To wrap up the 12 days of Christmas series, we selected hand-poured candles. Whether you use beeswax or tallow, the fact that you made it yourself will be special for the recipient.
This year we have experimented with both types of candle-making. My husband does beekeeping as a side hustle and hobby, so we have beeswax on hand that I use by purifying it and then making candles and other products with. Inna bought a large amount of beef and we were left with lots of tallow that also had to be rendered and used in cooking, candles, and body products.
Most people do not have beeswax or tallow on hand, so if you’re one of those folks, you can just buy purified beeswax or tallow. To purify beeswax, it takes melting it down multiple times in a double boiler until it is clean and a beautiful yellow color. A similar heating up process is necessary for tallow, except we used a crockpot. You can read all about making tallow candles here.
How to Make Beeswax Candles
Make sure to use a bowl that you do not mind ruining because beeswax is pretty hard to wash off. Place your purified beeswax into the bowl and place on top of a simmering pot of water to melt it down. Once it’s almost all melted, add in the same amount of coconut oil. I like to weigh the ingredients so that it’s exact, but you can also eyeball it.
Next, add in essential oils. This is optional, but be prepare to use a lot of drops of essential oils to be able to have the scent come through. Beeswax has a very nice honey smell naturally, so I usually skip on the essential oils.
Prepare your candle jars by adding a wick inside and securing it with a pencil that way it doesn’t move around when you pour the beeswax. This time, I used a wooden wick that stood still on its own. Another method, as seen with the pinecone beeswax candle at the top of the post, is to use a mold with whatever shape you’d like.
Let the beeswax cool and harden and your candles are ready for gifting!
“On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me a beeswax/tallow candle, a handmade ornament, an assortment of desserts, homemade hot chocolate mix with marshmallows, a jar of home-grown dried herbs, a beautiful centerpiece arrangement, Christmas wreath, a jar of herb-infused olive oil, the wellness bundle, homemade potpourri blend, two bar soaps, and a loaf of sourdough bread.”
And that’s a wrap with our 12 days of Christmas series! Thank you for following along and reading all of our handmade gift ideas for this holiday season. Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!!!
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