Having a candle arrive broken is a real bummer, BUT you don’t need to throw it out! Here’s how you can still enjoy it:

photo provided by The Turquoise Table

ALWAYS START HERE:  The first step is always to remove the dangerous parts of the jar and discard them. Now you’ll end up with an amazing selling piece of wax inside of a wrecked looking jar that is likely missing a piece or has a massive crack or a bunch of chips:  this is okay!  Here's 5+ methods of how you can still enjoy it:

1. EASIEST METHOD: FOIL

Get out a decent size piece of tin foil and fold it in half (to double-layer it) then bend up the edges to create a bowl under the candle inside of the broken jar. The foil can withstand heat and if the wax drips on it, it won’t go through the foil. Make sure there’s about 2” of space of foil around the candle jar, so if the candle jar is 4” in diameter, make the “bowl / plate thingy” six inches. This gives plenty of room for the wax to drip and not overflow:

Now you can enjoy your candle and when you’re done burning it just through the whole thing away.

If you’re super-mega paranoid about the foil you can put the whole thing on top of a ceramic dinner plate.

2. JAR METHOD

If you love to buy and burn candles (I friggin love, love, loooove it), next time you finish off a 3-wick candle, keep the jar. Then, when you get a smaller size broken candle you can put it directly into the empty 3-wick jar. Works great!

If you don’t have an empty jar, refer to the Foil Method.

3. PILLAR CANDLE METHOD

Did you know you can freeze wax? I accidentally came across this information because I was trying to figure out how to get the leftover wax out of a 3-wick jar so I could reuse the jar as a silverware holder. I learned that all you have to do is pop it in the freezer for 48 hours then the wax comes right out! So, using this same concept, you can put the broken candle into the freezer for a couple days. I suggest putting it inside a double-bagged plastic grocery bag since there’s broken glass, and nobody wants glass in their frozen chicken nuggies.

Once it’s frozen you can take it out of the freezer (but keep it inside the double-bag and use a hammer or rubber mallet to shatter the remaining glass. Hit the glass with as little force as is required because you don’t want to make a mess or smash glass into the wax.

The end result will essentially be a pillar candle!

4. WAX MELTS

Now that you know how to achieve the pillar candle you can switch routes and simply cut up the (ugly) pillar then use it as wax melts in a warmer!  Amazon has a fab selection of cheap but beautiful wax warmers:

5. REPOUR METHOD

If you’re super anal and you feel like you neeeeeeed a nice-looking candle, follow the directions above and make it into a pillar candle. Since its frozen, let it warm up to room temperature.

In the meantime, buy some cheap but awesome Candle Wicks. These are super cheap, you can score 100 of them for under $5 on Amazon. I suggest getting 6 inch or 8 inch.

Next you want to pick out some kind of glass to use for the new candle. The Dollar Tree, the thrift store, a yard sale, your cupboard, your basement… all of these places have a cheap glass you can use. Be creative! A drinking glass, martini glass, shot glasses, a jar, a food container (like pimento peppers or a little pickle jar)… virtually any kind of glass works, just don’t use a super-thin glass.

Now all you need is a junk pot or deep pan. It has to be a pot or pan that you don’t ever need to use again (except for making more candles).

Once you have all your supplies you want to slowly (SLOWLY!!!!!!!!) melt the candle. Many people suggest first cutting it up into bits. I have never done this because I’m too impatient but if you want to cut it up, go for it.

Once the wax melts nicely all you gotta do is put your wick into the jar. Wax is hot so be careful. NEVER pour it over your sink! I pour mine inside of a cardboard box so if it does spill it’s a simple cleanup. Make sure you leave some room at the top of the glass for the melted wax not to spill over. 

One time I even poured them into dixie cups!  I let the wax cool it bit before I did it and I was a little worried the wax might melt through the cup so I took them outside as soon as I poured them and let them cool down on a cold Michigan-Winter day.  I then waited a couple days to assure they were 100% solid and I peeled off the Dixie Cup.  I was really happy with my new mini-pillars!  Surprisingly, it worked great!!!  

On that note, if you want to get super creative you can transform one broken large candle into many smaller candles.  

TIP:  You know how when you burn candles there's ALWAYS that leftover wax in the bottom?  If you follow the freezer technique, it pops right out with a butter knife.  What you can do is start a "wax bag" using a large gallon size Ziplock bag.  Once you get a half bagful of leftover wax you can make your own candles with it!  If you want to make those super awesome looking layered candles, just melt one or two leftovers at a time, then pour it, let it harden and melt another leftover or two.  This will not only give you a gorgeous looking candle but each layer will have a different scent!   These also make INCREDIBLE gifts.... and cost effective as all hell because you were going to throw that wax away anyways.  It's also a fun project and if you have kids they'll have a blast helping you make them.