There is a song by Debby Boone called, “You Light Up My Life”. I have memories of my dad singing this song in the car when it would come on the radio. I found the lyrics of the song and they seem so feminine which makes me appreciate my memories of my dad even more because he would belt out the words so confidently.

I have been thinking about this song a lot because I am really digging candles these days and so I’ve been “lighting up” a lot lately. Candles make great thoughtful pinches because there is a wide range of price points for candles, there are many scents to choose from and EVERYONE can use a candle. It’s a trifecta pinch.

I have always appreciated candles whenever I received them as gifts but I must share something with you. Before I moved into this house in Denver, I rarely lit them. Around the holidays I would light candles that were a part of the theme. For example, Halloween candles, St. Patrick’s Day candles etc. but if the candle was a gift from someone, I almost always put it away in a drawer with my collection of candles. When Covid hit, I lit candles that I bought at the store and still didn’t touch the candles that I had received as gifts. A few reasons why I wouldn’t use the gifted candles:

1. Prior and after Covid, I was busy just trying to stay above water. I never stopped to smell the roses let alone make the time to reach into the collection of candles to select one and light it. Ironically, if I was already at Target, occasionally I would pick one up and have no problem lighting that one.

2. Being a mom, I was constantly in and out of the house so my fear of forgetting a lit candle and burning down the house is a legit reason why I rarely used my sweet, thoughtful candles. When we were all sequestered in our homes for Covid, I confidently burned candles that I bought myself because there would be no leaving the house.

3. But the real reason my candles collected dust for years prior to this mind shift is that I coveted the gifts and deemed the candles as special. I was always thinking I would save them to use for a special occasion.

So when we moved to Denver I knew that our home, for months, would be INCOMPLETE (that’s a Broncos’ word that our opponents hate to hear). I had packed all these “special occasion” candles to bring to the new house and I decided that if my house couldn’t look like a home, it could at least smell like a home. I sparked up candles and actually used them all to the very last drop of wax. Now, when someone gives our family a candle, I take it right out and burn that mother! There is no waiting for the perfect occasion. So far, I have loved all the scents that we have received except one which surprised me because it’s by Nest and I love Nest candles.

The candle mind shift has been a good one for me: use the candles today. Friends and family give us candles because they want us to USE the candle. With few exceptions, saving a candle for some wonderful occasion is not why we give them to others. There’s a small process of giving a candle to someone and choosing a scent is part of the thoughtfulness. Since there are so many scents to choose from, we can either pick one out that we love and want to share or we can choose a scent that we already know they would enjoy. Sometimes we give candles made by a company that we want to support. Whatever the reason is, there is usually a very kind reason behind giving someone a candle and I can almost bet that letting it sit unused, collecting dust is not one of them.

Some lovely occasions to give candles as pinches could be: birthdays, thank you, housewarming, new mom, condolences, holiday, congratulations, “I’m thinking of you”, hostess thank you, cheering up, etc. No reason is also a lovely reason.

My only dilemma about candles is what to do with the containers once the candle has completely burned. I am trying not to be a hoarder but the “specialness” of the candle is hard for me to let go of and toss into the recycling bin. I always try to repurpose but I can’t always use the containers. I think about the old days when candles were a necessity and they were not sold in wonderful containers that were too nice to throw away.

I am in search of an organization/cause that will accept my empty candle container donations because I cannot hoard them and I cannot bear to recycle them. I would feel much better if the containers were to be reused by someone else. I’d love to help keep the joy going. Maybe someone will read this post and share their thoughts on what to do with empty candle containers. If so, I would sing to them, as Debby Boone and my dad have sung, “….you give me hope to carry on. “

Pinches,

Barb