No doubt we have all done it: purchased wonderful, oversized pillar candles only to replace them before they are finished because they start losing their shape. This week’s tip is about having candles last indefinitely, long after the party is over.
How? Burn your new candle, but only until the empty well around the wick is deep enough for a tea light to fit when the candle is cool. Simply pop a tea light in and light it every time instead. When needed, replace the tea light. Tea lights are readily available and inexpensive.
This works especially well when the candle is higher than eye level (on a fireplace mantle, shelf, buffet) where you will never see the tea light. Of course, you can burn the pillar candle down even further if you want to nestle the tea lights out of view completely; the deeper you go the more challenging you may find it to get the tea lights in and out.
By burning a fresh tea light rather than the candle itself, your beautiful decorative candles continue to look their best year after year.