This year, I am buying one perfect Christmas gift in bulk and giving it to everyone I know. And honestly? I stand by it. When you work in interiors and style, you see it all, every candle, diffuser, and beautifully wrapped trinket, but every so often, something stands out as the gift of the season. This year, it’s this Diptyque set. Buy a few, keep them on hand, and watch as your friends jump up and down with excitement when they unwrap them.
It’s the Diptyque Miniature Candle Surprise Set Holiday Edition, and in my opinion, it’s one of the best home fragrances you can give. Each candle feels indulgent, the scents are sublime, and the Christmas packaging is completely beautiful. The whole thing feels generous and bespoke, yet it’s astonishingly under £50.
It’s the rare gift that feels extravagant but sits happily in a very normal budget. Honestly, if there’s a better under £50 luxury gift out there, I haven’t found it. Yes, it’s Diptyque. No, it’s not expensive. You’re welcome.
A Little Box of Diptyque Magic – and a Foolproof Gift Under £50
This limited-edition set features three miniature Diptyque candles in beautifully festive packaging. Perfect for gifting, each candle delivers the brand’s signature luxurious scents, making it an effortless and impressive Christmas treat, all for under £50.
Stylish and Affordable Candles Under £30, £20 and £15
The vessel that holds scented wax can be just as important as the wax itself. We are obsessed with this beautiful and playful candle from Paddywax. Truthfully, we expected the price tag to be far higher, and it makes for an artistic, charming, and colourful gift that feels handcrafted, unusual, and unpredictable.
Being gifted a Christmas scented candle at Christmas always strikes me as rather odd. By the time you come to light and enjoy it, you are firmly over everything festive, and really, you want something fresh and earthy in the cold, glum months that follow. This is the perfect example of what we do want to burn. It has a hint of woodiness but enough freshness to help you look forward to spring, is in a beautiful ceramic jar that can be used again and again, and under £20.
I may have left the best until last. I have a 'present drawer' at home (I am not embarrassed to admit) and I have ordered five of these to live in there, ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice. It costs the same as a good bottle of wine, yet it is utterly beautiful, the perfect gift when you are off to an impromptu dinner party, birthday bash, or housewarming.
When it comes to searching the web and wandering through shops to find the best candles, it's hard not to spend an eye-watering amount of money, with luxury candles dominating the market. Truthfully, though, a beautiful Christmas Gift Box from St Eval would thrill me more than a £300 luxury centerpiece candle, so too would the Santa Maria Novella’s Scented Candles Gift Set available at Liberty right now, which looks as though it has been purchased from a Venetian perfumery, so beautiful is the packaging, and with deep, sensual fragrances like Tabacco Toscano, it feels like its a more grown up and less predictable gift than many that saturate the market.
