DIY Christmas Candles Craft with Kids: Decorating Candles With Pins

ByAly Last updated:

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure for more information.

Every summer when we were younger, my sister and I would go to my grandmother’s house for several weeks.  It was a highlight of our summer, and I’m sure my parents loved getting some child-free time!  Every summer, my grandmother would have a whole list full of stuff to keep us occupied.  This list included crafts, cooking, and so many places we could go (most of them were free!)  One of the crafts we did when we were a little bit older was decorated DIY Christmas candles for festive centerpieces.

And now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s a perfect time to start thinking about Christmas goodies and sharing this idea!

DIY Christmas Candle Supplies:

  • Candles (we usually did 3 of different sizes)
  • Pearlized pins or regular pins with a selection of small beads and sequins
  • Measuring tape–if you’re a perfectionist like me!

Instructions to make your own Christmas candles:

We first started with deciding how close we wanted to make every pin.  This involved using the measuring tape to measure the circumference of the candle and then doing some fun math to make sure all the pins would be perfectly spaced around!  It is also important to measure the height of the candle and decide what spacing you want to have between each pin that direction too.

Once you have found your ideal spacings, I like to go along and mark the locations the pins will go. I know, probably a little overkill, but I hate to ruin a good candle by poking a pin in the wrong place.  You can mark by making just a small little indentation in the side of the candle with the tip of the pin.

After you have reviewed your markings, go ahead and stick in the pins.  So as seen in the pictures, pearlized pins look pretty.  Also, you can use a regular pin and stick a small bead and a sequin on it before sticking the pin in.

Once your candle is done, you can then spruce it up as a table topping with other Christmas goodies or leave them as they are as a centerpiece!

What do you think?  Last week, I wrote about DIY Christmas ornaments.  Check out that post here!