Best Bonfire Night Party - Kids Holiday Memories
How to Make a Guy, Build a Bonfire, Fireworks Tips & Ideas for Food
Nov 2, 2009
Throwing a party for Bonfire Night is easy to organise, particularly when marking the celebration is a traditional part of family life. The satisfaction of setting light to a homemade garden bonfire, celebrating the night with family and friends and eating home prepared foods, coupled with the odour of the woodsmoke, sparks and flames of the fire and delights of fireworks will create the most treasured memories.
Preparations for the party need to start in advance with the making of the traditional Guy Fawkes and collecting wood for the fire.
Make a Guy
One of the most popular and traditional pastimes for kids in the days leading up to Bonfire Night is making a traditional Guy, for street begging and finally to burn on the bonfire:
- Collect together old clothes, suitable for a man, trousers, shirt, pullover, old boots
- Initially tie all openings on the clothes to create a sealed void which can be stuffed with straw or hay, if available, or alternatively scrunched up newspaper or shredded paper
- Once the legs and torso of the guy are completely stuffed with an appearance of a realistic body shape, fix together with string.
- Head and hands of the guy are easy enough to make with old nylon stockings which again need filling.
- Finish with a hand drawn face using black marker pens or alternatively cover the head with a realistic mask
- The entire ensemble can then be finished with a tatty old jacket and trilby type hat
- Voila, one Guy Fawkes
Whilst not recommending begging as a habitual practice, it is traditional for children to take their Guy Fawkes out in wheelbarrow or pushchairs, roaming the streets, or strategically positioned outside busy shops, begging for money with the habitual shout of "Penny for the Guy Mister or Missus....."
Making a Bonfire
Kids may enjoy helping with this activity for a while, some suggestions for a homemade bonfire follow:
- Strong Autumn winds often mean lots of fallen branches in woods, gardens and on paths in the locality. A few quick trips out with a barrow will ensure a decent supply of wood
- Calling on neighbours is a great way to collect large amounts of garden wood and cuttings
- Bonfires are a great way to get rid of old broken furniture or combustible household waste
- Slower burning items should be placed centrally at the base of bonfire, with the lighter and dry woods interspersed throughout the frame but definitely on the outside to encourage a quick burning fire
- Try to make a neat pyramid and, where possible, sit the Guy on top of the pyramid framework for the bonfire in an old chair or stake him to the top so he is a centrepiece of the burning fire
- Light bonfire early so it is burning well by the time planned for the fireworks display
Kids and adults alike adore watching the dancing flames, sparks and embers of the lighted bonfire, however ensure children are kept safe at all times by perhaps roping off the bonfire or having adult supervision around the fire at all times.
Fireworks at Home
Some tips for safe home fireworks' display follow:
- Buy fireworks well in advance, ensuring that they are stored safety as recommended by the manufacturer.
- Read the instructions carefully before the 5th November and ideally plan out and position fireworks in daylight on 5th November.
- Greater care and forethought should be given to items such as Catherine Wheels and Rockets, due to the possible dangers of them shooting around the garden uncontrollably if not sited or fixed correctly.
- Even the humble and popular Sparklers can be a burn danger to children, ensure they are disposed of immediately in a bucket of water or sand
Ideas for Delicious Bonfire food
Cooking a few dishes in the embers of the fire is great way of teaching kids the endless possiblities of cooking. Foods, such as jacket potatoes and bananas can be wrapped in foil and left to cook. Whilst the aromas of barbequed foods will add further to the sensuality of the bonfire night experience. Some ideas for Bonfire Night Foods follow:
- Roasted Bananas with a brown sugar caramel are easily cooked in the bonfire. Peel the bananas and split them, sandwiching them with brown sugar. Wrap tightly in foil and cook in fire.
- Potatoes can be scrubbed, seasoned and wrapped in foil too for cooking in the embers of the fire
- Barbequed sausages, chicken drumsticks thighs can be prepared and cooked in the barbeque.
- Pancakes are a great and easy dessert for kids.
- Traditional sweets such as Treacle Toffee, Popcorn and Toffee apples are a fantastic way to finish off the evening
Whilst it is undoubtedly simpler to attend an organised bonfire and fireworks display, with the added benefit that the organised fireworks' displays are generally more spectacular and may also have attractions such as fairgrounds, live music, food stalls and traditional winter hawkers, celebrating Bonfire Night at home can often provide the best memories of family life.
See Also: For the History of Bonfire Night and events leading up to the Gunpowder Plot or for perfect party pancakes, why not try: Perfect Apple Cinammon Pancakes?
For easy bonfire night food, or quick party food with a difference, why not try the recipe for: Sparkler Sausages concocted by traditional millers, Wrights of London
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