There's a weird assumption that candles are a fall-and-winter thing — cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice, a flickering flame while it's dark by 5pm. But walk onto any porch on a warm July evening, right around the time the light turns gold and everyone's finally outside again, and you'll usually find one lit somewhere nearby. Summer doesn't retire candles. It just gives them a different job.
If anything, candles in summer might be doing more work than they do the rest of the year — you're just not always noticing it.
Nobody wants a harsh porch light buzzing over a summer dinner outside. It kills the whole mood. What you actually want is that soft, low, flickering glow that makes a backyard or patio feel like somewhere worth lingering — the kind of light that makes people stay for one more glass of wine instead of checking their phone and heading home.
Candles are basically built for exactly that moment. A few outdoor and citronella candles scattered around a table do more for a summer evening than any string of overhead lights ever will.
Let's be real: summer is beautiful right up until the mosquitoes show up. Citronella and other bug-deterring candles aren't just a nice-to-have in the warmer months — they're doing genuine, practical work. There's a reason citronella candle sales spike every summer instead of dropping off: they solve an actual problem that only exists this time of year.
Our citronella and outdoor collection is built specifically for that — scent that smells good to people and bad to bugs.
Open windows, grilling next door, sunscreen, chlorine, a beach bag that's been in the trunk too long — summer has its own set of smells, and not all of them are ones you want to live inside your house. A good candle does quiet work here, resetting a room without needing to spray anything or run the AC on full blast with the windows shut.
Light, fresh, warm-weather scents — think citrus, coconut, sea salt, fresh linen — tend to outsell heavier "cozy" scents this time of year for exactly that reason. Browse our summer scent collection if you want something that actually smells like the season instead of fighting against it.
Summer is supposed to be the season where things slow down a little — longer evenings, fewer obligations, more time outside. But most of us still carry our year-round pace right into July without meaning to. A lit candle is one of the simplest, cheapest ways to physically cue your brain that it's time to shift gears. It's hard to rush through dinner or scroll your phone the same way with a Lafco candle burning next to you. It's a small ritual, but rituals are how most of us actually relax — not just deciding to.
Anyone can throw hot dogs on a grill. What makes a summer get-together actually feel like an event — a birthday, a graduation, a backyard party — is usually the small details: string lights, good playlist, and yes, candles on the table. They're an easy, low-effort way to make an outdoor space feel like you actually planned something, instead of just moving the usual dinner outside.
If you're hosting this summer, our candles are an easy way to pull a table together without much extra effort.
The mistake is thinking candles are about temperature. They're not. They're about atmosphere — and summer evenings, with their long light and open windows and people finally outside again, need atmosphere just as much as a snowed-in night in January does. Maybe more, honestly, since summer is the season everyone's actually trying to be present for.
So don't pack the candles away with the holiday decorations. Light one on the porch tonight and see what it does to the evening.
Ready to stock up for the season? Check out our full candle collection and find the scent that fits your evenings.
Got a go-to summer scent, or a candle that's basically part of your backyard setup at this point? We'd love to hear about it.
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