'Saturday Night Live's Candle Song Sums Up The Awkwardness Of Casual Holiday Gift Giving

We've all been there. Getting random, terribly scented or just unscented candles, as gifts, and saving them to re-gift somewhere down the line. And, as seen in Saturday Night Live's candle song, the awkwardness of casual holiday gift giving among women is basically what candles were made for. Exchanging gifts with friends or family is easy, since you actually know the recipients, but when it comes to those more casual friends who surprise you with a Christmas gift you didn't know was coming or that co-worker who never quite made the transition to out of the office friend, there are candles. Not because they're thoughtful and fun to have, but because most women will have one available at any given time.

Show me a woman who needs a quick last minute gift for someone she barely knows and I'll show you at least three women who have a random, unused, possibly still packaged candle that they can gift to anyone. But the candle song on SNL wasn't just about re-gifting random, useless gifts that you may have received half a decade ago. It was about the all around awkwardness of giving gifts to anyone who isn't a friend or member of your family. The awkward struggle is very real.

With a foggy filter that is reminiscent of any Hallmark of Lifetime movie of the 90's, the candle song on SNL talked about realizing that you have to give a gift to a casual friend or co-worker and, at the last minute, you choose a random candle that you were gifted years ago and pass it off as a thoughtful gift. Chances are, they might very well inadvertently ave it to do that same thing, but so goes the continuous circle of giving "the one true candle."

SNL's music videos are almost always of the funny but painfully true variety, like "This Is Not A Feminist Song," which came out in March of 2016 or "Back Home Ballers" from 2014. Basically, SNL's songs always hit it right on the nose and the candle song on SNL was no different, capturing the stress and quick thinking of last minute casual holiday gift giving.

Because any candle with an unlit wick is totally fair game and it's not just because this song tells you so. But it does, however, make it a lot more socially acceptable to continue saving those candles you're given as holiday party favors or gifts from your great aunts to save for this kind of occasion. It's just the natural order of things.