These DIY Christmas Tree candles look astonishingly beautiful, are FUN to make and are 100% safe to use. That's like a Christmas craft trifecta! Here's how to make these flameless tree lights.
Every year I come up with one great Christmas DIY. Not 10 or 12 ... one. Of course I post a lot more than that, but we all know only one of them is actually any good.
One year the DIY that bubbled forth in my brain was the elegant bookcase presents, an idea that I randomly made up completely in my head, on my own, while looking at them at my friend's house. The year before that it was the insanely popular Christmas dessert, The Snow Globe a la Mode as featured on Country Living.
This Christmas DIY is possibly my favourite to date because it hits all four Christmas craft criteria; easy, fun, affordable and impressive.
The DIY Christmas Tree Candles.
I know. They're beautiful and classic and old fashioned feeling. And they're easy. And fun. And affordable. The whole affordable thing is what prompted me to figure out this DIY. I've always loved the look of candles on Christmas trees because in my heart of hearts I'm an English Victorian lady (with a hunting dog named Muddles) and an entire staff to douse my tree whence it goes up in flames. Candles on a tree just look so nice.
Of course you can't have real candles on a tree because good candles are expensive ... and on fire.
Here's how to make Victorian looking Christmas candles for your tree.
(Printable version of the tutorial at the end of this post)
DIY Christmas tree candles
Materials
CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THE MATERIALS
Will make 48 candles.
- ½" rigid plastic pipe, 5' length x 3
- Hot glue gun and glue
- String of C6 clear LED lights (I used a total of 400 lights on a 7' tree)
- White, cream, orange, dark orange latex paint (just the cheap craft paint from the dollar store)
- Paintbrush
- Clear silicone
- Metal can
- Floral wire
- 48 Alligator clips
TOTAL COST: Approximately $15 for pipe, $5 for silicone, $5 for the paints, $5 for alligator clips. The rest you probably have. So the high end total is $30 for 48 candles.
Steps
CLICK HERE FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THE STEPS
- Cut the plastic pipe into 3 ¼" lengths. (this length may differ a bit based on your particular string of lights as you'll see a bit later on) You can use a circular saw or a hacksaw to cut your plastic pipe.
2. Squeeze hot glue onto one end of the pipes to mimic dripping candle wax. This is your sheath.
3. Paint the sheath with a mixture of white and cream paint which will resemble wax.
TIP: Spray with a low sheen clear coat to make it resemble wax even more.
4. Remove 48 bulbs from your string of lights. (number of bulbs you do is optional but I used 48 candles for my tree) Paint each bulb with light orange paint and let dry. Once dry, paint the tips with dark orange.
TIP: For some reason you cannot buy a string of orange C6 LED lights at this time. Green? Yes. Blue? Yes. But not orange. That's why you have to paint the clear bulbs. If in the future orange is available you can buy those and avoid having to paint the bulbs. Possibly keep your eyes open around Halloween.
5. Cut a pop can in half and fill it with clear silicone.
6. Wrap a piece of floral wire around the base of each painted bulb and dip them in the silicone.
7. Hang the bulbs to dry overnight.
TIP: Make sure your bulbs are hanging straight down so the tips will be straight and not bent when they're dry.
8. Glue an alligator clip vertically at the base of the sheaths. I used Loctite's Super Glue but a couple of years later some of the alligator clips started to fall off when the glue became brittle, so I'd now recommend the world's best glue E6000.
Tip: You can buy a 12 pack of alligator clips at Michaels. You can get twice as many (24) for the same price on Amazon.
9. Gather your string of C6 lights.
10. Grasp the lighting wire in your fingers until it's bent like this.
TIP: The measurement from the tip of the socket to the base where my fingers are pinching is how long your plastic pipe pieces should be cut. This may vary with different brands of LED lights.
11. Insert your sheath over top. It will fit tight enough that the sheath won't fall off. Make sure there aren't any loose bits or sharp edges inside the sheath from cutting it because that can cut the wire as you push it through and you do NOT want to do that.
12. Insert your silicone bulb and there you have it. They're done.
12. To light your tree, clip your sheaths all around your tree where they look good. Space them out evenly but don't worry about getting them to stand straight at this point. Finally string your lights around your tree, inserting the cord and candle bulbs in the pre-placed sheaths as you go. Again. Don't worry about them being straight yet. They'll be all slanted and askew and you'll think this is a total fail. You will call your sister to tell her THIS is why you don't do anything off of stupid Pinterest. Relax. Have patience.
Once the tree is lit and all the bulbs and sheaths are placed, starting from the top down, straighten all the candles. They'll move and shift as you go, so just keep straightening them. Don't expect perfect if you're working with a real Christmas tree. Perfection is easier on a fake tree but it also isn't as authentic looking.
DIY Christmas Tree Candles.
Make a set of DIY Christmas tree candles from a regular string of lights, some plastic pile and a tube of silicone.
Materials
- ½" rigid plastic pipe, 5' length x 3
- Hot glue gun and glue
- String of C6 clear LED lights (I used a total of 400 lights on a 7' tree)
- White, cream, orange, dark orange latex paint (just the cheap craft paint from the dollar store)
- Paintbrush
- Clear silicone
- Metal can
- Floral wire
- 48 Alligator clips
Instructions
- Cut the plastic pipe to 3 ¼" lengths. (this length may differ a bit based on your particular string of lights as you’ll see a bit later on) You can use a circular saw or a hacksaw to cut your plastic pipe. (See step 10 to figure out how long your pieces of pipe should be.)
- Squeeze hot glue onto one end of the pipes to mimic dripping candle wax. This is your sheath.
- Paint the sheath with a mixture of white and cream paint which will resemble wax.
- Remove 48 bulbs from your string of lights. (number of bulbs you do is optional but I used 48 candles for my tree) Paint each bulb with light orange paint and let dry. Once dry, paint the tips with dark orange.
- Cut a pop can in half and fill it with clear silicone.
- Wrap a piece of floral wire around the base of each painted bulb and dip them in the silicone.
- Hang the bulbs to dry overnight.
- Glue an alligator clip vertically at the base of the sheaths. I used Loctite’s Super Glue.
- Gather your string of C6 lights.
- Grasp the lighting wire in your fingers until it’s bent like this. The measurement from the tip of the socket to the base where my fingers are pinching is how long your plastic pipe pieces should be cut. This may vary with different brands of LED lights.
- Insert your silicone bulb and there you have it. They’re done.
- Put your lights on the tree, clipping the candles where they fit and look good.
- Insert the bulbs.
- All the candles will be wonky, so straighten them from the top of the tree down.
Notes
After painting the candle sheaths you can spray them with a low sheen clear coat to make it resemble wax even more.
For some reason you cannot buy a string of orange C6 LED lights at this time. Green? Yes. Blue? Yes. But not orange. That’s why you have to get clear bulbs and paint them. If in the future orange is available you can buy those and avoid having to paint the bulbs. Possibly keep your eyes open around Halloween.
Make sure your bulbs are hanging straight down so the tips will be straight and not bent when they’re dry
I got my alligator clips on Amazon.
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Tarra
Any xmas craft involving roach clips has my upvote
Theresa Daugherty
Now I'm trying to figure out how to make them bigger so I can put ty hem on my porch.
Terry
😂🤣😂🤣 that's too funny. Your kids sound like my grandsons
Lynn
Karen you made beautiful candles, just had to say I love your DIY. They look fantastic on your tree. I will not be able to do them this year but I have a sister in law that will just love to do them .
You are going to make her so happy.
Su
Brilliant! Muddles would be so proud ❤️
Karen
I think so, lol! ~ karen
Sara
Amazing!! Beautiful, Messy, fun. Great job. You do excellent work. Makes me want to go to Canada.
Christina Houston
Snow Globe a La Mode NOW, um yes, this is for work, yes....
Marti_J
K, I am blown away. Really, really great idea! And one that I, the laziest decorator in the universe, am likely to do. Er, next year. (No car at the moment. Long story. Glad you didn't ask.) But I promise, next year, I'm all in.
I have to plan a baby shower in early January. The "mother to be" is older, no games, no frou-frou cake. Probably cheese nibbles (not CHEEZ NIPS) and the salad with cranberries, goat cheese and salad. Ideas for serving the cheese to nibble on, please? Have you done that already? Are there cheeseball recipes that actually are good... anywhere?
PMK
Once again, Karen, you have demonstrated your brilliance. I stumbled upon these a couple of years ago when I was searching for something else. They are called Halloween lights. They will definitely be cheaper in the off season https://www.holidayleds.com/citrine-orange-strawberry-led-christmas-light-20607r-b.aspx
Karen
Perfect!! ~ karen!
Emmy @ Candle Junkies
Awesome tutorial Karen! I shared this one on our Pinterest board =)
Cheers!
Holly
Thanks Karen, you're always inspiring to me (to buy more stuff!) I immediately ordered these "50 Warm White LED Flameless Christmas Candle Indoor String Lights with Tree Clips" for $45 US from Amazon and put them on my first Christmas tree in 5 years along with my hand knit Christmas balls or Julekuler designs from Arne & Carlos. 50 were perfect for my 6' tree from IKEA. Just beautiful.
https://amzn.to/2WTeULC
PS. because of you I'm a Rough Linen addict, have several Cattails Woodwork pieces and swear by OxiClean.
Julie
Just....whoa! :)
Karen
I know right?! :) ~ karen
Melissa Keyser
Those are amazing, great job! I would imagine if you can find the flickering type lights, it would be even more magical. Not the ones that blink, mind you, but the ones that where if it was your living room light you'd go crazy and swear to your spouse the light keeps flickering and he can't see it and then you'd have a huge fight.
Karen
LOL! Yes, the flickering lights would be fantastic! If you splurge and buy the individual candles that go on the tree they *do* flicker. Noticeable enough for everyone to see it. ;) ~ karen!
Heather
Wow! Love it! Very inspired!
Karen
Thanks Heather. And so easy! ~ karen
MindyK
What they said. This might be my one Christmas craft for the year. I even have time because I'm not putting up my tree for another two weeks (kid at college+new dog... in the meantime, a fancy candle). But seeing this makes me a little sad I threw away the remains of a long-dead science project that was--of course--built from plastic pipe in the perfect size. Isn't that always the way?
Karen
Of course that's always the way! Always, always. ~ karen!
Laurie @ VinYet Etc.
Very clever! I love how it looks so old fashioned but it's 100% safe! Excellent job!
CindyR
Fantastic! The only thing I'd want to do differently would be to use an empty yoghurt container instead of the sharp pop can. I know, I know, where's the fun in that? But it would save me some stitches, and that's to be desired. Happy Christmas to your household! Please update this post with a photo of some hens snuggled in the branches of your tree amidst the gorgeous DIY candle lights. Thank you, very much.
Susan
I love everything you do, Karen. However for the life of me I can't figure this one out. I've read the directions over and over. Why do you need 2 bulbs per candle? Dah
Nora
His is not Karen replying, Susan, but I was a bit confused too. Then I realized in the picture where she is holding the folded up wire with the two bulbs at the bottom (picture under letter j.), there is an empty socket at the top of the looped wire. That is where the painted bulb will go after you have pushed the empty socket and trailing wires through the tube. The two bulbs at the bottom stay in place as part of the string of plain white lights. I hope that helps.
Nora
Allison
We have a second tree this year and got battery operated votives on a timer in mini mason jars for it. I wish I’d had this DIY, but the mason jars will have to do!
The Widow Badass
Wonderful! We had a set of candle lights waaaaaaay back in my youth, as part of the family Christmas decorations. As a kid I never appreciated them - I wanted the same colourful big ass bulbs as my friends' trees had - and by the time I was old enough to see their beauty, the strings had had their day and were ready for the trash bin. So nice to see these again! Thanks Karen.
Erin Cullman
Here ya go!
Amber: https://www.christmaslightsetc.com/p/C7-Christmas-Lights-120V-Gold-LED-Replacement-Bulb-Box-of-25--18817.htm#F1V22955F373V331
They also have ORANGE ORANGE if you prefer that.
https://www.christmaslightsetc.com/p/C7-Christmas-Lights-120V-Amber-LED-Replacement-Bulb-Box-of-25--18815.htm#F1V22955F373V331
Erin Cullman
Just realized you needed C6s and not C7s.