As a summer baby, I remember looking on in envy while my classmates brought cupcakes to class and wore special birthday hats. I was acutely aware of the fact that I wouldn’t get to celebrate at school, and I know that I wasn’t alone in my green-eyed envy! Fellow summer birthday friends, don’t deny it—you felt this, too. 😉
The good news is that celebrating a birthday in the summer comes with a lot of opportunities for fun that (gasp!) outstrip the joys of a 4th grade class party. Who would have thought? Ha!
Even though I’ve long since passed my years of being jealous of in-school birthday celebrations, I’m still a big believer in celebrating my birthday in style. Because summer’s such a great time to travel, I can (and usually do!) go to new places every year for my birthday.
Even though I’ve long since passed my years of being jealous of in-school birthday celebrations, I’m still a big believer in celebrating in style. Because summer’s such a great time to travel, I can (and usually do!) go to new places every year for my birthday. I even have rules for how and where to spend my birthday so that I can keep up on my travel goals! Last year the pandemic was in full swing, so I obviously didn’t travel, but my fingers are crossed that this year I can go at least somewhere and keep my birthday travel tradition alive.
Materials:
Whether you’re a fellow birthday traveler or contentedly partying at home, you can also celebrate your birthday in style with these very on-trend twisted birthday candles.
What We Learned About Twisting Candles
Do you remember when we showed you how to DIY the twisted candle trend? Well, what you didn’t see then was that it took some serious trial and error to get the candles to come out right. It turns out that when you’re making big twisted candles, you’re working with kind of a thick pillar of wax. You have to be really careful about temperature (not too hot!) and how long you leave the candles in the warm water (a surprisingly long time!). If not, you run the risk of melting the outside and leaving the inside cold and hard. Don’t get me wrong! It’s still a great project with our Lars stamp of approval.
I’m pleased to announce, though, that miniaturizing the twisted candle trend bypasses a lot of the project’s potential pitfalls. And thus: twisted birthday candles are born!
The narrower candles don’t have to sit in warm water for as long before they get nice and floppy. This means that they’re far less likely to snap or crack when you’re flattening or twisting them and sets you up for twisted birthday candle success!
Make Your Own Twisted Birthday Candles
You will need:
Long birthday candles, water, a tall, microwave-safe vessel (I just used a mason jar!), a microwave, parchment paper, a rolling pin.
Instructions:
- Fill your jar, vase, or tall glass with water.
- Warm it up. I found that a few 30 second blasts in the microwave did the trick. It’s key here that your water is warm enough to soften the candle wax without just melting it. Think pleasant bathwater, not hot tub.
- Place your birthday candles in the water and let them soak for several minutes. I recommend using more candles than you’ll ultimately need to make room for error.
- Your candles are soft enough when they start getting floppy. You’ll want to work with them one at a time and return them to the warm water after you work with them. If at any time the candle you’re working with starts getting stiff, just plop it back into the water until it’s nice and soft again.
- Flatten your candles. Put a candle on parchment paper, then fold the paper over the candle. Use a rolling pin to flatten the middle of the candle, leaving its base unflattened so it can easily stick into a cake. Return the candle to the water and repeat for the rest of your candles.
- Twist your candles. Take a soft, flattened candle out of the water and gently twist it. If you want it to be very twisted you will probably have to return your candle to the water a few times. Experiment with different degrees of twistiness to find what you like best.
- Twist all your candles, then dip them in cold water to harden them.
- Don’t forget to make a wish when you blow out the candles!
More Birthday Decorations
These twisted birthday candles would be lovely on any cake, but in case COVID got you worried about blowing on a communal cake you could celebrate with cupcakes and this individual cupcake stand.
Check out the printable birthday suites in the shop and browse even more of our Lars birthday decor, because you deserve the most festive birthday party around!
If you’ve aged out of your pin the tail on the donkey years but still are looking for engaging birthday party games, use this birthday bucket list printable! Entertain your guests and find out about their favorite things, and facilitate conversation all in one fun activity.
And most of all, happy birthday!
