The Best Flameless Candles of 2025 and Candle Safety Tips
Enjoy the ambiance and great scents that candles add to your home? You’re not alone. Candles are more popular than ever, but they pose some safety hazards if you have little ones running about. Here are safer alternatives to open flame candles, plus tips on enjoying candles safely in your home.
Best Bet for Safety: Battery-Operated Flameless Candles
Battery-operated flameless candles have come a long way in the past few years. The best styles are crafted in real wax for a realistic glow and have a flicker-style light bulb that mimics a flickering flame. Battery-operated flameless candles come in a wide variety of designs, from pillar and votive styles to realistic drip-rim looks and even scented varieties.
Battery Operated LED Pillar Candles
- Remote Control and Timer
- Radiance Candles
- Real Wax
- D 3" x H 4" 5" & 6"
The beauty of battery-operated candles is that you can enjoy them wherever and whenever you want them — on the dinner or coffee table, outdoors on a windy day, on buffets or side tables, around paper decorations — and even around kids! While battery-operated candles certainly aren’t toys, they are the safest way to add ambiance without a flame to any space accessible by little hands.
Candle Warmer: Enjoy Jar Candles Without the Flame
Jar candle warmers are flame-free way to enjoy the fabulous scents that jar candles offer.
- Ceramic Warmer for Jar Candles
- Aromatherapy Fragrance and Heating
- Also use for: Coffee Cup Warmers for Home Office
Like a scented wax warmer, a jar candle warmer allows for a slow release of scent without a live flame. This is a keep-away from little hands since the jars heat up and the wax will melt. But when placed safely out of reach, this is the flame-free solution for jar candles.
A Kid-Smart Way to Burn Real Candles
A smart solution for burning candles safely in homes with children is to use candle sconces.
Add traditional flame or flameless candles to create a beautiful glow in any room.
Affixed to the wall and designed to keep votives, pillars, and jars securely in place, candle sconces are an out-of-reach solution for real candles.
Install sconces with safe placement in mind. Don’t place in a tight or highly trafficked area, and keep far from drapery and other combustibles. Also, if you have small children, position sconces away from furniture so they can’t reach them by climbing.
Basic Candle Safety Tips
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the number of home fires started by candles is on the rise. They report that three main factors contribute to candle-related house fires: unattended candles that are allowed to over-burn, candles placed near combustibles such as wall hangings, and children playing with lit candles.
This almost goes without saying, but to be thorough, we’ll say it!
- First rule of candle safety: Never leave a burning candle unattended
- Second rule: Don’t position candles near or under anything combustible, or where it can be tipped or knocked off a surface
- Third rule: Keep burning candles out, out, out of the reach of children
Other factors that will minimize fire danger include trimming the wick to about 1/4″ prior to lighting, and not overburning. For more burning safety tips, see the The National Candle Association’s Safety Page
