If you don’t order your best-selling candle jars this month, they will likely still be at sea during the Christmas rush rather than sitting on store shelves ready for sale.

It is already mid-October. For candle businesses, the Christmas season doesn’t begin with the December sales peak; it begins with the candle jar orders you place right now. This isn’t just a marketing tactic—it is a matter of logistical reality. That is precisely why we are launching our final major pre-holiday promotion now, even though it might seem “too early.”

The Invisible Queue

Candle jars cannot be shipped immediately upon order placement; they must first go through the kiln and production line. However, at this time of year, production capacity is often already booked by other buyers. Beyond candle brands, cosmetics manufacturers and gift packaging companies also vie for limited production resources—including kilns, molds, and finishing lines. The earlier you submit your order, the sooner your candle jars can be scheduled for production.

Do the Math—Don’t Just Rely on Wishful Thinking

Let’s work backward from your planned launch week to calculate the actual timeline for holiday orders:

• Glass jar production involves specialized processes and requires a certain amount of time, including forming, annealing, and quality inspection.
• Sea freight takes several weeks; as Christmas approaches, congestion at ports and among carriers can lead to extended and unpredictable shipping times.
• Only then do your own processes follow: pouring, curing, labeling, packaging, and marketing photography.

When you factor in all these time costs, a simple rule of thumb emerges: only orders confirmed in October can guarantee products ready for sale during the Christmas season. Orders confirmed in mid-November are, in reality, often just January products wearing a “Santa hat.” The weeks spent in transit are a gift—make the most of them.

Ordering early offers a bonus that doesn’t appear on the invoice: time. While your containers are still en route, you have a valuable window to calmly handle tasks that often get squeezed out in December—such as shooting holiday product photos, writing copy for gift set pages, preparing launch emails, and teasing pre-sales to your subscribers. Once the containers arrive, they can go straight into the filling process, and the finished candles can immediately enter a launch workflow that is already fully prepared. If you order too late, that same work becomes a frantic scramble—or might not get done at all, leaving you hoping the candles will “sell themselves.” That rarely works.

Shipping bills confirm this, too.

The weeks leading up to Christmas are the most expensive time of year for shipping: peak-season space is tight, surcharges pile up, and schedules are prone to delays. In contrast, shipments sent in late October travel during a period of relative stability and more reasonable pricing. Waiting comes at a cost—the price difference is quietly reflected in the shipping quotes.

Three holiday styles for your containers

A picture is worth a thousand words. Here are three trending styles for holiday candles this season:

Classic amber containers. Deep, light-blocking amber glass highlights the charming glow of warm-toned labels—shown here is a Christmas collection featuring four scents, including fir and spices.

Frosted clear containers filled with red and green wax—a set that perfectly captures the Christmas spirit. Adding a holiday label transforms them into a cohesive, finished product rather than just a collection of separate components.

Clear glass layered candles topped with whipped-cream-style wax and embellished with miniature wax cottages, snowmen, and gingerbread men—products like these always stop customers in their tracks and invite them to take photos.

Three distinct approaches, one shared insight: the brands that seem to handle December with ease are the ones that made their decisions back in October.

Straightforward Promotional Offer

This is the final major promotion before the holiday season fully dominates everyone’s schedule. If you have already selected the jars for your Christmas product line, please send us your order list. While there is still flexibility in the production schedule, we can confirm production slots, order quantities, and pre-holiday delivery terms.

As for the jars you plan to restock in December, consider placing your order now. You can take advantage of the production line’s current availability to secure pre-holiday pricing while also allowing ample time for marketing and promotion.