Green Candle Arrangements for the Holiday Season

[Organic soy tea light from Dirt Candles]

I actually meant to get this post up in time for Christmas, however, things got crazy. Still, I decided to go ahead and post in case you’re planning a green New Year’s Eve bash (or you can bookmark this post for next year’s holiday season).

Here are some green candle holiday or party arrangement ideas…

First the candles:

You want clean burning candles of course. Great choices include soy candles or beeswax candles. If you’re looking for safe, green, and long term candle light, go with LED candle lights.

Arrange your candles:

Use glass: Recycled glass candle holders are a super eco-friendly choice. Even if you can’t find recycled glass, glass is still an eco-smart choice. Arrange glass candle holders on a table, or on a tray or plate. Place recycled glass beads or rocks around the candles.

Use real rocks: Which look just as good as glass, it’s just a different sort of mood. For a casual family-minded get together, you could even have your kiddos paint the rocks.

Use pretend crystals: This is a great New Year’s eve decor idea. Place your candles in a wine glass, bowl, or on a elegant platter. Sprinkle recycled rock gravel in pretty colors around your candle. The best place I’ve seen to get crystal looking recycled rocks is Recycled Rocks! They have really cool glass rocks in various sizes and beautiful colors, such as…

4-6″ Glass Rocks in Cobalt and Pink (many more colors)

Recycled Glass Gravel in Clear and Avon Blue (many more colors)

Glitter up with stolen art gear: If you’ve got kids, you most likely have the supplies you need already to create a shiny candle arrangement – no buying anything new. Grab some acid-free glitter and a short, squat silver or tin tray (think trays look better; as in under an inch sides. Place one or two larger candles in the center of your tray, place smaller candles around the large ones. Fill in the bottom of the tray with glitter and some random glitter stars.

Use natural items: I recently saw this really pretty idea for floating candles in bowls or glass of water, along with cranberries. It’s a cool idea and without the holiday greens (that you’ll see if you visit the link) you could use this idea for various winter holidays and events.

You can also arrange flowers in your floating water with candles, or place any sort of pine cones, greens, flowers, or fruits around candles on a plate or tray. Decorating For Autumn: Fall Tablescapes and Floral Arrangements – is autumn based, but is actually a good general tutorial about how to make natural arrangements. Plus common mistakes are discussed. It’s a good read if you’re looking to incorporate nature into your candle arrangements.

[Various candle images via stock.xchng, unless otherwise noted]