You don't have to hand-dip the candles, but consider kickin' it pioneer-style by
turning lights off
and
using candles for an hour a week. It could make for a night of scary stories
by candlelight or set the mood for a romantic night of sharing spagetti. In either case,
you'll be saving energy by turning lights off. (Be safe and make sure participants aren't
too close to the candle when you scare them.) Your dining room may be lit with several
fixtures, each with several bulbs. If the fixture contains five or six 15-watt
CFLs, you could save 75 to 90 watts per hour, and more if you have
incandescent lightbulbs.
If you don't want to turn lights off completely, consider
LED lights: Battery-powered, flickering
LED "candles" have a fraction of the wattage
(1 to 10 watts), providing atmosphere while saving energy.