No Christmas celebration would be complete  without the warm glow of beautiful candles. And what candle would be more fitting for the Christmas season then a glittering snow candle like this one. Even if you've never made a candle before, you can easily create this whipped snow candle in less than an hour. Make them for gifts for family and friends, visiting teachees,  your children's teachers, the widow that leaves across the street, or keep it to decorate your own house. You can even involve older children in this craft with the proper supervision. Have fun and make a Christmas memory.
 

By Lori Garcia, editor-in-chief

1.  Melt 1/2 lb of wax in double boiler or create your own double boiler by putting large can inside an old pot with water.  CAUTION: As with any situation when you are using flame and a flammable ingredient such as wax, please use caution and never leave it unattended. Once the wax has melted, add a little essential oil to the mix. 1 teaspoon should be plenty for half of a lb of wax.

2. Open boxed wax. The box wax comes in four small slabs. Usually when you open a box of wax, it comes out as one large chunk. Break apart the large "chunk" in half (two pieces on each side), and place both of them down. Place the wick or string long-wise across one of the chunks. Scoop some of the wax that has melted in the double boiler, spoon it on top of the wick and wax chunk.

3. Working quickly, place the other chunk of wax on top of the first and squeeze together. Make sure the wax chunks are straight and lined up correctly, otherwise the candle might not stand up. You have now essentially created a candle...you have the wax (fuel supply) and a wick ( a means to burn the wax). Everything we do from here is decoration.

4. Let the "candle" dry for a few seconds before going onto the next step.

5. Using a potholder, remove the remaining wax from the double boiler.  Place your wax (in the pan or can) in a large bowl. Fill the large bowl with a little bit of ice and water to help cool down the wax. Be careful not to get any water or ice inside the wax. It will ruin the project. 6. Slowly insert an electric beater into the wax. Slowly start the beaters, being careful not to splatter yourself, the cabinets, etc., with hot wax.

7. The wax will start to make suds, kind of like soapy dishwater. When it finally starts to look thick like marshmallow fluff, it's ready to use.

8.  Using a plastic spoon (because I hate to do dishes, and this way I can throw it away when we're done) scoop the whipped wax and place it onto the candle.  A good way to cover it is to hold onto the wick and angle the candle on its bottom edge. As you cover the candle with the whipped wax, slowly turn the candle around. You can cover the candle as thick as you want. My mother likes leaving holes in the coverage so when you light the candle the light will glow through the holes. I light a thicker coverage to look like a thick snow. 9. After you cover the candle with the whipped wax,  sprinkle it with iridescent fine glitter to make the candle shimmer like freshly fallen snow. You can then add greenery to garnish your candle as you like.