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
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.
- Make the most of your festive selections by learning how to make your candles last longer
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.
- Click here to see our Christmas candles choices for the UK
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Sign up to the Homes & Gardens newsletter
Design expertise in your inbox – from inspiring decorating ideas and beautiful celebrity homes to practical gardening advice and shopping round-ups.
1. Frosted Cherry and Clove
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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.
-
How to make a rug smell nice – and stop bad odors from returning in the future
A beautiful rug is the focal point of any room. Bust musty odors for good with this professional advice
By Ottilie Blackhall Published
-
How to design a house perfect for parties – tour the stylish London home created for a couple who host infamous festive gatherings
Interior design firm Pringle & Pringle was instructed to ensure the new layout of this property was conducive to housing guests and get togethers
By Emma J Page Published
-
Poinsettia care tips – discover how to make this festive favorite flourish
These expert poinsettia care tips will help this festive favorite bloom throughout the holiday season
By Melanie Griffiths Last updated
-
Christmas hallway decorations – 20 ideas for your entryway and beyond
Christmas hallway decor is a wonderful way to make transitional spaces feel festive. These ideas stretch from entryways to landings
By Rhoda Parry Published
-
How to decorate a Christmas tree – simple steps to a showstopping design
It should be the star of the show in the holiday season. Discover how to decorate a Christmas tree the expert way
By Ailis Brennan Published
-
How to wrap gifts this Christmas – plus 20 stylish gift wrapping ideas for Christmas Day
Guarantee your gifts look as gorgeous as the tree on Christmas Day with help from these beautiful present wrapping ideas
By Ginevra Benedetti Published
-
Christmas recipes – to spoil your friends and family with this festive season
Our celebrations may be a little different in 2020 but these Christmas recipes – perfect for New Year, too – are the ideal indulgence we all need
By Alice Hart Published
-
Kelly Hoppen reveals her favorite Christmas decorating tips – and two are bombshells
Appearing on This Morning this week, Kelly Hoppen gave a Christmas decorating masterclass that was as notable for its surprises as it was for its advice
By Lucy Searle Published
-
Design house: Take a festive tour of cookery writer Skye McAlpine's elegant London home
With a grand piano, three trees and lots of glittering gold, the home of leading cookery writer Skye McAlpine is ideal for Christmas gatherings
By Jennifer Ebert Published
-
Game bird recipes – to host the perfect festive feast
For a new twist on the classic Christmas meal, Alice Hart serves up six delicious recipes using tasty British birds
By Alice Hart Published