Christmas Candle Holder

Use natural materials to design a Christmas Candle Holder this season

Juniper Christmas Candleholder

While the concept is pretty straight forward for this diy Christmas candle holder, it can be tedious. This one takes some patience and time to complete compared to the other crafts in the 12 Crafts of Christmas series, but the lighting effect created by the leaves is worth it!

This candle holder is made using an old vase or candle holder, and leaves from nature. These ones are juniper leaves. You can get them from flower stores during the winter season or they are a fairly common yard plant. Just snip a few branches off (in unnoticeable spots) to use.

Looking for a quick and adorable craft? Check out Day 9’s Christmas Gnome.

Find holiday home decor inspiration with nature with this foliage covered Christmas Candle Holder for Day 10 of the 12 Crafts of Christmas series.

Christmas Candle Holder Supplies

Vase or Candle Holder

Juniper leaves (or Evergreen, white pine, etc)

Mod Podge and Brush

Paper Plate

Patience

Hairspray or Glitter Spray (not necessary)

A Candle

Keep the cost of your supplies low by getting your foliage from the great outdoors. Shop your home for old candle holders or vases to use.

Step 1: Cut Your Plants

Using some plant shears, cut a few stems off of a juniper bush (or get some from a flower shop). Bring them inside and let them warm up if they’re frozen. It’s a really good idea to wash and rinse them too in case there’s dust, spider web, or bugs in the leaves. Trim your stems down to the right size for your candle holder so they are easier to work with.

Step 2: Mod Podge The Container

Instead of completely coving the candle holder in mod podge, you’re going to work in sections. It’s easier to press on the leaves if you have the candleholder laying flat. And that’s easier to do if the backside is dry. So paint on your mod podge section to get ready for step 3.

Focus on covering your candle holder one section at a time instead of fully coating it.

Step 3: Press On Foliage

Take a single foliage stem and lay it flat on your mod podge area. Press it down into the glue. Make sure to press down along the individual leaves too. You want it to have a good amount of contact between the glue and the leaves. Not all of them will lay flat, but that’s okay. Varying heights add more interest to your candleholder so pick out different stem lengths to be the base layer.

Pick your favorite foliage branches and press them onto your soon-to-be Christmas candleholder.

Step 4: Add More Mod Podge

Now that your first stem is down, it’s time to start layering. Brush some more mod podge onto your candle holder and on top of a section of the foliage so that the next piece will adhere to both the container and the first branch. That’ll give your Christmas candle holder more depth and interest instead of having them sparsely lined up. Repeat this until you make it all the way around the container. You may need to take breaks to allow the mod podge to dry in areas so you can lay the candleholder down to keep pressing more foliage on.

This Mod Podge will dry clear so go ahead and be heavy-handed with it. Work in layers to get a good adhesion between the candle holder and the layers of leaves.

Step 5: Fill In Gaps

When you’ve wrapped the candle holder with the leaves, take a look at it and see if there’s any gaps or empty spaces that feel odd and can be filled. Use small foliage trimmings, dap some mod podge on the leaves themselves and stick into place.

Step 6: Trim The Bottom Stems

If you have any stems sticking out past the bottom of the candle holder, you’re gonna need to trim them. A pair of scissors or plant shears will make quick work of those stragglers. Then your candleholder will be able to sit flat without damaging the foliage you just put on it.

With your Christmas candle holder almost complete, trim off the ends of any stems that stick out past the bottom of your candle holder.

Step 7: Extra Security with Hairspray

If your foliage seems to have a hard time staying in place, give it a spritz of hairspray to help hold it together. Or use a glitter spray to give it some extra sparkle and adhesion.

Step 8: Add A Candle

After everything has dried, place your candle inside the Christmas candle holder. You can use a real candle or a LED- battery candle. There are some with very realistic flame flickering patterns. Give it a test run and watch the candlelight as it dances through the foliage covering the candleholder. It’s such a pretty sight!

The glow of a candle filters through the leaves that were just added to the Christmas candle holder. It's such a pretty look!

I hope you give this craft a try, it’s a really pretty lighting effect, and inexpensive to make. I am so glad I followed through and made this Christmas candle holder. It’s simple, but it does take more time than others.

If you enjoyed this diy holiday home decor tutorial, then check out the other ones in the 12 Crafts of Christmas series!