It’s hard to believe that the 2015 Christmas season is fast approaching. For most Americans this represents a time of joy and family. There is nothing more exciting than seeing someone’s face light up when you give them exactly what they asked for.

Although Christmas is considered “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” it can also be a hard time for families on fixed incomes or large families can find it hard to make their Christmas budget stretch.

Learn a few great money saving tips to make DIY Christmas gift candles made from used mason jars. Low-cost mason jars can be found at virtually any second hand thrift store. With the commercialization of Christmas, why not go against the pre-packaged bath sets and gift cards and make something unique that your loved ones will appreciate in practicality and sentiment?

Handmade Candles

Handmade candles make great gifts and can be a fun way to include the kids in the gift-making process. New wax can be rather expensive at large craft retailers so here are 2 tricks:

Save your wax remnants from old candles throughout the year and just save the box of them until you are ready to make your candles.  You can also ask your friends and family to save old wax for you.

Purchase candles inexpensively at second hand stores or yard sales. Most large, higher quality candles cost around $10 and up at large retail stores. Candles can usually be purchased at second hand stores from 50 cents to $3.

[Photo source: Etsy] 

What You Need:

Wax or wax remnants

Wax color dye

You can purchase wax dye at craft stores or add color to your candles by using old crayons. This is a great money saving tip to get dozens of color options for free. Make sure to purchase enough to complete all of your candles.

Candle Wicks

You can purchase a package of wicks at any craft store. They can also be found inexpensively at www.amazon.com (this is also a great place to find inexpensive wax dye and wax scents which can be rather pricey).

Mason Jars

As mentioned above Mason jars (along with other types of glass jars/containers) can be purchased at almost any thrift store. This is another item you and your friends could save throughout the year. It’s also good to find various sizes to give you the option of gifting a set of candles.

Heating supplies

The best and least expensive way to melt your pot of wax is to use an old pot or deep fryer (candle making tin cans can be expensive and are unnecessary). You will also need an old wooden spoon to stir the wax and color and a pencil to hold the wick while the candle is drying. Be sure to cover your working surface in newspaper to keep the clean-up to a minimum.

Click here for more ideas how to decorate the exterior of your mason jar candles.

The “How To:”

Preparing the jars

Select your jars and make sure your wicks are long enough so a few inches hang over the top of the jar. You can use either a small amount of melted wax or a small amount of hot glue to adhere the metal end of the wick to the bottom of the jar. Once complete, wind the wick sticking up around a pencil tightly. Rest the pencil on the mouth of the jar, keeping the wick as evenly centered as possible.

Heating the wax

Make sure that this is done on a medium temperature and is stirred frequently. Remember not to use your good pots and pans for this and some was reside may remain and be difficult to remove.

Customize

Once the wax is melted, add wax color or crayons and melt thoroughly. You can also add any scented oil to the wax. For great ideas on commercial and natural scent ideas like fruit, herbs, essential oils and more, visit this helpful wikiHow page.

Fill jars

Now you’re ready to fill your mason jars with the heated wax. Caution is a must and a metal funnel may make the process easier. You can also transfer the wax into a glass measuring cup that has a lip to decrease spillage.

Wait

Wax will take several hours to harden. If you would like to do a multiple color layered candle then it’s best to pour one color, let it harden, and then add the next color and allow it to harden, continuing until the candle is full. Some homemade candles have a “caved in” affect so make sure to save a little of that color-matched wax to fill in the caved in spot if needed. Once candles are completely hardened you can remove the pencil and trim the excess wick to an inch or so above the wax.

Not only is candle making a fun craft you can do with the kids, it’s a great way to save money on gift giving.

For other great money saving tips on homemade Christmas gifts check out the blog articles below.

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