Blue Light Card has commercial relationships with brands mentioned in this article and may earn a commission if you purchase products through one of our links, at no extra cost to you.
A sky full of colour, hot chocolate clutched in cold hands and the warm, earthy smell of a crackling bonfire. Guy Fawkes Night lands on 5th November every year, and it’s the one evening when standing in a muddy field in the dark feels like a brilliant idea.
Whether you’re heading to a big display, hosting in the garden or watching fireworks from the sofa with a sausage roll in hand, this guide has you sorted on three things that matter most: what to eat, what to do and what to wear. There are cheap and cheerful tips along the way too, because a brilliant Bonfire Night shouldn’t cost a fortune.
Remember to use your Blue Light Card for savings on groceries, craft activities and outdoor gear to stay warm.
There’s one simple food rule when you’re outdoors in the cold: calories don’t count when your fingers have gone numb. Aim for food you can hold in one hand, eat in the dark and not regret when it inevitably lands on your coat.
Here’s our official ranking of Bonfire Night snacks to take to a display.
A flask of chilli or stew deserves a bit more love. Make it in the slow cooker in the afternoon, decant it before you leave, and you’ve got a hot meal waiting just as the temperature drops. Need inspiration? Check out 18 affordable slow cooker recipes.
Now, the food van. Brilliant smell, brilliant atmosphere, and a lifesaver if work swallowed the day and packing food never happened. Chances are you’ll find a burger or hot dog. If you do have time, pack a snack bag of your own, because a family of four can rack up a bill fast.
Time for the sweet stuff, and Bonfire Night has a proper tradition of it.
Start with parkin, the sticky, gingery cake that’s been on Bonfire Night tables for generations, especially across Yorkshire and the north of England. Here’s the nifty trick: bake it a few days early (maybe a few weeks, if you have the time). It gets darker, stickier and better with time, which means you get to look wildly organised and eat well.
Easy parkin recipe (makes 16 squares)
Method: Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan) and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper. Melt the butter, sugar, treacle and syrup in a pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth. Leave to cool for five minutes. Mix the oatmeal, flour and spices in a large bowl. Pour in the syrupy mixture, add the egg and milk, and stir into a runny batter. Pour into the tin and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until firm on top. Cool in the tin and cut into squares.
Then there’s toffee. Bonfire toffee and treacle toffee are dark, glossy and chewy enough to test your dental fillings. Toffee apples live in the same family: shiny, sticky and impossible to eat neatly. Just remember napkins or kitchen roll.
Got a fire or firepit? Toast marshmallows and sandwich them between two biscuits with a square of chocolate. Lo and behold, you’ve made s’mores. No fire? Pop them under the grill for a minute and watch them like a hawk. Marshmallows go from golden to flaming faster than you’d think.
Then, there’s drinks. Set up a hot chocolate conveyor belt with marshmallows, squirty cream, grated chocolate and a flake or two. For something a bit more grown-up, simmer apple juice with a cinnamon stick, a few cloves and a couple of orange slices for 10 minutes. Mulled apple juice for everyone.
If you’re a Blue Light Card member, remember to use a Shopping Card at your favourite supermarket to save on your Bonfire Night shop.
A successful Bonfire Night doesn’t need a huge budget or even the perfect forecast (thank goodness, because it’s November).
The big display. Most are run by schools, community groups, local pubs, councils and clubs, so do a quick search of your area and something will turn up nearby. Book ahead if you can, because tickets can sell out and nobody wants to promise the kids fireworks and then come up short. Get there early for parking and a decent spot, too.
The garden night. Grab a blanket, fairy lights, a playlist and a pan of something warming. You get all the atmosphere with none of the crowds, and the loo is thirty seconds away with no queue.
The sofa evening. Close the curtains, put a fireworks video on the telly and queue up a film. Toffee popcorn, a pile of blankets and a big pot of tea. It still counts, and your pets will be thrilled you chose this one.
Whichever you pick, sparklers add a bit of magic to your night. Gloves on, light one at a time, and get the grown-ups to write names in the air while someone takes a long-exposure photo on their phone. Keep reading for how to stay safe.
And if you’re on shift on the night itself, save all the excitement and sparklers for the weekend. Nobody’s keeping score.
The tricky bit about Bonfire Night with kids is the waiting. It’s dark, it’s cold, it might be raining, and the question “when does it start?” has probably come up 40 times already. Here’s how to get through it.
Start with a Bonfire Night bingo card. Draw one up before you go, give them a pen and offer marshmallow prizes for anyone who completes a line.
Next up, and this is a bit of a twofer, go for light-up everything. Glow sticks, flashing bobble hats, LED bracelets. They keep little ones busy, they love that they glow, and it makes children easy to spot in a crowd, which is handy when the whole field is a sea of identical black coats.
If you’ve got a baby or a child who isn’t keen on loud bangs, a pair of ear defenders will be worth every penny. They look like tiny headphones, and most kids love that part. Pop a pair in the car or your bag so they’re to hand if the bangs turn out louder than expected. Grab a pair from Argos and save money with your Blue Light Card whilst you’re at it.
Rainy afternoon to fill? Dig out the paper and glue. These are all cheap, quick and fun craft activities.
Cotton bud firework paintings. Squeeze a few blobs of bright paint onto a plate and grab a sheet of black paper. Dip a cotton bud, then dot outwards from a centre point like a burst, adding a few streaks for the trails. Switch colours and overlap the bursts.
Paper plate fireworks. Cut strips around the edge of a plate, scrunch them up, fan them out and decorate with felt tips and glitter. Stick a few on the wall, and you’ve got a display that doesn’t need a licence.
Glow jar lanterns. Pop a glow stick or a battery tea light inside a clean jam jar and line them along the garden path. Stick with battery lights around kids instead of real candles.
Toilet roll rockets. Decorate a cardboard tube with paper and felt tips, stick a paper cone on top and add tissue paper flames at the bottom. Launch from the kitchen table.
Top tip: raid the recycling bin first. Cardboard, jam jars, cereal boxes and old newspaper will come in useful for this list.
Blue Light Card members can save at Hobbycraft on paint, glitter, glue and everything else you’ll need.
Picture it: 7pm, an open field, the sun’s long gone and a breeze that seems to have a personal vendetta against your ankles. Dress for that field, not the warm car you arrived in.
The best approach is to dress like an onion. Sounds odd but works brilliantly. Layers you can peel back if it turns out warmer than expected.
Start with a base layer, such as thermal tops and leggings. A waterproof, windproof coat keeps the breeze out. Thick socks and wellies or sturdy boots are a Bonfire Night must-have, and a hat, scarf and gloves keep those exposed extremities from freezing.
Pack a few extras if you can: hand warmers, a flask and a blanket. Your future self, shivering at 8:30pm, will thank you. And if you’re coming straight from a shift, chuck a spare layer and a pair of dry socks in your work bag. Future you will be very grateful.
Obviously, trying to wrestle a child into three layers, top and bottom, is a sport you might not fancy taking on. For younger children, an all-in-one or snowsuit is a good choice. One warm layer beats five wriggly ones, and there are fewer zips to battle in the dark.
Pack spare gloves, because they will lose one. A flashing bobble hat is a great way to find your child in a large crowd, so pick one that covers the ears and stays on. Leave a dry pair of socks in the car.
Blue Light Card members can save at outdoor fashion brands, such as Cotswold Outdoor, GO Outdoors, Regatta, Blacks and Millets.
No one is dulling your sparkle, and there are plenty of ways to have fun on Bonfire Night. A few simple habits keep it that way.
Sparklers can reach temperatures of around 1,000°C, so it’s important to treat them carefully. Everyone holding one should wear gloves and keep it at arm’s length. Used sparklers should go straight into a bucket of cold water. Sparklers are not recommended for children under five.
If you’re setting off fireworks at home, follow the Firework Code. Light fireworks at arm’s length, stand well back, and never return to one that’s been lit. The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to visit an organised display. There’s a legal side to setting off your own fireworks as well, so do your research before deciding.
At a public firework display, stay behind the barriers, keep little ones close and agree a specific meeting point before you go in.
Keep dogs and cats indoors when fireworks are likely. Close the curtains, put the radio or telly on for background noise and give them somewhere cosy to hide. Extra fuss goes a long way.
Waterproof trousers will save you from a soggy bottom, wool or thermal socks beat cotton every time, and a neck warmer stays put better than a scarf. Dark colours hide the mud, and a spare bag for soggy gloves earns its keep on the walk back to the car.
Try a torchlight treasure hunt around the garden or a glow stick dance party in the living room. Younger children usually love building a toasty sofa den and decorating their own hot chocolate. For a quieter finish, a bedtime story by torchlight is hard to beat.
Start before the fireworks do. Walk your dog in daylight and make sure your pets are microchipped. Give cats an area to hide, and it’s best not to tempt them out. If your dog wants to play, play along and ignore the fireworks outside. Try to create a calming environment and give snuggles if that’s what they prefer.
