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| Young people come to experience handicraft workshops during the holiday |
With no fixed rules and no concept of right or wrong for each product, these holiday handicraft candle-making workshops are filled only with gentle fragrances, vivid colors, and diverse materials. Whether the class is crowded or deserted, the common atmosphere is one of stillness and the relaxed expressions of the participants. They busily work with palm wax, beeswax, soy wax, coconut wax…and carefully consider selecting and blending natural essential oils such as lavender, sweet orange, cinnamon, lemongrass, star anise, mint, pomelo, rose, jasmine, lotus, vanilla… The process then continues through melting the wax, fixing the wick, waiting for the wax to cool, pouring the melted wax into molds, and completing the final product.
Each person seems immersed in their own world, meticulously blending essential oils, choosing molds, and creating soft “cakes”, romantic flower baskets, or cute and playful animal shapes. Everyone hopes that once completed, their products will not only light up a space but also ignite wishes for a warm and peaceful new year.
At another workshop, young participants curiously observe colorful energy stone bracelets, each believed to carry unique vibrational energies and nurture positive emotions. Under the guidance of staff, they begin threading beads and tying knots using simple techniques to create bracelets bearing their own personal mark.
Workshops on making trays, cup holders, jewellery boxes, or simple decorative items for rooms and study desks using materials such as cement, jesmonite, and epoxy resin also attract strong interest from young people. These classes help participants learn how to combine unique materials, layer multiple colors to create depth, and decorate with beads, seashells, gold leaf, and other elements to enhance aesthetics of the products, showing freedom in creation.
In reality, one does not need to be particularly “skillful”; almost anyone can join handicraft workshops, receive guidance, and freely use their imagination to create unique products that reflect personal preferences. In Hue, during this holiday period, the main customer groups for workshops are young people such as students, young professionals, couples, and mother-and-child groups.
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| Creative scented candle flower baskets |
Ms. Nhat Tu, a resident of Thuan Hoa Ward, shared that she took her “little princess” to experience bracelet-making workshops, candle-making, and traditional Hue handicrafts to provide her child with a peaceful, close-to-nature environment while also helping her develop meticulousness and patience. Ms. Tu added that while children usually engage in basic-level handicrafts such as making scented candles, adults tend to seek higher-level experiences, such as carefully selecting essential oils that support better sleep, enhance feelings of happiness, and reduce stress. This requires more complex steps, including layered candle construction and color blending to stimulate visual experiences.
Workshops typically last from 1.5 to 2 hours. This is a time of “mindfulness”, when young people temporarily put aside their hand phones and technological devices and momentarily forget the pressures and anxieties of work and daily life.
Ms. My Nhan, founder of the Light Box brand specializing in organizing handicraft workshops, shared: “With the desire to spread beautiful and colorful values, I opened scented candle workshops using organic materials that are safe for health. Later, I also became involved in workshops making colorful trays and dried-flower designs, preserving the beauty of nature within a single tray. During the holiday, young people often come to workshops to find simple joys and allow themselves to relax after a year of hard study and work.”
After each workshop, young participants leave with “trophies” made by their own hands, sharing that these will become “fragrant” gifts for family and friends at the beginning of the new year. It can be said that experiencing workshops at the start of the year is a way for young people to choose a gentle beginning, to step more deeply into a creative journey, and to “observe” themselves in a very personal way.