Inclusion candles are trending this festive season – this £12 M&S version is already on track to sell out before Christmas

Christmas inclusion candles are having a moment, and this M&S one is selling like hot cakes

Habitat Small Inclusion Candle - Fir Balsam Cinnamon
(Image credit: Marks and Spencer)

Inclusion candles, also known as botanical candles, are more popular than ever this Christmas season as we fill our homes with these candles decorated with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, berries and more. However, the stand out version seems to be the M&S Christmas candle which is on track to sellout in the next week. 

Retailing for a mere £12.50, many hail this candle as one of the best Christmas scents and it’s selling like hot cakes at the moment. The M&S Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon Botanical Candle perfectly completes a natural Christmas aesthetic and makes for the ideal Christmas table centrepiece idea if we’ve ever seen one.

The trend was undoubtedly started by The White Company’s botanical candles which are still seen as the OGs and are the go-to Christmas present ideas. The Winter Botanical Candle by The White Company, is still the golden standard against which all other inclusion candles are measured. But it does come in at double the price of the M&S at £35, and that's not the only competitor on the scene this year.

Habitat Small Inclusion Candle - Fir Balsam Cinnamon

(Image credit: Habitat)

Christmas inclusion candles

M&S is on fire this year with their best scented candles (quite literally). The M&S Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon Town House Light Up Candle has already sold out and during the peak sale period, the brand sold one of them per minute. We asked representatives at Marks and Spencer and they said that the botanical candle is expected to sell out in a matter of days, definitely before Christmas eve. So grab yours while you still can as apparently, some missed out last year.

‘Another lovely winter candle from M&S,’ wrote one reviewer. ‘I saw these last year and they were sold out before I got the chance to buy. So I made sure I got it early this year. I will get another one to light so I have this one to keep.’

But if you do snooze or simply would love to peruse some alternative options, then there are plenty to choose from. As we said, this is one of the biggest trends of this year’s festive period. 

‘Christmas inclusion candles tend to go in and out of style. But right now they're in,’ says Sophie Parker, founder of a candle brand, The Flora Lab. ‘What is more fabulous than a candle and all of the beautiful botanicals which make up the scent? They're a great decorative piece on your table, especially around the festive season. They're a fabulous talking point and the warmth from the molten wax releases the natural oils from the botanicals encased in the wax.’ 

Have a lovely botanical and beautiful smelling Christmas season!

Sara Hesikova
News Writer

Sara Hesikova has been Ideal Home’s News Writer since July 2023, bringing the Ideal Home’s readership breaking news stories from the world of home and interiors. Graduating from London College of Fashion with a bachelor’s degree in fashion journalism in 2016, she got her start in niche fashion and lifestyle magazines like Glass and Alvar as a writer and editor before making the leap into interiors. She feels the two are intrinsically connected - if someone puts an effort into what they wear, they most likely also care about what they surround themselves with.