How to Celebrate Bonfire Night at Home With the Kids

 

Bonfire night celebrations are almost here again! If you’re holding your own celebration bonfires and fireworks, follow this guide to the perfect home bonfire night party. Read on to learn how to:

• Light up a bonfire
• Make some bonfire night treats
• Get creative

Bonfire Night (aka Guy Fawkes Day or Guy Fawkes Night) is one of the United Kingdom’s quirkiest celebrations. The day is dedicated to a man called Guy Fawkes whose “gunpowder” plot to blow up the House of Lords was foiled in 1605!

Every year, communities put on the biggest firework display and the best bonfire they can - but many families may prefer to stay at home and celebrate bonfire night with the kids this year. That’s why B&M have put together this useful guide on how to celebrate bonfire night yourselves!

B&M Top Tip: Don’t forget to dress up warm! Fleecy gloves, socks and scarves or snoods will help you fight off the cold.

Light Up a Bonfire

Guy Fawkes night is often spent celebrating around a bonfire. Sometimes an effigy of Guy himself is burned. This has led to the false belief that after his failed attempt to blow up Parliament, Guy was burned at the stake.

But there’s no need to ask for a “penny for the Guy” - with B&M’s help, it’s easy to buy the tools you need for a good night’s celebrations!

Celebrate Guy Fawkes night by lighting bonfires yourselves. Create a sturdy teepee of dry branches with kindling such as straw and smaller twigs inside. Keep it sheltered from the wind and away from anything flammable.

Collect plenty of logs and sticks to keep feeding the fire and have water handy just in case. Keep kids and pets well away!

B&M Top Tip: Place a kerosene or wood wool firelighter in the middle of your structure then set fire to it using a long safety lighter.

Make Some Bonfire Night Treats

Have fun with food and drinks on Guy Fawkes night celebrations.

Try toffee apples - juicy raw apples dipped in a molten mixture of sugar, warm water, glucose and white vinegar then left to harden and cool on a stick.

Why not give your snacks an American twist by making s’mores? Grab two malted milk biscuits and a couple of squares of chocolate, then toast a marshmallow over the fire.

Sandwich the marshmallow and chocolate between the biscuits and you’ll have a delicious, warm, gooey, melty s’more.

Looking for inspiration for some delicious recipes to bake wih the kids? Then why not try B&M's Toffee Apple Bread & Butter Pudding or our Roasted Butternut Squash & Chili Soup recipes to keep the little ones warm this Bonfire Night. 

B&M Top Tip: Cider is popular on this night, but you can also simmer apple juice with a cinnamon stick, cloves and orange peel for a booze-free option.

Get Creative

We love making firework crowns! Cut a strip of card and measure it around your kids’ head. Remove, then glue or staple the ends together to make a ring. Stick bright pipe cleaners at regular intervals around the inside so they stand up out of the top!

Create the “bangs” by cutting out cardboard stars or scrunching up bright tissue paper. Add loads of glitter!

B&M Top Tip: Toilet roll tube rockets are also great. Paint your tube bright, fiery colours, then draw on windows or cut them out of coloured card to stick on.

Cut a circle of colourful card with a 5cm radius and make it into a cone to stick it on top. Make jets from bright tissue paper!

So, all you need for a great bonfire night celebration is to safely start a fire, plan some delicious snacks and get crafting!

What are your plans for bonfire night? Share them with the B&M Community via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram!