Family Starts Candles by Kids Business

9-year-old Alyssa and 6-year-old twins Dominic & Darius started Candles by Kids in Columbia, SC with the help of their parents.

They decided to give them a business loan after a family meeting and their scented candle making business has been booming ever since. Alyssa said she started the business because she wanted a laptop, and Darius mentioned that he wanted to buy a house.

Candles are one of the few products people continue to buy regardless of how the economy is doing. For example, according to the Boston Business Journal, Yankee Candle reported that their revenue is up 8% from 2010.

The earnings from Candles by Kids are divided between savings, toys and charity. The family came up with a charity of the month program on their website in order to help others.

In this video, you’ll see the young entrepreneurs traveling to beauty salons with their handmade candles. [youtube iN_fyfTfOpc]

As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?