The short answer: Light them outside.  How?  Do it in a cleaned-out coffee can.

Be sure to place the can on something that won’t melt.  (Note the burn marks in the two pictures)

On a related note, watch out also when you’re picking up the can to bring the coals inside.

Another option if you don’t feel like getting dressed: Use your chimney (if you have one).  This only works if your chimney has one of those folding glass doors that keeps in all the smoke.

I got a heck of a deal on these self lighting coals – buy one box get two free (from my local shisha shop).   And they’re worth every penny. 

Warning: If you buy El-wakil self-lighting coals, do not light them in the house.  Light them outside with the door shut unless you want your entire house smelling like chemical/gun powder smoke for hours and hours.  These coals smoke like a chimney (and that’s without anyone else’s help).

Pictured above: El-wakil coals lighting up.  If there wasn’t such a brisk breeze, this picture would have looked a lot smokier.

Keep in min that I hardly paid anything for these coals, so I am not complaining.  They’re just cheap is all. 

They also burn out in a few minutes, so the shisha hardly has a chance to simmer and you hardly have a chance to sit down and relax.

A better (and more expensive) brand of coals wouldn’t stink and smoke so much (if it was self-lighting) and it wouln’t burn out so fast thus allowing the shisha to burn at a moderate pace and allowing you to enjoy your hookah without having to get up every five minute to light more coals. 

But three for the price of one?!  How could I resist?