Decorating Glass Candle Holders For Christmas

Learn how to make Christmas candle holders to decorate your home during the holidays? Get over 35 beautiful ideas on a budget, easy enough for beginning crafters.

So you're thinking about how to spruce up your home for the holidays but don't want to break the bank? Why not try a quick decor project on a budget! This Christmas, create some festive and pretty decorations with these easy-to-make DIY Christmas candle holders.

I love decorating candle holders. Not only are they relatively easy due to their size (making them perfect for beginning crafters), the peaceful glow just goes so well with the vibe of holidays.

They'll look wonderful on a fireplace mantel, Christmas table display, or anywhere else in your home where you want a little bit of a glow. Put the Christmas music on, light a candle, and get into the spirit.

Before we get into the Christmas candle holder ideas, I wanted to give you a bit of information if you're a newbie. If you want to scroll down to get the list, you can do that. Otherwise, I hope these tips help shorten the learning curve.

While not all of the candles are glass, a lot of them are, so I'm going to give you tips for working with glass in those projects. Otherwise, refer to the instructions in the original tutorial when you see something like wood or clay.

Candle in front of a Christmas tree with lights

Christmas Candle Holder Ideas

Decorating a candle holder is relatively simple, but there are some things you need to know – like where to buy, how to prep, and paint to use. I address those three things below.

Where to Buy

One thing I love about glass candle holders is that they can be found just about anywhere – and the first place to look is your recycling bin! A lot of people use jars (like pasta sauce, Oui yogurt, or jelly) as their base. You can remove the labels with these tips.

But if you don't have anything in your recycle bin, you can also get your glass holders at Dollar Tree (or your local dollar store) or the thrift store/Goodwill. You might have to do some regular checking for new stock, but they show up frequently.

Of course a place that is always reliable for candle holders is the craft store. Check your local shop or Michaels, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, etc. They'll have something you can use. Mason jars always make good holders – you'll see several of those projects in the list.

How to Prep

Before you decorate your Christmas candle holders, prepare your glass.This step is important if you want the paint or Mod Podge to stick. Thoroughly wash in warm, soapy water to remove dirt, dust, and grease from your fingers. You can also use rubbing alcohol and cotton balls to do the same. Let your glass dry before crafting.

Paints to Use

You'll want to check out my post aboutpainting on glass to get all the details, but typically I use spray paint, chalk paint, or glass paint (including multi-surface) on any candle holders.

You can use any of the Mod Podge formulas for glass, but I always like Gloss or Matte, personally. I have a guide for Mod Podging on glass too!

Are you ready to get the projects? Just scroll down to see them!

Glitter Candle Holders

Learn how to make DIY candle holders with glitter the easy way - no previous crafting skills required. Perfect for any celebration or holiday festivities.

Quick Cranberry Cedar Candle Holders

Photo Credit: Kim Demmon

These five minute Christmas luminaries with fresh cedar clippings and real cranberries will save your bacon when you need an easy and fabulous holiday table centerpiece. Simple supplies and simple to put together. These always get rave reviews!

Winter Scene Cylinder Vase Decor

Create this unique seasonal vase decor with a silhouette winter scene! Perfect for glowing cand a holiday mantel or for gifting. Easy to make!

Recycled Bottle Christmas Candle Holders

Photo Credit: Steve Carrell

Recycle glass soda bottles into these fun and modern Christmas candle holders made to look like trees! SO easy to make and customize.

Snowflake Motif Candle Holders

Photo Credit: plaidonline.com

Learn how to decorate candle holders for Christmas and the winter with glass paint! This is a really easy craft technique.

DIY Mason Jar Holiday Luminaries

Photo Credit: thebudgetdecorator.com

I love that these Christmas candle holders go together to spell "JOY"! These were made with mason jars and frosted spray paint.

Peppermint Striped Christmas Candlesticks

Photo Credit: oldsaltfarm.com

Grab a 4 x 4 wood post to make these simple painted DIY Christmas candle holders! It just goes to show that sometimes the easiest ideas can be the most beautiful.

Rustic-Glam DIY Christmas Candle Holders

Photo Credit: www.twelveoeightblog.com

Tanya used Dollar Tree vases and a matte decoupage finish to create her cute candle holders. She applied paper snowflakes, and it took minutes for her to make.

Rustic Wood Branch Candle Holders

Photo Credit: hoosierhomemade.com

These DIY rustic wood candle holders will add simple beauty to your home for any season. Group them with greenery and berries for perfect Christmas decor.

Farmhouse Style Christmas Candle Holders

Photo Credit: Sarah Nenni-Daher

Making these simple Christmas candle holders was fast and easy! I love the farmhouse charm they add to a dining room table for a holiday dinner.

Christmas Mason Jar Luminaries

Photo Credit: maisondepax.com

Decorate your home this holiday season with these simple Christmas mason jar candle holders. Such an easy, charming touch to your holiday home.

Christmas Cut Out Wooden Candle Holder

Photo Credit: www.virginiasweetpea.com

Paula shows you how to make wooden candle holders for Christmas using wood table legs as well as wood from Home Depot. They are way easier than you think!

DIY Clay Star Candle Holders

Photo Credit: muminthemadhouse.com

If you're looking for simple holiday candle holders to hold tiny candles, these clay ones are perfect! They are very easy to make with cookie cutters.

Bottle Brush Mason Jar Candles

Photo Credit: aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com

Make these adorable bottle brush mason jar candles for your holiday table in just a few minutes and with a few simple supplies! These are so beautiful for Christmas and so easy to make.

DIY Wood House Candle Holders

Photo Credit: thenavagepatch.com

These DIY wood house candle holders are rustic and beautiful. They're so easy to make, you'll want to create your own little wood house village for the holidays!

Dollar Store Christmas Candle Holder

Photo Credit: onecrazymom.com

Looking to jazz up your holiday decor on a budget? Try this DIY Christmas candle holder that takes only minutes to make and leaves a festive glow in your home.

Christmas Tree Mason Jar Votive

Photo Credit: Linda Braden

Mason jars make perfect candle holders for Christmas! Linda provides the free stencil, and the rest is easy, including the epsom salt filler.

Holiday Mason Jar Luminaries

Photo Credit: organizeyourstuffnow.com

There's something peaceful and calming about the warm glow of a candle on a cool night! These holiday candle holders are pretty with or without the candles.

Wood Christmas Tree Mason Jar Sconce

Photo Credit: Angela Made

This wood scone looks perfect on the wall, a mantel, or a Christmas table! It's a very simple woodworking project, and I love the incorporation of a mason jar and other embellishments to finish it off.

Simple Christmas Centerpiece

Photo Credit: Diana Miller

If you're looking for a simple Christmas candle display, this is a perfect idea! Decoupage a snowflake to a glass candle holder, then place it in a bowl of ornaments. So perfect for the holidays!

Snowy Frosted Candle Holders

Photo Credit: Michelle McKinley

Grab a few glass candle holders from the dollar store to make some frosted Christmas candle holders! They look so snowy and beautiful for the holidays.

DIY Snowy Christmas Candle Jars

Photo Credit: hollygrace.ca

Holly used her Cricut to duplicate some cute candle holders she saw at the store - and the results are beautiful! I like her Christmas creation better than the original.

DIY Candy Cane Candle Holders

Photo Credit: hallmarkchannel.com

Turning candy canes into candlesticks? Genius! I absolutely love this display for a holiday table. This would make a cute kids' craft as well!

Dollar Tree Christmas Candleholders

Photo Credit: thelatinanextdoor.com

Bling out some dollar store glass candle holders with rhinestone-y adhesive wall decor! You will have this holiday decor completed in minutes.

Holiday Candles with Packing Tape Labels

Photo Credit: hearthandvine.com

While these simple yet beautiful labels were attached to candles already in the jar, you can use the exact same method with any glass candle holders. These would make great holiday gifts!

DIY Christmas Mason Jar Candle Holders

Photo Credit: Arena Blake

One of my favorite ways to refresh a room during the holidays is to use some scented candles as decorations. With this type of Christmas candle holder, all you do is plunk a new scented candle in the top when needed.

DIY Christmas Wine Glass Candle Holder

Photo Credit: foodwinesunshine.com

This Christmas wine glass candle holder is easy to make and a festive holiday decoration. It would look great both on the mantel or as a holiday table centerpiece.

Snowflake-Etched Candleholders

Photo Credit: www.suburble.com

This way of decorating Christmas candle holders is very simple but also very pretty! Etched glass just has a special way of glowing. Learn how to do it with adhesive stencils in the blog post.

Five Minute Christmas Mason Jar Candles

Photo Credit: aprettylifeinthesuburbs.com

If something says it takes five minutes to make, that immediately catches my attention! I love the pretty buffalo plaid ribbon used in this Christmas candle holder.

Dollar Store Snow Globe Candle Craft

Photo Credit: Sarah Nenni-Daher

If you want to decorate your holiday table with candles for Christmas this year, these cute snow globe candles are perfect! They are super fast to make and very whimsical.

Christmas Mason Jar Candle Holder

Photo Credit: burtonavenue.com

Turn red mason jars into the perfect DIY Christmas candle holders - great for decorating and great for gifts! Angie used her cutting machine to cut the vinyl, and you can use the saying of your choice.

Snowy Pinecone Candle Jars

Photo Credit: Amanda Formaro

Make pretty winter luminaries that appear to be covered with freshly fallen snow! Oh so gorgeous and perfect for the holidays, they are very easy to make.

Christmas Township Candle Holders

Photo Credit: www.shabbyartboutique.com

Kerryanne first used these Christmas township candle jars as a table decoration for a Christmas dinner party. It is one of those projects that is super quick and easy, but gives spectacular results!

Icicle DIY Candle Holders

Photo Credit: lydioutloud.com

These glittery icicle DIY candle holders are beautiful decorations that are perfect for the holidays and beyond! They are very easy to make with Mod Podge and fine glitter.

If you enjoyed these Christmas candle holders, I'd love if you'd check out these other ideas:

DIY Christmas Ornaments: 100+ Ideas For Your Tree!
Mason Jar Christmas Crafts for Gifts or Decor
Easy Christmas Crafts Made with Mod Podge
Farmhouse Christmas Sign in Four Easy Steps