8 Reasons why Beeswax candles are a great project for crafting with children

Doing crafts with children can sometimes be a bit of a headache and end up in complete chaos. This can make it difficult to come up with creative solutions and activities to do with your kids without making too much of a mess. However, hand-making beeswax candles can be the perfect project for crafting with your children, if you know how.

Although crafting beeswax candles may not be the first thing to come to mind. This activity does require a little planning but the results will be astounding and mostly mess-free! Here are 8 reasons why you should make candles from beeswax with your kids.

1. It is a safe craft

Professionally made candles include processes such as melting and filtering the beeswax to be poured into candle moulds. However, purchasing beeswax sheets or honeycomb candle sheets can take away the potential risks of this craft.

The sheets of beeswax are already melted and filtered to be easily rolled into candles. This helps to avoid any chances of spilling the melted beeswax or suffering from burns due to high heat. These sheet beeswax sheets only need slightly warming with a hairdryer to make them easier to roll.

Beeswax sheets can also be purchased in many different colours. This removes the need to colour melted beeswax yourself and the possibility of not achieving the desired colour. Therefore, this craft maintains the safety of your children and offers great fun and choice in the colours they want to use.

2. The candles can be easily decorated

Colourful beeswax sheets are not the only way to add colour and fun to crafting beeswax candles with your children. Using coloured decorating beeswax, your kids can create fun shapes and decorate the candles themselves.

Decorating beeswax also comes in sheets and can be cut into shape. The wax becomes more pliable in the warmth of your hands making it easy to mould. The shapes are then pushed onto the candle until cooled, where they become stuck to the candle itself.

Your children can safely and creatively make any shape they want and have a choice of colours to add to their candles. This makes the craft more personal and fun, helping your kids to hone in their creativity and imagination in their crafts. 

Tip: ensure you use decorating wax to decorate the candles, as ink from colouring pens can be toxic when burned.

3. It will help teach your children about bees

Beeswax sheets are a unique and beautiful material to work with for both adults and children. The honeycomb pattern also found on them can make your children inquisitive about where the wax comes from.

Therefore, this task provides you with an excellent opportunity to teach your children about bees and how the wax is made. This will help your children to learn about nature and the importance of bees in our environment.

4. Teach about sustainability and environmentally friendly products

In addition to the opportunity to teach about bees, this craft can also provide an opening to teach your children about sustainability and the environment. Beeswax is a wonderful, sustainable material and has astounding health benefits in the form of candles that you can teach your children about.

This conversation can open you up to more sustainable and environmentally friendly products and activities. Encouraging your whole family to take up more sustainable and environmentally friendly options like composting or reducing plastic consumption are just a few potential outcomes from this activity.

5. The candles can be themed

The craft of making beeswax candles can be completed at any time of year, and the decorating options available are so open that you can theme this activity for any occasion. Spring and Easter can be a great time for the children to create Easter egg shapes, patterns and using pastel colours. Other occasions such as Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas can be excellent themes for your children to design and decorate their homemade candles. 

6. These candles can make great gifts

A personal gift made by your children is often the most special and meaningful. They often provide great joy when gifting them to relatives, especially to parents or grandparents. The idea of gifting these crafts can allow your children to make meaningful gifts for the ones they love. 

7. You can have fun with the design of the pillar 

Decorating beeswax candles is only one way to have fun with the design of the pillar candles. You can also use the coloured beeswax sheets to create a pattern in the candle itself. 

Cut a large triangle shape (with a right angle) and roll from the biggest side to the smallest. This creates a spiral design on the outside of the candle. 

Layer two coloured triangles, one sheet slightly smaller than the other. Then when rolling the sheets, you create a multi-coloured spiral

These are just two ways to create a simple yet fun pattern on the candles themselves, but there are many more ways to do this. The result is unique candles that can match a theme, or even your home decor.

8. Can lead to further learning

Hand making home decorations can be a really fun and enriching experience for your children, potentially helping them to become interested in making more things themselves and even start an interest in various crafts. Creative activities help to encourage them to use their creativity in many different forms and learn new skills such as sewing, painting or pottery.

Final thoughts on beeswax candle crafts

This crafting project can be extremely rewarding for both you and your children. Ensuring their safety by using beeswax sheets and honing in creativity with coloured sheets for rolling and decorating wax for moulding. This craft is also an excellent teaching opportunity about bees, the environment and sustainability which is important for the next generations. As well as providing you with an activity to pass the time and potentially some inexpensive but personal gifts for family.