The candle is the safest gift in Britain and that is exactly the problem. It is safe because everybody buys it, which means the recipient has three unopened ones in a cupboard.
Here are six alternatives that do a similar job.
One, a soft glow lamp
The closest substitute, because it does the same thing a candle does. It puts warm light at low level in a corner, which is the actual effect people want from a candle.
The difference is that it works every evening rather than for forty hours, and there is no flame. Our soft glow lamps are a statue in daylight and a light source after dark, and the lavender crackle meditation Buddha is the most versatile of the range.
Best for households with small children or pets, where an open flame is a nuisance rather than a pleasure.
Two, an oil burner with melts
If it is the scent they want rather than the flame, this gives more of it for longer and with more control.
An oil burner at £8.99 with a set of melts is under £20 all in, and one cube gives several sessions rather than the single evening people assume. Our guide to what to buy with an oil burner so it actually gets used covers the pairing.
Best for someone who likes fragrance and finds candles wasteful.
Three, an incense burner
A different character of scent entirely, and considerably more distinctive than wax.
Our Tibetan brass burners are the unusual option, and the verdigris cone holder at £33.99 is the sort of object almost nobody already owns.
Not for anyone asthmatic or with young children, where the oil burner is the better call.
Four, a singing bowl
Sound rather than scent, and a genuinely different kind of gift.
A chakra singing bowl gift set at £34.99 arrives complete with cushion and striker, so there is nothing to work out. It is also an object with something to learn about, which a candle is not.
Best for someone who has everything and is bored of receiving the same three categories.
Five, a candle holder rather than a candle
The sideways answer. They will buy candles anyway. Give them something to put one in.
Our devotee candle holder at £21.99 and three devotees candle holder at £36.99 are objects that outlast any candle put in them, and they solve the problem of what to do with the tealights everyone accumulates.
Best for someone who genuinely does love candles, where this is an upgrade rather than a substitute.
Six, a small brass figure
Nothing to do with light or scent, and it lands for a different reason. Solid brass has a weight in the hand that surprises people at small sizes, and that weight is what makes it feel considered.
The mini brass hands up figure at £11.99 costs about the same as a decent candle. The small antique brass Buddha head at £9.99 is less.
Best for a desk, a small gift, or someone whose home is already full of soft furnishings and short on anything solid.
For someone who cannot have a flame
Worth pulling out separately, because it is a common situation and the candle default fails completely.
Rented accommodation with a no candles clause, a care setting, a household with a very young child, or someone with a respiratory condition. In all of those, the glow lamp or the brass figure is the answer, and neither requires explanation.
When a candle is still right
If you know their scent, if they burn through them, or if it is a small gesture rather than a gift. A small candle at £12.99 as a thank you is perfectly good.
The problem is not candles. It is candles as a reflex. Our guide to gifts that last longer than a week covers the same logic for the other default gift.
Questions people ask
What can I give instead of a candle?
A soft glow lamp for the same warm light without a flame, an oil burner with melts for more scent, an incense burner for something unusual, a singing bowl for sound, a candle holder, or a small brass figure.
What is closest to a candle?
A soft glow lamp, because it does what a candle actually does, which is put warm light at low level in a corner. It also works every evening rather than for forty hours.
What if they cannot have an open flame?
A glow lamp or a brass figure. Rented flats with no candle clauses, care settings and households with very young children all come up regularly.
Is an oil burner better value than a candle?
Considerably. A burner at £8.99 with melts is under £20 all in, and one cube gives several sessions rather than a single evening.
When should I just buy the candle?
If you know their scent, if they genuinely burn through them, or if it is a small gesture rather than a proper gift.
