12 of the best Christmas candles to make your home smell festive

Burn time: 110-150 hours
Size: 22 oz
Scent: Sweet and spicy
Wax: Mineral wax
Price: $29

Having been in the business for nearly 50 years, Yankee knows a thing or two about Christmas candles, and this particular one leaves no crumbs! The buttery-sweet vanilla cookie scent smells almost good enough to eat. If you're a real connoisseur of candles, you might be able to pick up hints of nutmeg and cinnamon too. Just so you know, while this jar is decorated with the 'old' design, the brand has given its jars a modern makeover. 

Burn time: 40 hours
Size: 6.5 oz
Scent: Peppermint, sugar cookie, vanilla
Wax: Food-grade paraffin wax base
Price: $26

Presenting the "Mariah Carey" of Christmas candles. Just like the Queen of Pop, the classic colorway and familiar fragrance that make up this product are comforting reminders that we're counting down to the holidays. And year after year all we'll want for Christmas is you, oh minty waxlight. It's sweet, cool, and crisp all at the same time. I'm 100% here for the novelty container too.

Burn time: 50 hours
Size: 4.1 oz
Scent: Sweet
Wax: Paraffin and soy wax
Price: $5

No, that price isn’t a typo. This red Christmas candle really is just $5, making it an ideal festive candle for those on a budget or who want to mix up their scents seasonally. It has notes of clove, vanilla, and orange, which are all classic Christmas scents. The fun red color and Christmas lights label are very eye-catching, too. Target shoppers say it has a primarily spicy aroma, which marries well with the sweeter and fruiter scents.

Burn time: 33 hours burn time
Size: 4.9 oz
Scent: Spicy and warming
Wax: Mineral wax
Price: $29

Blended with sweet and spicy touches of cinnamon, rich warming cloves, fresh berries, and zesty orange, this epitomizes the Christmas spirit, without the need to create a holiday-inspired simmer pot. This scent has been in circulation for more than 20 years, proving just how popular it is. The beautifully illustrated festive gift box makes a special treat or present, and it can be paired with the matching room spray and reed diffuser.

Burn time: 20-50 (depending on size)
Size: 2.6-6.52 oz
Scent: Spiced fruit
Wax: Hand-poured natural wax
Price: $19.50-$55

This organic ’s beautiful organic votive in matt white with a glam gold label is certain to be the subject of admiring looks at your next holiday get-together, but it’s just as wonderful kept all to yourself.  The warming spicy scent, with bright bursts of mandarin and sweet tonka, is reminiscent of Christmas cake. Plus, despite being very sweet, it won't give you (or your guests) a headache. 

Burn time: 50 hours
Size: 8.5 oz
Scent: Woody/spicy
Wax: Coconut and beeswax candle
Price: $48

Sure Jesus may have been #gifted gold, Frankensense, and Murr, but in the 21st Century, this is the next best thing. Featuring  Nigerian ginger, Indonesian nutmeg, Guatemalan cardamom, and Somalian incense, this woody and exotic cocktail of spices will give your home a cozy, but regal feel. 

Burn time: 50 hours
Size: 14.5 oz
Scent: Outdoorsy
Wax: Paraffin and soy wax
Price: $24.95

Let’s be real: Real Christmas trees are beautiful, but they are so high-maintenance. If you don’t have the patience to pick up all the needles but love the smell of them, this candle is a brilliant option. Bath and Body Works candle reviewers say it’s super strong and refreshing, thanks to the notes of balsam, eucalyptus, fir branches, and cedarwood.

Burn time: 20 hours
Size: 3.17 oz
Scent: Herbaceous
Wax: Rapeseed wax
Price: From $35

We can't get enough of the Skog candle around Christmas time — it's the best representation of the scent of Christmas trees around. The trouble with some pine candles is they can smell a little like toilet freshener. Straight-up pine isn't necessarily gonna give you that Christmas tree vibe. This candle, on the other hand, really does, by combining pine with the fresh and sweet aroma of lily-of-the-valley, giving it a resinous and lingering quality we adore.

Burn time: 50 hours
Size: 8 oz
Scent: Woodsy
Wax: Soy wax and coconut base
Price: $62

An essential for all wintertime enthusiasts, Jackfir's crisp, outdoorsy fragrance is everything you could want this season. Soothing, inviting, and 100% plant-based, this is a candle you'll look forward to lighting on cold days. Its mix of cedar wood, pine needle, lavender, and bergamot is refreshing, but you might find yourself wishing that the scent carried from one room to another more noticeably. 

Burn time: 20-175 hours (depending on size)
Size: 2-77 oz
Scent: Festive fruits
Wax: Food-grade paraffin wax base
Price: $20-$290

This candle really proves you don't have to spend megabucks on scented candles — your home will still smell nice. The classic Christmas concoction includes mandarin, orange, pine, cloves cinnamon, vanilla, and amber — with the genius addition of pomegranate for a more complex scent. The packaging is gilded and glowing — just what you need for Christmas.

Burn time: 20 hours each
Size: 2.47 oz each
Scent: Assorted
Wax: hand-poured, high-quality paraffin wax
Price: $150

Diptyque has come up with the perfect trio of winter scents  — perfect for creating different effects in different rooms or splitting out as stocking fillers. Enjoy delicate, resiny pine notes of Sapin, take in the decadent and mouth-watering scent of dried fruit vanilla in Délice and for a fresh and clean feel, Coton (blended with cotton and tonka bean) is where our noses are at.

Burn time: 55 to 60 hours
Size: 9.5 oz
Scent: Woody
Wax: Mineral wax
Price: $100

Can Cire Trudon make a bad-scented candle? We seriously think not. This festive offering smells so good, that we almost wish they bottled it up and sold it as perfume. The scent is an evocative, woody fragrance with classic notes of cardamom, clove, cinnamon, cedarwood, amber, Indonesian Patchouli, Haitian vetiver, and citrus. Think sitting by a smoky fireplace at Christmas time.