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Whether it’s wafts of freshly-cut firs, delicious aromas of candied ginger, or sweet vanilla and cinnamon floating through your home, the best Christmas candles are a fast track to getting in the festive spirit. While they play second fiddle to seasonal emblems like your tree or menorah, we’re hard-pressed to think of a home accessory that delivers merriment as quickly as a holiday fragrance. The best part? You can delight in it long after the Tannenbaum is taken to the curb and the stockings are hauled back to the attic. Indeed, Christmas holiday candles that evoke a wholesome evening spent by the fireplace are an effortless way to maintain good spirits throughout the dark and cold days, while making sure your abode smells absolutely intoxicating.
Each year, top candle brands reveal their holiday collections with much fanfare, either re-releasing all-stars from previous winters or debuting new concoctions that play into women’s perfume and cologne trends. While these tend to sell out fast in the lead-up to Christmas (they make the perfect luxury holiday gifts, after all), you can still snag many of them — replete with arboreal notes of pine, cedarwood, and birch, as well as citrusy and spicy notes — after the holiday rush.
Beyond a range of spirited scents, holiday luxury candles come in all shapes in sizes, from petite votive sets to gargantuan centerpiece-worthy vessels. The prices, of course, vary accordingly. This means you have options aplenty when shopping for yourself or purchasing a candle as a treat for your wife, BFF, or in-laws (candle gifts are a winning option for the trickiest ones on your shopping list!).
Since holiday candles are a hot commodity, once these limited-edition fragrances sell out, they’re typically gone for good. Ahead, the best Christmas candles to shop while you still can… and then enjoy all winter long.
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Nest Holiday Candle
Nest candles are known for their strong throw — this eight-ounce option is potent enough to fill your living room with notes of clove, cinnamon, and pine in mere minutes. When the seasonal candle launches each November, it quickly climbs Amazon’s bestseller lists with thousands of testers raving about the sophisticated scent. WWD Shop editors love to package it up with cookies or cocktail napkins as a hostess gift for the holidays and well beyond.
Price upon publish date of this article: $35
Trudon Arosa Classic Candle
Splurging on yourself should be status quo in any season, but especially the often-dreary wintertime. The Trudon Arosa candle, it turns out, is the definition of a splurge. With a fragrance marked by rose and amber and a Château de Versailles–inspired inside laid out in 24-carat gold leaf, luxury will never smell as good as this. Hurry though: Inventory is already low (and for good reason).
Price upon publish date of this article: $150
Ralph Lauren Holiday Candle
Consider yourself lucky to get your hands on this Ralph Lauren candle — it was fully sold out on the brand’s site for a while but is finally (and joyously!) back in stock. A berry-forward choice, it features red currant and juniper notes that come together for a bitter, slightly sweet effect you’ll love to light in the den. That ruby red glass holder and matching plaid box make it ideal for gifting, too, so be sure to grab multiple.
Price upon publish date of this article: $71.25
Diptyque Sapin (Pine Tree) Candle
This luxe candle is made for all those whose happy place is in the middle of a forest, shrouded by the scents of pine needles and resin. You’ll fall in love with its woody scent and upscale exterior — courtesy of a felt label that truly seals the deal on the beauty of this Diptyque offering. Reviewers laud it for being fresh-smelling rather than sweet, the fact that it’s fragrant even when not burning, and the jewel-toned green holder that helps it double as an art object in the home.
Price upon publish date of this article: $86
Carriere Freres Winter Flower Candle
Carriere Freres’s latest made-in-France winter candle collection features three scents: Winter Forest, Winter Fire, and Winter Flower. The latter one grants a glimpse of spring during otherwise drab winter days, which make it the ultimate mood booster (and a stylish one at that). You can enjoy the candle’s tasteful combination of cinnamon, clove, candied fruit, white flowers, cashmere wood, honey, and leather during the its 40 to 45 hours of burn time… and proceed to get another one right after.
Price upon publish date of this article: $85
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Mon Beau Sapin Candle
Missing your Christmas fir after the holidays? This Maison Francis Kurkdjian candle will allow you to relish the resinous scent throughout the coldest months of the year, what with its scent profile of wood and musk. The fancy porcelain jar in white and gold will grace your interiors, too, and encourage you to light up this waxen beauty at every available opportunity.
Price upon publish date of this article: $95
D.S. & Durga Portable Xmas Tree Candle
Really missing your now-discarded Christmas tree? We’re right there with you, but this seven-ounce candle provides just the solution: acting like a kind of tree in a jar. Its top notes of pine, heart notes of clove and conifers, and base notes of amber incense are bound to add festivity to even the most commonplace of winter evenings — ensuring you feel the holiday spirit in your heart beyond the actual holidays.
Price upon publish date of this article: $75
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Meet the Authors
Claire Sullivan is the Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD, where she writes and edits beauty, fashion and lifestyle stories. She has over six years of experience as a writer and editor for national media outlets including Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, and Byrdie. She keeps her finger on the pulse of all things related to beauty, including fragrance trends and top candles for the holiday season.
Stacia Datskovska is a Senior Commerce Writer at WWD. Previously, she worked at ELLE DECOR as an assistant digital editor, covering all things luxury, culture, and lifestyle through a design lens. Her bylines over the past five years have appeared in USA Today, Baltimore Sun, Teen Vogue, Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and more. Prior to joining ELLE DECOR, Datskovska learned the ins and outs of e-commerce at Mashable, where she tested products, covered tentpole sales events, and curated gift guide roundups. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and international relations. Datskovska regularly reports on luxury products in the home space, fancy candles included.
