Take all the positive things about candles -- decorator looks, delicious scents and soft, flickering light -- and subtract the negative things -- messy wax drips, soot marks, uneven burning and dangerous open flames -- and you're left with flameless candles, one of the more popular innovations hitting the stores and home shopping channels.
Flameless candles from Candle Impressions of Vancouver, British Columbia, are made of real vanilla-scented wax and resemble a traditional candle in every way, until you pick one up. Underneath is an on-off switch and a compartment for two batteries that silently power a flickering light effect that appears to come from a flame inside the body of the candle.
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Since they are designed to flicker in random patterns, the candles look realistic and not artificial. The result is the warm ambience of candlelight that's safe enough to use around children and pets.
Unlike traditional candles, flameless candles allow for worry-free use on curtained windowsills, or accessorized with fabric ribbons, branches, wreath garlands and artificial snow. Flameless candles can also be used outdoors; try using one to light a jack-o'-lantern this year.
Most come in your choice of white or champagne and in a variety of sizes that can be grouped for a more dramatic effect. A pink model has a flower pattern in relief that would make a nice wedding or anniversary gift. A set of hefty 6-inch bookends would make a good last-minute gift to have on hand for office grab bags or for neighbors or service providers of either sex.
At $13 to $30, Candle Impressions' flameless candles cost a few dollars more than traditional candles, but they never burn down so they never need replacing; only the batteries need replacing. Smaller candles can remain "lit" for about 350 hours on two C-cell alkaline batteries; larger 8-, 10- and 12-inch pillar candles will run about twice as long on a pair of D-cell batteries.
The batteries do not warm the candle, which safely remain at room temperature, so the vanilla scent should last longer than traditional candles placed on warming units.
This product garnered a 2005 Product Innovation Award for Consumer Safety and a 2006 All-Star Salute to Home Safety Award from the Home Safety Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that aims to prevent home-related injuries and deaths.
