If you’re looking to buy discount or wholesale candles online you’re in luck. You can find just about any type of candle online to add decoration and beauty to your home. Likewise, if you enjoy making your own homemade candles, you can buy wholesale paraffin candles, tea light candles and soy wax for making lovely soy candles.

There are many varieties of unique decorative candles to choose from online. It would be hard to find all of these candles in a department store or gift shop, but online there are no limitations to the types of candles you can buy.

Here is a brief list of the types of candles available:

** Paraffin Candles
** Tea Light Candles
** Scented Gel Jar Candles
** Soy Wax Candles
** Christmas Gel Candles
** Gold Votive Candles
** Mini Floating Candles
** Thanksgiving Floating Candles
** Christmas Floating Candles
** Lily Floating Candles
** Easter Vigil Candles
** Coconut Candles
** Animal Shaped Candles
** Frosted Votive Candles and Holders

If you are looking for some nice candle holders, here are some you may find:

** Hanging Candle Holders
** Wall Candle Holders
** Glass Flower Candle Holders
** Stained Glass Candle Holders
** Iron Pillar Candle Holders

Some people enjoy making candles as a hobby. Making candles is fun and relatively easy. You can find several good how to guides and books online that will show you how to make the most popular types of candles.

For instance, you can find out how to make unique: soy candles, gel candles, swirled candles, hurricane candles, etc. When you learn how to make your own home made candles you can even make cool items like: gel candles in cocktail glasses, wedding favors gel candles, ice cream sundae candles, and tiny Christmas tree candles. You can also buy candles in bulk and other candle making supplies.

Once you get into candle making, the sky’s the limit. You can give your beautiful candle creations away as gifts or keep and display them in your own home.

Whether you are looking to buy a unique candle gift set, a church candle, or a whimsical holiday candle that looks like a pumpkin, you will enjoy the wide variety and great discounts you can find when you shop for your candles online.

This is a favorite time of the year for many people. Why not take one night in December and set up a nice holiday party. Plan a small get together with family and friends.

It is a great excuse to get together. Plan it early in December so it doesn't conflict with all the Christmas Day events. Before you get too deep in the planning see how many people will be able to come. Then base your plan off that number.

I like to make it a simple potluck meal with everyone bringing part of the meal. Whatever works, Then you can fill in the blanks.

All you need for a small get together is a few decorations, set the table and chairs up, refreshments, music and some fun games to play.

Try to set up a couple of different seating areas, so people can just sit and talk while others play games.

It is a great night and really is nice to see everyone while they are in the holiday spirit. Here is a short guide to give you some ideas of what a party entails:

1. Pick a night
2. Invitation phone calls
2. Plan food needs based on what others are bringing
3. Shopping for food, refreshments, decorations and games
4. Verify with phone calls 7 days prior to party
5. Clean house
6. Decorate and set up chairs
7. Any last minute cooking and food prep
8. Set table
9. Greet the guests
10. Relax and enjoy the Christmas Party, it is just a casual
event.

Entertaining friends and family in your home during the Christmas holiday is one of the most popular activities of the holiday season. Many people choose to host small, informal gatherings in their home, while others plan extravagant dinner parties which are destined to generate more than one urban legend in the community in which they are held.

While many of us do not aspire to such heights as those held by the socialites in our community, we would still like to host an unforgettable Christmas dinner party that will be remembered fondly among our closest friends and family for years to come.

If you are like me, and many are if they would just admit it, the thought of all of the work and skill that goes into throwing a successful dinner party leaves you a little weak in the knees and wondering how in the world you are going to pull it all off without a hitch.

But don't let the fear of juggling the tasks involved with putting on a dinner party keep you from hosting the event that your family and friends will talk about for a long time into the future. It's really not that hard if you follow a few simple steps and guidelines for putting on a successful dinner party.

Here's how to plan the perfect Christmas dinner party:

Make your list, check it twice, and invite, invite, invite. The first thing you need to do when planning a dinner party is to create your guest list. Keep in mind that not all invited will attend. So, if you want to have 50 guests at your party, you will have to invite quite a few more than that. Send out invitations no less than three weeks in advance so that people will have a chance to RSVP.

Plan to cook your own meal or plan for others to plan it for you. If you are no Betty Crocker, admit it to yourself before signing on to make a large homemade meal. Having someone cater your dinner party or ordering takeout is perfectly acceptable depending on what type of atmosphere you want to create.

Remember that buffets are informal and a sit down dinner is more formal. I'm not saying that you are not capable of cooking a large meal for your guests. If you are and want to take on the work load of cooking for multiple guests, then by all means do so. Just keep in mind your limitations and time constraints. Doing so will save you a great deal of headache in the end.

Menu planning. When planning your individual dishes to serve at your Christmas dinner party, choose dishes that are both delicious and easy to make. Choose recipes that can be made ahead of time or that require just a little heating right before the party to be finished. The last thing you want to be doing during your dinner party is slaving over a hot stove sequestered away from your guests. Another important thing to remember when planning your menu is to never, ever attempt to cook a recipe for the first time. Trust me.

Take inventory. Create a list of all of the supplies that you will need to host your dinner party. Items may include tables, chairs, service pieces, cutlery, plates, candlesticks, decorations, table cloths, etc. Do not forget your food items from your menu as well.

Shop and Clean till you drop. About a week before your dinner party, you should take the time to do your party shopping and give your house a thorough cleaning.
Cook and decorate. Cook and prepare as many foods as you can ahead of time, preferable the day before the party.

Save the day of the party for setting up your tables and adding the finishing touches to your décor.
See, hosting a memorable Christmas dinner party is not so hard after all. In fact, I'm sure that you can do it. So, get out there and start planning, and if at any time you feel overwhelmed, simply hire a caterer.

Gadgets are good, books can be beautiful, sweaters can be sensible, and sexy lingerie -- well it’s seductive to say the least. But what would the majority of women (and their daughters) like wrapped up under the Christmas tree? You guessed it -- it’s a fabulous flannel nightgown to replace the thread-bare, worn (and well-loved) one they’re probably wearing Christmas morning.

And because flannel is long-wearing, it's actually become a once-a-year gift giving tradition.

Recently, at a MOPS (Mother’s of Preschoolers) gathering, the speaker shared ways to create memories for children that would last a lifetime. Lots of ideas were exchanged, but the one that got everyone talking was the idea of purchasing a new flannel nightgown every holiday season. One mother said, “Every Christmas my Mom let us open one gift on Christmas Eve. We always knew it was going to be a new Lanz of Salzburg flannel nightgown and we couldn’t wait to put it on --we didn’t care if it was a holiday print or a Lanz classic pattern -- we were thrilled!”

Kristen Donnell of Kristen’s Pajama Company, who sells hundreds of Lanz of Salzburg flannel nightgowns, notes, “All my customers have flannel nightgown stories. I have had fans of Lanz recount stories of their grandparents wearing Lanz flannels when the Austrian company was newly established in 1938. This was only 48 years after Christmas became a national holiday in the United States. Many of my male customers say they can’t show up on Christmas Eve without a Lanz flannel nightgown under the Christmas tree.”

Traditions are a part of the holiday season no matter what you are celebrating. A particularly bittersweet story was retold to Kristen in a recent customer e-mail. A woman wrote that a favorite Hanukkah tradition was receiving a Lanz flannel nightgown that matched the one her mother wore on the last night of Hanukkah. She said that although her mother was no longer alive, she has continued this tradition with her own family. And though some in the family were boys, she included them by giving the big guys and small a new pair of plaid pajamas.

Certainly the tradition of flannel pajamas was born out of necessity, when there was no such thing as central heating, and once away from the hearth, rooms -- whether in castles or cottages -- were cold. Flannel’s soft but dense weave was the perfect fabric to chase away the chills for everyone from newborns to newlyweds.

Lanz of Salzburg understood that flannel was practical, but as practicality gave way to a more modern way of dressing (and that included sleepwear) they designed fun and feminine patterns that could make wearers feel good inside and out.

So no matter whether you are giving or receiving flannel this year -- for the first time or the 50th -- you’re not just exchanging sleepwear; you’re part of a wonderful tradition that just might be with your family and friends for generations.

Kristen’s Pajama Company has the complete selection of Lanz of Salzburg flannel nightgowns, including matching mother/daughter prints and women’s sizes. For ordering information, visit www.kristens.com or call toll free (866) 574-7836.

So there we were, awkwardly staring at one another in utter disbelief that nobody could figure it out. It was a week before Christmas, and all through the house, your narrator was fuming….I could smash my mouse! We were trying to put up our Christmas tree, and we weren’t having much luck. Bah Humbug!!

My family and I went out early that morning to find the perfect tree. I filled up a thermos with hot apple cider, and got the kids ready to go. The three of them got on our big old sleigh, and my husband and I took turns pulling them through the bush. We live out in the country, and we have this majestic forest on the back of our land. Every year we go out together and find the perfect tree, and the children each have a hand in cutting it down. It has become a wonderful family tradition.

We returned home and had some lunch while the tree thawed out, and then I gathered the boxes of decorations from the basement. We finally got the tree into the stand, and started stringing the lights. My husband suggested that we test the lights first, but I didn’t see the point. I strung all of the lights, plugged them in, and nothing happened. He didn’t even bother to say "I told you so"!

I decided to remove the lights from the tree, and swore that I would find the bulb that was causing us so much trouble. I spent the next hour or so changing and replacing each and every bulb on the string. I plugged them back in, and nothing happened. I was fast becoming the Scrooge!

By this time my husband was playing on the computer, and the kids were having a snowball fight in the yard. I decided it was time for some Egg Nog. When I returned, my husband was examining each of the bulbs. He told me that the circuit was being broken somehow, and that in time he would figure it out. Five minutes later, the lights were aglow! In his hand, he held one little bulb.

Apparently the bulbs that we use today have their standard filament, but they also have a secondary shunt wire that maintains the circuit if the filament burns out. As it turns out, the shunt wire in this one little bulb was defective. A short while later we were all sipping hot cocoa under our beautiful sparkling tree. To me, it was nothing short of a Christmas miracle!

Countries all across the world celebrate the winter solstice holiday season in their own unique ways. Some such as Christmas and Hanukah are religious celebrations, while others are non-religious celebrations of nature, people and the coming spring solstice. The reasoning behind the various holiday celebrations can sometimes differ greatly, but there are a surprising number of commonalities among the celebratory traditions. Over the thousands of years that man has celebrated the season, each group influenced others with their traditions.

Today each country and faith celebrates the holiday in their own unique ways, but more often than not you can detect common themes shared between countries. In this article we will take a closer look at how Christmas is celebrated in Germany, during which you will see that their traditions are not unlike those shared by England and America.

The youth in many countries celebrate a beloved mystical figure such as Santa Claus and Germany is no different; the German equivalent of America's Santa and England's Father Christmas is none other than the kindly Kris Kringle. Unlike Santa, Kris Kringle is not responsible for passing out gifts to excited children - that duty is reserved by another holiday figure: Christkind.

In Germany children will write letters to Christkind (translated as the Christ Child), much like American children send letters to Santa in the North Pole. The German children place their letters into an envelope heavily adorned with glue and sugar. These envelopes are placed on windowsills where they can glitter in the gentle light of the moon.

And as if the German youth didn't already celebrate enough kindly eternal figures there is yet one more: Saint Nicholas! Traditionally children will stuff their shoes with hay, straw or carrots every Christmas Eve and leave them on their doorsteps. When Saint Nicholas rides by later that evening on his proud white stallion he stops momentarily by each door so that his stallion can feed on the treats left behind. To thank the generous children, Saint Nicholas will replace the eaten hay and/or carrots with delicious candies.

Few things capture the holiday spirits of people better than the age-old Christmas tree. While millions of people set up their Christmas tree each and every year, a good portion of them don't even realize that the tradition originated from Germany. Germans love their Christmas trees just as much as Americans and Englishmen… in fact it's not uncommon to see more than one tree in a German household!

There are conflicting myths about how the Christmas tree first came to be, but one of the most common stories tells the tale of an old woodcutter that stumbled across a young hungry child in the woods. He stopped chopping trees for a bit to befriend and feed the child. Once their meal was finished the two went on their separate ways.

Early during the next morning the child appeared in front of the woodcutter and his wife in the form of a spirit. He identified himself as Christkind and thanked the surprised woodcutter for his act of kindness on the previous day. To repay the woodcutter's good will, Christkind gave him the sprig of an evergreen tree and told him the tree from which the sprig came would bear fruit year round. In response to this miraculous incident, each year Germans started felling evergreen trees each winter and decorating them with ornaments, candies, candles and more.

Once Thanksgiving arrives in America you can be sure of one thing: virtually every mall and shopping outlet will be adorned with many festive Christmas decorations. Germans know how to kick the holiday shopping system into high gear too… in fact they have a name for this tradition: Kriskringlemart. During this time vendors and merchants will line the various town streets and offer special sales for Christmas. The festive decorations, scents and sounds of the holiday create a true feast for the senses.

What Christmas would be complete without a seemingly endless assortment of tasty foods and drinks? If you were to celebrate Christmas while in Germany you would have your fill of indulgent treats such as spiced cakes, cookies, handmade candies and cocoa. Although all the above are enough to satisfy the palate there are two specialties Germans are renowned for: gingerbread and gluwein (which is a spiced red wine). Bakers also produce a special type of dough called Christbaumgeback, which is molded into various shapes and hung on Christmas trees as adornments.

Each country has their own festive traditions that take place during the winter holiday season, but few are quite as memorable as Christmas in Germany. Those lucky enough to vacation in this wonderful country during the holiday season will leave with memories that will last them a lifetime.

There are many traditions and symbols that we associate with Christmas including the Christmas tree, leaving cookies out for Santa Claus, and sending Christmas cards and Christmas presents. If you're like most, you observe all of the traditions which are sacred to your family without a thought about where they originated or why they became so popular in the first place.

While you don't need to know why you celebrate the Christmas holiday the way you do, it makes for interesting conversation when you're sipping egg nog in front of the fireplace. So, if you're ready to wow your family and friends with your knowledge of the Christmas holiday, bring up these interesting facts about the most widely celebrated holiday.

The modern term Christmas originates form the Olde English "cristes masse," which means "Christ's mass." The name Christ finds its origins in the Greek tongue, which was the language spoken by Christ himself. The Greek form of the work was Khristos, which means "anointed one."

The origins of the Christmas tree actually predate Christ and the history of Christianity by thousands of years. The tree finds its beginning during the time of the Druids, a society made up of sorcerers, prophets and priests. During the time of the Druid winter solstice, which fell on December 21, the Druid priests decorated outdoor trees with apples and lit candles to show their appreciation to their god Odin. The candles represented the eternal light of their sun god Balter. Christians later adopted the practice widely and decorated their fir trees with apples to represent Adam and Eve's gall from grace.

The first Christmas tree has been credited to a warrior of the Crusades, Winfried of England, who had traveled to the Northern forests to covert the Pagans, according to legend. When Winfried came upon an unruly mob getting ready to conduct a human sacrifice before the sacred Oak of Geismar, he chopped down the detestable tree and a fir tree immediately sprang from where the Oak tree formerly stood. Winfried claimed the tree was the three of Christ which represented the love and kindness that should be in everyone's home.

Santa Claus is a lively, jolly and fat old fellow who tours the whole world on Christmas Eve delivering presents to deserving children. The modern-day Santa Claus finds his origins in Saint Nicholas. This patron saint was shown in paintings to look like the ordinary person that he was, but was given a makeover by the Coca-Cola Company in the 1930's. That's right; our beloved Santa Claus is nothing more than a clever marketing ploy. And you thought it was hard when the kids on the playground told you Santa Claus didn't exist.

Christmas cards were introduced during the 1840s in Britain with the introduction of the postal service and the penny stamp. While a penny was a lot of money during those days, sending Christmas cards still became very common by the 1860s.

Holly and mistletoe are also attributed to the Druids. The ancient Druids were the first society known to have worn sprigs of holly and mistletoe. The druid priests believed that holly was able to remain green and vibrant the entire year because it possessed magical properties. We may have also picked up some other significant traditions from the Druids. Do you think that it's a coincidence that the colors of holly, green and red, are the colors associated with Christmas today? Mistletoe, on the other hand, represented fertility and was looked down upon by the Christian church for its association with non-virginity.

Gift giving came to us from the Romans. The Romans exchanged holly wreaths as gifts during their Saturnalia festival, which coincided with the Druid's winter solstice. The wreaths were a symbol of eternal life. Later, many Christians would take to adorning their homes with holly during the Saturnalia festival to avoid persecution from the Romans. Eventually adornment with holly was absorbed into Christian practices as well.

So, now that you know a little more about why you do the things you do during the Christmas season, why don't you see what other tidbits of historical knowledge that you can uncover to share during your next holiday gathering.