If 'Tis the Season is the smell you want in your home this December, follow the cinnamon and the cedar to find a close match. Those are the notes that stay in a room after the first bright hit of apple fades.
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Bath & Body Works lists three notes for 'Tis the Season: red apple, sweet cinnamon, and cedarwood. Our top pick is People Watching, because its warm cinnamon heart sits under clove and nutmeg, and it comes from our line of 100% beeswax candles hand poured in New York City.
Second place goes to Sunday Reset, for the reader who loves the woodsy cedar side of the original most. If you only read this far, those are the two to choose between. The rest of this post shows why, and which size fits which room.
The note that decides how close a candle gets
Every candle scent is built in layers. The top notes reach your nose first and lift away fastest. The heavier notes underneath, like spice and wood, rise slowly and hang in the air for hours.
That is why a good 'Tis the Season match has to win on the cinnamon and the cedar. Fresh apple reads bright and crisp in the first few minutes. Over a long evening, the room settles into warm spice over dry wood, and that settled smell is the one you remember from the holidays.
Many shoppers expect the original to smell like a pine tree. Its real anchor is orchard fruit and baking spice, with cedarwood keeping it from tipping into bakery sweetness. A candle that copies only the apple ends up smelling like cider, and a candle that copies only the wood smells like a tree lot.
So we ranked on two questions. First, how much of that spice and wood base does the candle share? Second, what is in the jar carrying it? The second question is where the top two pull ahead, and it leads straight to the first pick.
1. People Watching: the closest match to the cinnamon heart
Picture the kitchen in the hour after a spice cake comes out of the oven. Orange peel is still on the cutting board and the cinnamon jar is open by the stove. The whole apartment smells warm, and that is the room our People Watching beeswax candle builds.
The official notes are Lemon, Orange, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Clove, Nutmeg, Allspice, Ginger. Cinnamon is the direct overlap with the original. The clove and nutmeg around it deepen the spice into the smell people mean when they say a house smells like Christmas.
There is no apple in People Watching, and we will not pretend there is. The lemon and orange sit in the same bright top position the apple holds in 'Tis the Season, so the first breath still reads fresh before the spice takes over. Vanilla underneath rounds the cinnamon into something sweet, which is the job the word sweet does in the original's note list.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: wooden, two on the 12 oz size | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 40 hours on the 5 oz, 80+ hours on the 12 oz | Dyes: none
Standout feature: a full baking-spice heart with cinnamon at the center, the note that carries 'Tis the Season through a long evening.
Best for: the living room where the family gathers, and anyone who loves the spice side of the original most.
Price: the 12 oz, 80-hour size is $65, and it is the one we recommend for the main room you light most nights through the holidays.
Why does it burn that long? Beeswax has the highest melting point of any candle wax, so the flame melts it slowly. A slower melt means more hours from the same jar. The two wooden wicks on the 12 oz size spread the heat across a wider pool of wax, which helps the scent move through a bigger room.
“I love this candle. I burn it everyday and my whole place smells AMAZING.”
Verified buyer
That habit is the reason to choose the larger size for this scent. A candle you light every evening from late November to New Year's should be the one with the longest burn time in the house. The next pick covers the other half of the original, the wood.
2. Sunday Reset: the cedar side, for a room that should feel like winter air
Some people love 'Tis the Season for the cedarwood more than the cinnamon. They want the front hall to smell like a cold walk home past a tree stand, with something warm waiting inside. Our Sunday Reset beeswax candle is built for that reader.
The official notes are Peppermint, Clove, Cedar, Patchouli, Vanilla, Eucalyptus. Cedar is the direct match to the original's wood note. Clove adds a thread of the same holiday spice, and vanilla keeps the finish soft.
The opening is where it differs. Peppermint and eucalyptus come in cold and clean, like a deep breath of December air, before the cedar and clove warm the room back up. Sunday Reset smells like the outdoor half of the holidays, while People Watching smells like the kitchen half.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: wooden, two on the 12 oz size | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 40 hours on the 5 oz, 80+ hours on the 12 oz | Dyes: none
Standout feature: cedar and clove under a cold, clean mint opening.
Best for: an entryway or a guest bathroom, where you want the season to greet people without a heavy sweetness.
Price: the 5 oz, 40-hour size is $32, and it fits a small room like a guest bath or a front hall that you light when people come over.
The wooden wick matters more in a small room than you might expect. Wood burns with a soft crackle, close to the sound of a fireplace. In a quiet hallway you hear it, and the narrow space feels like part of the holiday house.
3. Kringle Candle: for fans of a familiar holiday spice
Kringle Candle is known for holiday and spice scents that aim to smell like the real thing. Its seasonal range leans into apple and spice profiles in the same family as 'Tis the Season, and its fans tend to buy from that shelf every winter.
Standout feature: a house style built around traditional holiday scents.
Who it suits: the shopper who already knows the brand and likes its seasonal style.
Kringle ranks third because our top two let you see everything in the jar on the first line of the label. If you want a spiced holiday smell and want to know exactly what is burning in your living room, People Watching answers both: 100% beeswax, a wooden wick, phthalate-free fragrance, and no dye.
4. Goose Creek: for the shopper who rotates scents all winter
Goose Creek is known among buyers for a large seasonal lineup and a scent that fills a room. Its apple and spice candles come up often when people look for 'Tis the Season alternatives.
Standout feature: a wide rotation of seasonal scents each year.
Who it suits: the shopper who likes trying many holiday scents in a single season.
It ranks fourth for the same reason Kringle ranks third. When the goal is one candle that smells like the holidays and burns from Thanksgiving week into January, the 80-hour People Watching is the one we would put on the coffee table.
Side by side: how each pick lines up with the original
This table compares what matters for a match: which notes each candle shares with 'Tis the Season, the overall style, and where it fits in your home.
| Rank | Candle | Notes shared with 'Tis the Season | Style | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MBur People Watching | Cinnamon, with clove and nutmeg | Warm baking spice over bright citrus | Living room, kitchen |
| 2 | MBur Sunday Reset | Cedar, with clove | Cold mint opening, cedar and spice finish | Entryway, guest bath |
| 3 | Kringle Candle | Seasonal apple and spice range | Traditional holiday scents | Existing Kringle fans |
| 4 | Goose Creek | Seasonal apple and spice range | Large rotating lineup | Shoppers who rotate scents |
Both MBur picks share the same build: 100% beeswax, wooden wicks, phthalate-free fragrance, and no dye, hand poured in New York City. The only choice left is which half of 'Tis the Season you want, and how much room it has to fill.
Which size goes in which room
Once you know the scent, the size comes down to the room and how often you light it. The 12 oz size has two wooden wicks and burns 80+ hours. The 5 oz size has one wooden wick and burns 40 hours.
Two wicks matter in an open room. Each flame melts its own section of the jar, so the pool of liquid wax spreads wider and faster. A wider pool releases more fragrance into the air, which is how a candle reaches across a living room that opens into a kitchen.
Choose the 12 oz for the room you light most nights in December, or for any space where people gather. Choose the 5 oz for a guest bath or a small bedroom, where one wick fills the space and you light it less often.
“I loved it! Would definitely order a bigger size next time”
Verified buyer of People Watching
That buyer describes the most common path with this scent. Once it becomes the smell of the main room, people want it to last the whole season. For the room where the tree goes up, go straight to the 80-hour People Watching.
Giving one as a holiday gift
A 'Tis the Season style candle makes an easy holiday gift, because nearly everyone already links cinnamon and cedar with this time of year. The work is matching the right half of the scent to the person.
Match the scent to the person's home
For the friend who bakes every weekend and always has people in her kitchen, give People Watching. For the friend who walks the dog in the snow and loves a crisp front hall, give Sunday Reset.
Wrap it so the jar arrives safe
Wrap the jar in two layers of tissue before it goes into a box or bag. Tie a ribbon around the lid rather than the glass, so nothing pulls on the jar when it is opened. A sprig of real cedar or a cinnamon stick tucked under the ribbon hints at the scent before the lid comes off.
Add a note about the first burn
Write one line on the gift tag: let the first burn run until the melted wax reaches the edge of the jar. Beeswax remembers its first melt, so a full first burn sets an even pool for every burn after it. It is a small tip that makes the gift work better from night one.
But what about the apple? The questions people ask before they switch
“The apple is my favorite part.”
Then lean on the citrus in People Watching. The orange and lemon give the first minutes the same bright fruit lift that apple gives the original. Within the first hour, the cinnamon and vanilla carry the room, and that later stage is the part of 'Tis the Season most people actually smell through an evening.
“My living room is big and open.”
That is a size question, and the answer is the 12 oz with its two wooden wicks. Set it near the middle of the room, away from an open window or a heating vent that pulls the flame sideways. Give it a full first burn so the wax melts edge to edge, since a wide, even pool is what carries the scent across an open floor plan.
“I want the house to smell like a tree too.”
Split the house by room. People Watching goes where people sit and talk, and Sunday Reset goes by the front door, where the cold mint and cedar greet guests as they take off their coats.
Frequently asked questions
What does Bath & Body Works 'Tis the Season actually smell like?
Its listed notes are red apple, sweet cinnamon, and cedarwood, which add up to a fruity, spiced, woodsy holiday scent. The closest matches in our beeswax candle collection follow the cinnamon and the cedar, the two notes that last longest in a room.
How long do beeswax candles actually burn?
Our 5 oz size burns 40 hours and our 12 oz size burns 80+ hours. Beeswax has the highest melting point of any candle wax, so it melts slowly and lasts longer per jar. That is why the 12 oz People Watching beeswax candle can run through most of the holiday season in a room you light every night.
Why do wooden wick candles crackle?
The sound comes from the wood itself as it burns, the same way logs pop in a fireplace. It is part of why Sunday Reset with its wooden wick feels so at home in a quiet entryway on a winter night.
Can I burn People Watching and Sunday Reset in the same house?
Yes, and they work well in different rooms. Both share clove and vanilla, so moving from the front hall to the living room feels like one holiday house. Browse both in our pure beeswax candles.
Our pick for a 'Tis the Season holiday home
The smell people love in 'Tis the Season is warm cinnamon settling over wood after the first bright fruit fades. People Watching carries that cinnamon heart, with clove and nutmeg around it and citrus on top. Sunday Reset covers the cedar side for the front of the house.
Our pick is the 12 oz People Watching for your living room. It is the candle that makes the room where everyone ends up after dinner smell like the holidays from the first evening. It earns that spot with real cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg notes, 100% beeswax, and two wooden wicks that burn 80+ hours. One verified buyer said it plainly: “my whole place smells AMAZING.”
Get it now so it is already burning when the first guests come through the door this season.
Choose the 80-hour People Watching beeswax candle for your living room, because it is the candle you will light every night the family is home.
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