Green Fun: Candle Making for Kids Parties

Making candles with children may sound too difficult, but just read through this tutorial on candle making for kids with an open mind. These step by step candle making instructions for beginners will help you DIY the whole thing! With a little effort and a little mess, your kids could be celebrating their next event with any of these three different types of candle making activities. No screen time, only fun times!

We play most birthdays pretty simply around our house, to be honest. Every now and then, though, the kids ask to have a party.

Party games can be fun and eating a treat is an absolute must! Crafts, though? Once your kids hit an age where google eyes and pipe cleaners are no longer cool, you’ve got to up your game just a bit.

Honestly, I’m not really that crafty. Unless an item is useful for something, you probably won’t find me spending much of my precious time on it. That’s why candle making is the perfect craft for me.

Candle making for kids parties produces a beautiful and useful item for each child to take home, while increasing their skill set. Plus, it’s messy and fun.

Candle Making for Kids Parties

Making candles with kids isn’t like candle making on your own or with your girlfriends. Candle making with kids is…an experience. Hot stove, hot wax, lots of fingers and a thousand questions. Before you take on such a green project, it’s best to learn a thing or two about candle making with a group.

So, take a deep breath and find a happy place while I share a few tips with you on candle making for kids parties. You can do this, no problem!

Tips for Teaching Candle Making for Kids Parties

1. Choose only one kind of candle to make and stick to it. There are tapers and votives and larger, molded candles and so many more types of homemade candles! However, you can’t make them all with a group of children at a party in an hour or less. At kids parties, especially if siblings are present, you will always have a variety of ages present. You have to tailor your teaching to that reality. Even if the kids are all the same age, they’re not all going to have the same attention spans. Pick one type of candle to make. Make that one.
2. Be sure that all your supplies laid out ahead of time. Double check that you have everything before the party starts. You run the risk of kids getting into stuff they shouldn’t and/or beating each other with their half-done candles if you have to go off to look for something. Ask me how I know.
3. If you’re making dipped or molded candles, start melting your wax on low heat in a double boiler BEFORE your class begins. Don’t forget.
4. Have rules and make sure the children follow them. For example, if you want everyone to stay in the garage while their candles are under construction, then make sure they stay in the garage. You may want to ask that a few parents stay at the party to help.
5. Set up a place to cool the candles BEFORE your class begins. Everyone will finish at different times. You don’t want to have to leave the instruction area to keep finding places to hang/place candles.

Which Candle Should You Make?

That question is answered with another question because it depends entirely on what age range will be at the kids party. Here are two suggestions, plus a third option for older kids:

1. Bees wax candle rolling for preschool age to ten year old kids
2. Taper candle dipping for age ten to adult
3. Optional poured mold candles for teenagers to adult – you can do some fun experimenting with molded candles!

Other options include those listed at the beginning of the post, so don’t be nervous about getting creative.

4-10 Year Old Candle Making at Kids Parties

This kind of candle making is the safest for little ones. For this age group, you will be rolling bees wax sheets into candles. (Incidentally, this is also a fun, quick candle making activity for older kids and even adults.)

To Roll Candles from Bees Wax Sheets

1. Place one bees was sheet in front of your child on top of a flat, smooth surface (like a table).
2. Cut one length of cotton wick to place along one edge of the bees wax sheet, plus 1/2 inch more. This extra half inch will stick out above the top of the rolled candle so you can light it once it’s finished.
3. Begin from one end with the wick lying flat against the bees wax sheet. Gently crimp the edge of the sheet up and over the wick to secure it it place. Bees wax is pliable when warm. So, as your child presses the edge of the bees wax sheet over the wick, it will warm up and flatten. If it’s still cracking, warm the wax sheet with hair dryer.
4. After the wick is secure, have your child gently roll the wick end to the other side of the bees wax sheet. Help them keep the roll tight and tucked – loose candles burn funky, if at all.
5. Once the candle has been rolled up entirely, an adult can gently press the edge into the candle to secure it. Or, an adult can use the heat from a hair dryer or even a candle flame to warm and slightly melt the edge into the body of the candle. Be careful not to touch the flame to the candle or you’ll get black soot embedded in the wax.
6. Help your child smooth the bottom of the candle by rubbing it in a circular motion over the flat surface. Apply gentle pressure to flatten the bottom of the candle.
7. You’ll notice that bees wax is naturally soft and slightly scented.

To get a visual demonstration of this process, please visit A Child’s Dream.

Bees Wax Sheets for Candle Making

If this is your first time rolling candles, I suggest you buy a bees wax rolling kit, which you can find on Etsy and other online purveyors.

You can also buy beeswax sheets and wick separately to roll out taper candles. The wick can be bought in pre-cut lengths, or in large rolls.

The large rolls are a larger upfront cost, but they save you money over time. If you decide you like candle making, having a roll of good wick will come in handy for future projects.

Even with little hands, these candles take only a few minutes to put together and are very suitable to shorter attention spans. Plus, the sheets come in lovely colors and your little one will be so pleased at her creation.

Honestly, I have so much fun with rolling bees wax sheets that I would do it an adult party. You can stop here and have all age groups do this, if you feel the same.

If you’re looking for a little more action (fun) and want to produce a candle that will burn longer, keep reading.

6-12 Year Old Candle Making at Kids Parties

Call me crazy, but I really like to make dipped, taper candles with this age group. I’ve taught troops of Cub Scouts and scads of school age kids how to dip their own taper candles and the best part about it, is that it keeps them moving.

Here’s an overview of how I teach this in video, with more detailed instructions below.

Basic Tips for Dipping Candles with Kids

The first step is to post basic safety rules and to read through them together. Scroll down a bit for some sample safety rules.

Setting up the area:

• I have a camp stove with two burners and I set up two, 6-8 foot tables on either side of the stove forming a long line. Keeping the tables on either side of the wax vat requires that the children take the time to walk around the tables to get back for another dip.
• Forcing them to slowly and steadily walk around the tables will ensure that the wax dries between each dipping.

To begin dipping:

• I give each child about a foot’s worth of wicking and tell them to bend it in half, putting their finger in the bend so that the two ends dangle down. (I always use wick with wire in the center when I’m working with children because it will keep its shape much easier.)
• Then, I have them form a line, with the first child at the stove where await my two vats of melted wax in double boilers on low heat. 
• The children begin by dipping their wick into the first vat of wax and then walking clear around the first table. They stop at the other vat of wax on the other side and dip their wick again. Then, they walk around the other table until they come back around to the first vat of wax.
• All in a line, around and around they go, dipping each time the come to the wax and chatting with each other in a merry, candle making way.

3 Things to Note for Dipping Candles with Kids:

1. Keep your wax at an even heat. Never let your water or wax come to a boil.
2. Tell the children that the dip into the wax vat must be quick – in and out. If they let their wick stay in the vat too long, all the previous wax they’ve built up will melt off and they’ll have to start over. That can create tears.
3. Until the wick builds up some layers of wax, it’s likely that the children will need to carefully pull a bit on the bottom of their wicks to keep them straight. Make sure they don’t do this right after they remove the wick from that wax vat or they’ll get burned. Some boys end up doing this on purpose as part of their inherent knight-of-the-realm training which leads many young boys to be both brave and foolhardy.
4. Always have moms stay to help with those children that get truly out of hand or are developmentally challenged in any way. Hot wax can be dangerous if the children can’t or won’t follow the rules of safety.
5. The walk around the tables is necessary. The layers of wax that are applied with each dip in the wax vat need to cool enough to take another layer without melting right off.

Do NOT trust that the children will be able to wait a sufficient amount of time on their own. They’re eager and they’ll be having fun, and they’ll want to finish quickly.

Candle dipping is not a quick activity. It takes a good half hour to forty-five minutes to dip a taper worthy of burning. They’ll have fun as they talk and a laugh and show off for each other, but the process of dipping can’t be rushed.

The tables are a necessary obstacle in their happy candle-making experience. Oooh, life lesson there.

10 Basic Safety Rules to Post for Candle Making for Kids 

Feel free to come up with rules that apply specifically to your house/classroom. These are just some basic rules for working with hot wax in a group.

1. Big kids should always allow younger/shorter kids to go first in line.
2. Don’t crowd the person in front of you as you dip candles, especially if it’s their turn at the melted wax vat. 
3. Never push, shove or get close enough to touch someone with your candle.
4. When dipping your candle, stand still and be careful. 
5. Never touch the stove, the melted wax or the pot.
6. Remove your candle from the melted wax vat quickly but carefully. 
7. Do not swing your candle too wide while it’s dripping or you could hit someone with hot wax.
8. If you’re done and would like to be excused, bring you candle to be hung up to dry.
9. Be respectful and courteous to other children and your teachers/parents. Anyone not be respectful with their speech or behavior will be asked to leave the candle making area. No exceptions.
10. Have fun.

12 & Up Candle Making at Kids Parties

Molded candles are my favorite for this age because they have the dexterity to get truly creative. Their higher brain function allows them to follow along with more detail, too. That’s not to say that an older child won’t have fun doing rolled and dipped candles, FYI.

One of my favorite things to do with the older kids is to have them bring their own candle mold material to class/the party. Any sturdy, upcycled container will do as long as it doesn’t leak out the bottom.

I like this exercise because it helps the child to look around their room and home for items that they would otherwise throw away or recycle. A small milk carton, an orange juice bottle or even a glass jar that previously housed a candle can all be used to mold a new one.

—>>>Here’s a whole tutorial on Making Your Own Candle Molds<<<—

Here are some other ideas for candle making at kids parties with older children:

1. Experiment with dyes and scents and paints for decorating your finished candles with these older kids.
2. Provide craft knives for them to carve their molded candles with various patterns.
3. Experiment with adding pressed flowers to the very outer layers of their molded candle.
4. Add layers of different colored wax to make rainbow candles.
5. You can mold candles in sand and even ice, creating wonderfully interesting patterns and shapes.
6. If you want to do a more in-depth project with older kids, you can try this foraging project to make bayberry candles.

Candle Making at Kids Parties – Worth It!

Candle making with kids may seem daunting at first, especially if you’ve never made candles yourself before. I give you permission to not do everything perfectly but, go ahead and do a test batch on your own one night while your kids are sleeping.

Or get together with your girlfriends – have a candle making party!

Make sure, though, that you share this super fun experience with your children. It will take some set up and planning but that’s always true of raising these homestead kids.

Candle making every year will improve everyone’s skills, add to your emergency stores and provide a way to celebrate the slow return of the spring light with your family. Plus, it’s just plain fun.

Need More Candle Making Information?

Here are several more suggestions for candle making projects:

• If you’re wondering whether you should use bees wax or paraffin wax (the white stuff), you can ponder that with this article” from Grampa’s Honey.
• Homestead Honey and her family can show you how to make dipped bees wax candles here.
• If you’re doing this project for Mother’s Day or Christmas, Lovely Greens shows you how to make a Massage Oil Candle – I would reeeeeaaally like to get this gift.
• If you want to start small, you can try making these cute tea light candles from Joybilee Farm.
• After you’d made those, Joybilee Farm also has this wicked cool tutorial on how to make beeswax luminaries to put the tea lights into – these would look SO gorgeous on a deck, if your party is outside.

Chris, from Joybilee Farm, has several really helpful posts on candle making AND she even has a book on bees wax called, The Bees Wax Workshop. As a bee keeper, I love having Chris’s book.

I’ve used it many times as I find new things to do with bees wax. It’s a straight forward book of recipes and tutorials. I highly recommend it.

Candle Making for Kids Parties or Any Holiday

Did you know that candle making has its own special holiday of sorts? It’s called Candlemas and it is, for our Catholic friends, the Christian version of a festival of lights. Celebrating significant events in Christ’s life, Candlemas falls ever February 2nd.

This is about the same time of year that we notice the days are slowly getting longer as light returns to the earth after the winter solstice. Such a lovely holiday; so many things to celebrate about light!

If you’d like to celebrate more holidays that involve light, candles, and even lanterns, check out our book, Homestead Holidays! It’s a great one for homeschoolers, crafters, grandmas, and just about anybody who loves to have a great time with their family.