Burn Baby Burn.

Don't be afraid of candles.

I don't hear it often but occasionally I'm told by people that they don't light candles in their home because of the safety issues. Now...I'm not going to pretend that a candle isn't a teeny tiny fire but I will say that unless you're wildly accident prone or are lacking furniture of a particular height then you shouldn't be afraid of lighting a candle every now and again. There are a few key tips about how to look after them and where to put them and where NOT to put them, so I thought I'd write a little list to that effect to help fend off those rumours and encourage people to light that candle that they've had beautifully sitting in their home unlit and collecting dust for months.

In no particular order and I'll be honest, some of these are common sense so apologies for that...

1. Place a candle on the centre of a piece of furniture. Nothing too near the edge as if you're walking past you're just more likely to potentially get too close

2. Leave it alone while it burns. Once you've lit it (don't forget to trim the wick before each burn too) just sit back and let it do its thing. Moving it can cause the melted wax to move about and potentially if split can make a bit of a mess.

3. Light your candle when you're planning to be in your home for a little while. You don't want to forget about it and never of course leave it lit and leave the house. When leaving their house a lot of people would check if they've got their keys. If you're a candle fan like me your checks would be 'do I have my keys? are there any candles lit?'

4. Now we come to toddler and small children. So, truth be told, a lot of children are huge candle fans...if they see it, and it's in their reach they might go for it so best to keep it out their reach! My sister does this very well in fact; every time I go round (and I'm not sure if it's just because it's me!) there's always a lovely scented coming from a candle burning on the mantel piece. It's high up so my nephew Jude can look and appreciate, but not touch!

So...if you're still not persuaded then I'll be honest, they do look pretty good unlit and will still throw a little scent in your home if you give them a rub every now and again!

BURN BABY BURN.