Don’t Forget – Easter’s Early!

“Don’t Forget – Easter’s Early So Book Your Reservations Now!” That’s what the sign read when I drove past a restaurant this weekend and boy did it wake me up! I don’t need reservations because my sister Patty will be doing the honors for the family this year. I do, however, need Easter gifts and décor! No worries, a quick trip to Yankee Candle did the trick and now my house is fully outfitted and smelling spring-y just in time for the Easter Bunny’s arrival.

Traveling Back to the Sun & Sand™

Years ago Yankee Candle® had an advertising campaign that centered on the question, “Where will our scents take you?” I think of that question every time I lift the lid and smell the fragrance of our Sun & Sand™ candles. Having grown up in a Navy family, I now live farther away from the beach than I ever have in my whole life. Though the surrounding mountains and farmland are beautiful, there are many days where I find myself yearning for the coast. When I smell Sun & Sand™, I am instantly transported to the sunny shores of my youth: the hot sands of Key West, the dunes of Virginia Beach, ice-cold waters in Maine, and famous beaches of Rhode Island. I know it’s just a candle, but when I smell it I swear I can hear the seagulls and taste the salt air. Sun & Sand™ takes me back in time and place and it makes me happy. It’s the best mental vacation money can buy! Where does your favorite candle scent take you?

The Story of Storm Watch

Living in New England, you need to be prepared for the power to go out. Whether it’s caused by a hurricane or a good old fashioned nor’easter, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll lose power at least once a year if not once a season. It’s with that in mind that The Yankee Candle Company (based in Massachusetts) first developed our Storm Watch® candle. Our goal was to design a utilitarian candle that shares the same qualities of our legendary jar candles: ultra safe and long-burning. This was not intended to be a candle you would use to fragrance your home, but rather something you might quickly grab and light when the weather turned bleak. In fact, our first Storm Watch® candles were without scent! It was then that our customers taught us a lesson. To a person, each customer approached the Storm Watch® display in the store, lifted the lid and proceeded to take a deep sniff. Yankee Candles® are famous for fragrance, after all, and it was unimaginable that such an attractive candle with an intriguing name would have no scent. We quickly went to our fragrance committee and crafted a scent that would be as unique as the candle. Since that time, Storm Watch® has been a perennial favorite and it’s enjoyed as much on sunny days as on stormy nights!

YANKEE CANDLE LETS THE GOOD AIR™ IN

Odors Out. Good Air™ In. You know how the normal odors of everyday life can sometimes creep up in rooms, like the kitchen, bath, laundry, or pet areas? Using a patented technology, Good Air™ sticks to odor molecules . . . neutralizing them on contact. I use Good Air™ in my mud room and it works like a charm to eliminate unpleasant odors and provide a more aromatic welcome to friends and family!

Available in Just Plain Fresh and Just Plain Clean fragrances, Good Air™ makes a great gift for college-bound students, too!

Find Good Air™ in our Yankee Candle retail stores, on our website, and in gift and home stores nationwide!

Scent-i-mental Journey

More than any other sense, the sense of smell evokes the most lucid memories. A quick whiff of an unexpected yet familiar smell will immediately transport you to another place and time. There’s an aroma to my daughter’s school that is in some way similar to what I remembered smelling whenever I visited my Grandmom’s house. I don’t know if it’s because the buildings are the same age, or because they’re both brick, or perhaps it’s the familiar smell of the heat as it is drawn through the old radiators. The source of the scent is really insignificant – what’s noteworthy is how it makes me feel. My daughter’s school immediately feels like it’s a safe, warm, and nurturing environment because it reminds me of that special place. Similarly, when I’m burning a Spiced Pumpkin candle I’m filled with happy memories of being newly married and in my own home for the very first time. We couldn’t afford living room furniture so Evan and I made our vacant home feel cozy with our favorite Yankee Candle scent. Whenever that scent is in the air now, I’m overcome with the same warm and happy feelings. It’s an amazing thing when one sense is so powerful that it can change your whole perspective! It's also a key element to keep in mind when you want to make a moment even more memorable.

Think of fragrance as important as music when you are planning your next occasion. You pay attention to what your guests see when they walk in the room and you script the music like it's a movie score, but its the scent that will linger in their memories for a long, long time!

Packing the E-Scentials!

Every night when I get home from work, my daughter and I work on our vacation plans. It gives us something to look forward to after a long New England winter. Of course, Ella thinks only of whether there’s a playground at the hotel, what toys she can bring, and will this be the trip that we hit one of the water parks? My job is to handle all of the necessities. I need to make sure we take enough money, pack the right clothes, and remember to bring all of our e-scentials. That’s right e-scentials; scented products that are essential to making our vacation fabulous! I pack Car Jars® air fresheners whenever I rent a car. On-The-Go™ travel spray is perfect for overcoming the stale odor of a hotel room because I can even bring it on a plane. Yankee Candle fragranced anti-bac hand sanitizer is a must for fighting travel germs - my favorite is Sun and Sand™ because it smells like I'm on vacation! And, of course, Yankee Candle lip balm because traveling can be so drying and the fragrances are so yummy (Buttercream® - mmmm)! If I have enough room, I’ve even been known to stow away a candle or two just in case I run into an old friend or need a token gift for someone who provides exceptional service. It’s the little e-scentials that make life a little more fun!

Top Candle Safety Tips - Part 2

As beautiful and fragrant as they are, candles have become an "e-scential" part of today's lifestyle. A lit candle adds ambiance and can serve as a mood enhancer so it's easy to overlook important safety concerns when our favorite scent fills the room. Here is the second part of my Top Candle Safety Tips:

• Discontinue use when 1/2” of wax remains. When the wax is low in the jar the flame is very close to the glass, making it very hot to the touch and increasing the possibility of cracking or shattering.


• Don’t re-use jar glass for another candle. As tempting as this may be, during the first use of the jar candle the glass may have developed hidden stress fractures that would make it unsafe for reuse as a candle.


• Use in an appropriate holder. If you are using a different candle style such as a tea light, votive or taper, be sure to use the right kind of holder for that style.


• Keep away from flammable objects such as fabric curtains, decorative trim, etc. Flowing curtains and festive evergreen boughs will ignite very quickly and without warning. Keep them separated from lit candles.


• Do not burn on or near another heat source. It is not a safe practice for a candle to be warmed on the outside of the glass, especially while it is also being heated inside. Don’t use your valuable television or lit stove as a candle stand and don’t use a candle warmer with a Yankee Candle!

Top Candle Safety Tips - Part 1

For some of us, lighting a candle in our home is as routine as turning on a light switch when we enter a room. We light the flame and before we know it our favorite fragrance is wafting through the air creating what we at Yankee Candle call “scent-mosphere”. But even as it has become so much a part of our daily life, we should always keep standard safety in mind:

• Never leave a burning candle unattended. Be sure that all candles are extinguished before falling asleep or leaving your home. If lit candles are in another room, remember to frequently check on them.



• Keep candles away from children and pets. Candles are pretty and they smell good which makes them an instant attraction for innocent kids and animals. Make sure your candles are out of arm and tail reach!



• Keep candles away from open windows. Drafts will fan the fire often resulting in a higher and more dangerous flame. A flickering flame can also lead to undesirable smoking.



• Maintain a wick trimmed to 1/8”. When a wick is properly maintained, the flame stays in control and you’ll extend the life of your candle.



• Burn candles on a safe, heat-resistant surface. At the Yankee Candle Company, we recommend the use of candle trays, plates, or trivets so that there is always something between the warm bottom of a lit candle and your treasured furniture.

Look for 5 more important tips in my next blog post!

Fundraising That Makes Dollar$ & Scents!

My seven-year-old daughter Ella is in her 5th year of dance. If I have to look at one more fundraiser catalog filled with useless baubles and thingamajigs I think I’ll tap dance into insanity! I mean really, how many chip clips can one family have? I’m so jealous of my sister in Rhode Island because her daughter’s school has been involved with Yankee Candle Fund-raising for nearly four years now. Not only is she hawking something people really like, but she’s making a FABULOUS profit for the school! I read somewhere that Yankee Candle Fundraising has helped raise something like $15 million for things like band trips and playground equipment.

While I’m convincing my friends and family that they really need one more magazine subscription and they can’t live without a combination jar opener and vegetable peeler, my sister gets to sell American made quality candles!

Sorry, gotta run. I have to decide whether I need an Apple Basket Magnetic Note Holder or a set of Sombrero Salt & Pepper Shakers.

Need Funds? http://www.yankeecandlefundraising.com/