Do you have to light those candles? Do you still have a kitty? I worry so about pets and candles, fire, fumes, forgetting candles. I know I'm throwing a wet blanket on your fun, but I am not a fan of candles at all. Probably don't need to tell you DH is a long-time firefighter.

Now lookie here--you just survived the ax murderer from Craig's List and now you want to light candles. What are we going to do with you? Just kidding of course. Light those candles if you want to! LOL!

Just my 2 cents. I know lots of people love them.

LOL I love candles, but I'm with you, actually. The reason I never burn them is that they make me nervous in this house--built around 1850 with hemlock plank walls. And cats!

But I thinking about lighting a few tomorrow night, for my party. The cats will be upstairs. I don't want to have to think about them while I'm having fun singing, etc., so I probably will scrap this idea and use the fake ones. I'm still curious about where candles can be set down, though.

I'm glad I didn't offend. :-) Have a lovely evening. Put a note on your pillow that you will see at bedtime: "Blow out candles."

I only burn them when I cooking something that smells strong like bacon. I put it in a dish that can be put in the oven because it is unbreakable. Candles are the number 1 cause of home fires. My grandson almost burned our rental house down when he and his mother lived in it. Luckily he only destroyed his stereo set. Our neighbor's home was gutted because of a candle. I have gone shopping and left them burning. To dangerous for me.

I recently discovered the fake tea light candles. I am impressed with them. They even flicker. I have only turned them on for short periods, so do not know how long they will last. I even showed them to my cat.
Maybe I should not have done that, but I do not use real candles because I do not like to smoke the ceilings.

No, do not put them on a bare table. Those metal cased ones go right into the candle holder as is. And votive light candles should not be allowed to burn down completely according to the directions on ones I have bought. I think they fear that the glass could crack or the heat damage the furniture. So I put a plate or ceramic coaster under them.

I only use the artificial ones. I have bgs of the real votives to have on hand in case all the electricity goes out as in our ice storm of 2000. but never light real candles.
QVC had been feturing beautiful artificial candles on their programs look like and smell like the real thing.

I've got a friend that loves lit candles. We were at her home for a party and it was beautiful. I use candles when I make our Valentine's dinner, or to take the smell away from something cooking.

The little votives now have the metal stem in them that allows them to be burned to nothing. Same as the Glad scented ones. The metal stem stuck into the bottom lets them burn to nothing and the flame goes out.

Votives have to be put into a candle holder, glass holder of some sort. Even pillars get put into a large holder. Except the very large 3 wick ones, but even so they are on a decorative plate.

Have fun, Susan!

Tea lights need to be put in a container as well as the votives. Before going to bed at night, turn all lights out and walk around the rooms. That will show if any candles are still lit. I just bought four pillar candles from Costco that are battery operated. I love them but still like the real thing on the Dining Room table. At Christmas, I always have votives all over the house. I set the votive holders directly on the table, no damage.

Thanks for the info, everyone. Knowing me, and how protective I've become of this house since living alone, I'll probably use the fake tea lights tonight and save the real ones and the votives for occasions when I'll mostly be in the same room with them.

As I read your responses, I remembered the many dinners my family and I ate by candlelight years ago. I'd forgotten.....

For a party? DO NOT burn them at all. There's not only the safety issue to consider, but also the fact that if any of your guests have allergies, a burning candle can seriously affect their ability to breathe. Unless you know absolutely for certain, that none of your guests are allergic to, or sensitive to burning candles, I wouldn't light them at all.

Actually, even having unlit, scented candles in your home could be a problem for some of your guests. Both my brother and I cannot go near any kind of scents--our throats and lungs close right up.

And we don't always tell all our friends that--you may have allergic guests but not be aware that they are.

When I burn a candle I sit the whole thing in a bowl of water that way if I forget and chances are good Id forget I should be somewhat safe.

Susan, I use the tea lights in the metal all the time. I have a long candle holder that sits on my wood kitchen table all the time and I light it a lot. The tea lights sit in a glass votive but not directly on the table. I also have one that hangs on the wall. Plow and Hearth have small tea light that you charge up. I have had them for years and they look so real.

I hope you have a great time at your party..

Susie

Gah, I replied and it's not here!

I was going to suggest that you float them in a bowl of water with cranberries, that is always a pretty look and much safer since the water is under the tealights. I like the ones that come in the clear plastic holder, unscented.

Makes for a festive, cheerful centerpiece, too!

We always light the candles on our table every night at dinner. We purchase a good quality, non scented candle, usually Colonial Candles of Cape Cod. There are very specific instructions for safely burning a candle and rather then risk listing them all I linked them below.

I don't want to sound like an alarmist but while candles can cause fires it's really about 4% of home fires and most of those occurred in a bedroom when the occupants fell asleep with the candles burning. Smoking is the number one cause of residential fires followed by cooking and electrical problems. Why don't you light some this afternoon and see how you feel about it when no one else is there. Since you don't normally burn candles you still might not feel comfortable having them lit when your company comes especially since you'll be busy serving as hostess. If you do decide to lit them you could ask a trusted friend to help keep an eye on them.

Personally I love burning candles but we don't have pets or kids and we only burn them in the same room that we are in so that we can keep an eye on them. Obviously there are no combustibles near, we keep the wicks trimmed, votive candles are in appropriate holders, we avoid drafts etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: candle safety tips

I love QVC's Candle Impressions. They are real wax with a wick that will not light and have timers which can be set to go on/off at the same time every night. They work as night lights and are so pretty. You cannot tell they are fake because they flicker like real candles. I have 5-6 stationed around the house. I even put one by the cat's dish so she can see to eat at night. She dines by candlelight.

OK, the mental image of socks' cat dining by candlelight wins today's prize! LOL (Bet the cat has a 'finger bowl' too.)

I can't 'do' candles or wood-burning fires anymore unless we have a power outtage. Asthma. I'll have to look into the aritficial lights y'all are talking about.

LOL Almost every cat I've ever known used the water dish as a finger bowl.

My fake tea lights are great! I just set them up. They flicker charmingly, have an ON/OFF switch, have a battery life of 120 hours, and cost 2/$1 at Dollartree.

I have cats and never, ever burn a candle where a tail might touch it...all my candles are burned in tall glass containers where a cat can't get near the flame.

But most of the time I use battery-operated fake candles. They look real, aren't a danger, don't give off smoke, and I love them.

The tea lights I have are encased in metal, and I assume they (and therefore pottery holders) get very hot. They do not get very hot. The wicks used in tea lights are meant for that small surface area. They will be fine in any holder, glass, pottery or even wood (made for candles)..I've also set several tea lights on a pretty plate and used that "as a holder".) Can you set the holders down on a wood table? Or do they need a trivet or something underneath? of course you can set them down on a level surface of your choice, in the holders.

Same question for the votives. They'll be in their glass holders; can they be set down anywhere? again, yes in their holders, on a level surface, away from edges, pets, children and fabric

A bit more information...depending on what the wax is...a tea light will burn 3 or so hours. A votive will burn about 5 to 6 hours.

I must say that our cat is very thin, and we encourage her to eat as much as she will. I put the battery candle by her food hoping it will draw her attention to it at night and she'll eat more. It sounds silly, but the candle has a practical purpose as well.

Some years ago someone gave my MIL candles as a gift. She really had no business burning candles (forgetful, with a cat, in a small apartment). DH got the pliers and pulled out the wicks so she could still have the candles.