needles and pine cones to decorate the cup candles.

Melting and moulding wax

The campfire is crackling, so it is time to heat the wax in an old tin can. Alternatively, you can fill a scout’s kettle with water and melt the wax in a water bath. The new candles are moulded in enamel cups. The good thing is that as soon as the candle has hardened, you can remove it from the mould and just stand it up. If this doesn’t work, it’s probably too warm, so put the candle outside in the cold for two hours. Or, leave it to burn as a beautiful lantern in the cup.

The wax is melted while being stirred constantly. Before pouring it into the cups, we attach the cut candle wick to a paper clip and stick it to the bottom of the cup with a little wax. Next, we tie this wick to the top of a small branch, which is placed across the cup to hold the wick vertically.

The thick gloves aren’t just worn because of the cold weather – they protect Jaris’ hands while he pours the wax into the cups. Now the still liquid candles are decorated with pine needles, ferns and small nuts. And because candle moulding makes you hungry, Brigitte prepares a snack in the next room.