Christmas

The best Christmas candles of 2020 – where to buy the must-have scents of the season

Our curated selection of the ultimate Christmas candles to add an extra dimension to the holidays this year

Christmas candles
Photography/Jan Baldwin
(Image credit: Future)

Is there anything that instantly transports you to a Holiday state of mind than the delightful scent of a Christmas candle?

While luxury candles are, of course, popular year round, there's just something extra special about selecting the perfect Christmas candle - or candles - to scent your home and set the atmosphere each year. 

Seasonal fragrances, from cloves or cinnamon to eucalyptus or fir, are a powerful tool in adapting your mood and putting you right there in the midst of the festive spirit.

The vessels and containers, too, are absolutely to look forward to. Whether you collect the limited edition offering from your go-to brand, or you're searching for the perfect design to suit your holiday scheme, there's a votive for your home this season.

We've selected our absolute favorites for this year, and so whichever lights a spark for you, there should be a Christmas buy for you.

The best US Christmas candles

Based in the US of A or buying for someone who is? These are the best Christmas candles to shop for. Click here to see our Christmas candles choices for the UK.

1. Moonlit Fir

Christmas candles Diptyque

(Image credit: Diptyque)

Moonlit Fir Candle, $78, Diptyque Paris

Iconic French brand Diptyque have launched three new fragrances for the 2020 Holiday season -  Floral Majesty, Amber Feather and our favourite Moonlit Fir.

Contained in a lively green glass jar and black lid, this candles is scented with the invigorating pine, eucalyptus and peppermint, capturing the feeling of an aromatic forest.

2. Holiday Candles

Christmas candles Bloomingdales

(Image credit: Cire Trudon)

Cire Trudon Holiday Candle Gift Set, $210, Bloomingdale's

With the individual candles sold out in most stores, the gift set of the three Cire Trudon Christmas 2020 candles is the only way to go

The candles - Fir, Gabriel and Gloria - are presented in a unique glass inspired by champagne buckets. These Tuscan hand-crafted designs are a truly luxurious choice. 

3. Cypress & Fir

Christmas candles Macys

(Image credit: Paddywax)

Paddywax Cypress & Fir Ceramic Tree Stacked Candle, Was $38 Now $30.40, Macy's

More than meets the eye - this muted ombré Christmas Tree from Paddywax is actually two stackable ceramic candles and a matching incense holder.

The fragrance notes include Douglas Fir, pine, cypress, mistletoe leaves and bergamot.

4. Winter Harbor 

Christmas candles Serena and Lily

(Image credit: Serena and Lily)

Winter Harbour Bark Candle, $98, Serena and Lily

For a coastal home, choose a candle that reflects your surroundings this winter.

This bark-encased candle has key notes of smoke, orange spice, fir and pine, to keep you feeling cozy even is the ocean is raging.

5. St. Nicholas

Christmas candles Jayson Home

(Image credit: SOH Melbourne)

SOH Melbourne St. Nicholas Candle, Was $70 Now $56, Jayson Home

From Australia comes this handcrafted soy and wax candles in a delightfully curved matte green glass jar.

The fresh, earthy candles has scents of pine, fir needles, ash and smoke.

6. Holiday Pop

Christmas candles Jonathan Adler

(Image credit: Jonathan Adler)

Holiday Pop Candle, Was $48 Now $36*, Jonathan Adler

Add some glitz to your table this Christmas or hostess gift with this (reusable) golden vessel. 

This Jonathan Adler candle is infused with scents of crisp winter air - pine, berries, cinnamon and clove.

*With Code CYBER

7. Crushed Candy Cane

Christmas candles Anthropologie

(Image credit: Voluspa)

Voluspa Winter Japonica, $22, Anthropologie

A three wick candle in a prettily patterned tin, this Voluspa design is a perfect gifting option.

The candle is scented with tarocco blood orange, goji berries, clove and white cypress. 

8. Cider and Clove

Christmas candles World Market

(Image credit: World Market)

Cider And Clove Filled Jar Candle, $16.99, World Market

The scent of mulled cider creates such a comforting, seasonal atmosphere, and this candles mixes in clove, orange peel and cinnamon, too, to offer all the festive feels.

The wooden lid to the jar adds a lovely, rustic touch, too.  

9. Portable Xmas Tree

Christmas candles Nordstrom

(Image credit: D.S. & DURGA)

D.S. & Durga Portable Xmas Tree, £65, Nordstrom

This limited edition holiday candles brings the smell of Christmas trees into your home - perfect whether you've got an artificial tree or if you're a pine scent addict.

The soy- and vegetable-wax option has notes of of grand Pacific fir and Silesian forest.

10. Winter Bouquet

Christmas candles MacKenzie-Childs

(Image credit: MacKenzie-Childs)

Winter Bouquet, $88, MacKenzie-Childs

Iconic kitchenwares brand MacKenzie-Childs' range Glow Home Apothecary has a fresh, clean scent with this Winter bouquet candle.

Think notes of a forest in bloom, mixed with the warmth of of spicy cloves.


The best UK Christmas candles

In the UK? These Christmas candles are our favorite picks.

1. Frosted Cherry and Clove

Christmas Candles Jo Malone

(Image credit: Jo Malone London)

Frosted Cherry and Clove Home Candle, £52, Jo Malone London

Well known for their limited edition candles, Jo Malone has a few new Christmas options this year, but our top choice is the warm and juicy Frosted Cherry and Clove.

The sweet cherry meets spicy clove, warming cinnamon and amber. The candle comes in a beautiful Art Deco inspired-design glass jar.


2. Winter Indulgence

Christmas candles White Company

(Image credit: The White Company)

Winter Botanical Medium Candle, Was £28 Now £22.40*, The White Company

While the largest size of this candle may have sold out over Black Friday, you can still have a chance to scent your home with the medium version. 

This  candle infused with cinnamon, orange and berries is a classic from The White Company, and no Christmas living room is complete without one one the coffee table. 

*With Code MAGICAL20


3. Juniper Jazz

Christmas candles John Lewis

(Image credit: Molton Brown)

Molton Brown Juniper Jazz Candle, Was £42 Now £35.70, John Lewis and Partners

This Roaring Twenties inspired candle will act as a chic addition to your candle offerings this Christmas.

Fragranced with metallic nites, mint and juniper berries, it's an enlivening scent that might just get you doing the Charleston.

4. Diptyque Holiday Collection

Christmas candles Diptyque

(Image credit: Diptyque)

Set of three Christmas candles, £92, Diptyque

Part of the Holiday Collection is the charming animals that are stars of the story and each one is represented by a new scent. 

Floral Majesty (the lion) has the scent of roses warmed with spices, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon; Amber Feather (the swan) has citrus notes with warming orange, cinnamon and ginger; Moonlit Fir (above, the stag), has the scent of a forest with underlying notes of eucalyptus, rosemary and peppermint. 

Buy them as a set of three small candles or as full size individual candles.

5. Neom Organics candle

Christmas candles

(Image credit: Neom)

Organics London Real Luxury Scented Candle, £16, Neom

This candle contains the highest possible percentage of the purest possible essential oils – a complex blend of pure, natural vegetable wax and 100% natural fragrance with nothing else added. 

The therapeutic scent of 16 pure essential oils has been expertly blended: there's rose to lift your mood and lime and black pepper to stimulate the mind. Warm afternoons in Moroccan kasbahs, flanked by thousands of damask pink buds and blousy petals? Yes please.

6. Holiday Hearth

Christmas Candles Yankee Candle

(Image credit: Yankee Candle)

Holiday Hearth, Was £23.99 Now £16.79, Yankee Candle

With a delightful 20% off candles at Yankee Candle this Black Friday, you can really stock up for Christmas.

One of our favorites is the warm, earthy and cozy Holiday Hearth, perfect for adding atmosphere when gathering with friends and families this holiday season.


7. Christmas Candle Making Kit

Christmas candles Not On The High Street

(Image credit: Denys & Fielding)

Denys & Fielding Christmas Candle Making Kit, £20, Not On The High Street

Give yourself or a friend not just a candle, bugt a relaxing and rewarding activity,

This sweet candle making kit comes with a small enamel container for your candle, soy wax, wick, Christmas-inspired essential oils, stirrers and full instructions.


8. Frankincense & Myrrh

Christmas candles M&S

(Image credit: Marks and Spencer)

Frankincense & Myrrh Candle, £9.50, Marks and Spencer

What could be more festive than a golden candle offering notes of  frankincense and myrrh?

At such a great price point, this is the perfect for a hostess gift, or to simply stock up your home. 

Thea Babington-Stitt
Content Editor

Thea Babington-Stitt is a Content Editor at Future. She has been an interiors journalist for nearly 10 years and has held positions at LivingEtc, Country Homes & Interiors and Homes & Gardens. Currently, she is writing for Ideal Home and Style At Home's websites and magazines.