To think you don't throw away birthday cake candles?

[catsonthebed]

Was at my SILs at the weekend celebrating a birthday. When I went to help clear up, I saw that all the candles from the birthday cake were in the bin. When I rescued them, thinking they'd been thrown away accidentally, she said she always bins them. Apparently they're 'gross' after they've been in a cake and 'who on earth cba to wash things like that?'.

Is this really a thing? I've had the same candles for years, still use some of the holders from my childhood. They get lit for a few seconds and then blown out, a handful of times every year.

YABU: Eurgh, reusing candles, that's so gross, I've got a whole life to live and it holds no time for rinsing tiny plastic candle holders, you loser

YANBU: Obviously you reuse the things, this is just another example of a profligate and wasteful world gone MAD

I've never heard of people keeping used birthday cake candles.

DS is 20. I think we've used the same candles since he was born! I'm amazed so many people think it's 'grim', or better yet 'shows a lack of care' - they get used for about a minute before being blown out and removed from the cake...

In fairness, I was an adult before I discovered that it was possible to buy wrapping paper (I didn't grow up in the UK) because I grew up with it not being torn off but removed carefully in order to be used again...

I also don't like candles as they cause so many fires and I think scented ones pollute the atmosphere in a room.
Reminds me. Must buy some more torches esp solar ones and keep them solared.

Some of the people on this thread must sing incredibly slowly.

I have two DCs and I have never bought candles for them because there were already plenty of candles and holders in my birthday candle box and you just pick out a set the same length as each other when you want to reuse them. Also we don't buy the number ones because my elder DC has a friend with a birthday just before his, whose parents routinely hand the number candle to us at the birthday party.

I always keep mine but can never find them when I need them so end up buying new…I have a tin full of them somewhere but where I don’t not know.

Always kept them. My mum did too, so now I have a large collection of vintage holders!

If the candles have been lit then I would throw them away - I would never re-use them.

On the fence with this one - I don't throw them away but only use fresh candles on birthday cakes.
The ecological footprint in the same as throwing them away but I do have a huge box of tiny candles in case of a power outage!

One day I will melt them down to make one big fat brown candle.

You would think that someone with children would really care about the environment. What sort of shithole do you want them to grow up in?

Yeah reuse absolutely, we're not big on fancy cakes in our household so no one would notice if it was new or used candles

I generally am quite conscious of waste but when I have spent a lot of money on a birthday cake I do want it to look nice with fresh candles. I don't think the half burnt ones look great. I don't know what wrong with me but it often takes a while to get them all lit and sing happy birthday so they are often at least half burnt.

We save them, put them carefully back in the box and they can be used a handful of times before they get too low. I think if it's just what you normally do, then noone in the family is disappointed at having mismatched candles. It might seem minor but I agree that people throwing them away after one quick burn shows how much of a single use culture we have.

I have a tin of cake decorations, Christmas and birthday and reuse everything. I'd be interested to know the demographics behind the keep/chuck split.

Also find it a bit sad that people are saying they only use them once a year for their kids cake. We use them for adults too. Go on, make a wish!

Team reuse here. Some are mismatched but I like to create a concentric pattern. Although children are now in their 20s so candles burn down while we're still lighting them! I think this was the last year we have a candle for each year.

I’m very much a ‘waste not, want not’ type, but it’s never once occurred to me to keep ordinary little b-day cake candles! Who ever wants to put candles with burnt black wicks on a nice cake?

I have the champagne shaped candles that friends put on my 60th birthday cake. I've never had the need to use them again but they are not damaged or marked in any way so if the occasion arises to put them on another celebration cake, then I will dig them out and use them again.😄

Weird statement to make.

I only throw them away if there’s not much left of them. I like to put those big fireworks things on the cake though or sparklers so no one really cares about candles. They just blow them out and we reuse.

So you buy new "tat" every time? What a waste!

Fuck yes we reuse! It’s been a family tradition to guess which random candles will be on the cake and the kids love it and makes them laugh. We’ve done approximately 145 birthday celebrations in the last 25 year!

Sometimes we buy more or get sparkler ones too add to the random assortment.

Also agree with the poster up thread who’s added a photo of her used candles, they take years to burn down!

I’m imagining an Enid Blyton style story about The Little Birthday Candle that live in the Drawer of Shite that the a birthday fairy comes and visits after rescuing the Binned Candles who are crying. A tale of stiff upper lips and 1950s post-rationing morality 😂

I don't buy scented candles. On the occasion I've been given one I used it until it's empty.

But that's completely - the wick is inside a jar or tin and the point of the candle is the nice glow and/or scent.

A birthday candle is a spindly wee thing that exists to look good for 5 minutes and be blown out.

Keep them, like you keep bags that presents come in and reuse them. And like you keep the number candles from a child’s 6th to use when they are 16 or anyone else in the family has a birthday with a six in it. Like you use the same happy birthday banner year in year out. Some people are monsters!

Also, in my house, candles aren’t put on the cake until they’re ready to be lit and blown out.
The cake is then brought into the room fully lit whilst singing Happy Birthday (and telling the dog to stop barking) so birthday boy/girl is faced with a platter of eyebrow burning delight - the candles look exactly the same as if they were new!

@Lemonymint you aren't supposed to put candles in your mouth like dental floss, I think you might be doing something wrong.

This is what I used to do too! However, a couple of months ago I finally lost patience with that particular drawer and had a massive sort out and the candles all went in the bin. I still get a little burst of pride when I open that drawer now and can immediately lay my hand on whatever I want without having to rummage.

@catsonthebed I am unclear from your post whether just the candles were being thrown away or the holders as well. Candle holders can definitely be cleaned up and used again. I think one of the reasons my candles were never re-used is because once they have been lit they do look a bit rubbish, frankly, if used again.