Guest Blog from York Mumbler
Here’s some inspiration for crafts, games and nibbles to get everyone in the mood in the run up to bonfire night! You can also check our safety tips from the fire service here if you’re planning on setting up fireworks, bonfires or sparklers.
Firework Crafts
Create some firework inspired art to decorate your house, or have fun with some messy, sensory play.
- Toilet roll fireworks: Get a toilet roll tube and make lots of cuts about a third of the way up the tube all the way around the edge. Fan the flaps of card outwards and fold over to create a firework shaped paint brush. Dip your new ‘paint brush’ into various colours of paint and print onto black or dark coloured paper to create your own firework display picture. Examples here.
- Bonfire rockets: Using toilet roll tubes, card, tissue, pipe cleaners, sparkly pom poms and any other crafty bits you have around the house create to some bonfire rockets. Examples here.
- Sensory firework activity: you will need shaving foam, paints, paint brushes or cotton buds and a tray or baking tray. Fill the tray with shaving foam and dot on the surface different colours of paint. Let your toddler use a paint brush, cotton bud or their fingers to create firework shapes and patterns. Examples here.
Faux Bonfires
For those families who would rather not light their own bonfire, prefer to keep warm indoors or simply don’t have the space, why not try some of these ‘faux bonfire’ ideas.
- Make some Bonfire inspired cupcakes using chocolate match sticks or Cadbury flake for logs and coloured frosting to create the flames. Add a mini marshmallow on a cocktail stick for added fun! Create your own indoor ‘child safe bonfire’.
- Decorate empty toilet rolls with a wood grain effect to look like logs and add some brightly fire coloured tissue to create the flames. You could also find some rocks and sticks from outside to create a more realistic looking base. Add fairly lights or battery operated tealights and turn down the lights to watch your homemade fire glow. Examples here.
Glow in the dark games
Fun, family games to play inside or outside in the dark using glow sticks.
- Fill up bottles with water and add some different coloured glow sticks to create your own glow in the dark bowling alley.
- Join glow sticks together to create hoops and enjoy a game of glow in the dark ring toss.
Firework inspired food
Have fun creating some edible firework inspired treats to enjoy. Fun for all ages, these treats can be created with things you can find in the kitchen cupboards.
- Try dipping breadsticks into icing, chocolate spread or peanut butter then into brightly coloured sprinkles to create your own sparklers?
- Decorate some biscuits with a blob of icing and food colouring. Using a cocktail stick, drag out from the center to the outside to create firework shapes in your icing and finish off with some edible glitter or sprinkles.
- Create your own rockets using fruit and wooden skewers for a healthier alternative.
Sizzling savoury snacks
Creating a Bonfire feast can be just as much fun as eating it!
- Make some Catherine wheel puff pastries by spreading on some tomato puree and adding a sprinkling of cheese before cutting into strips, rolling up and baking.
- Slide some hot dog sausages onto skewers and wrap with sesame coated puff pastry before baking. Top off with a piece of pepper cut into a triangle to create sizzling sausage rockets.
- Create a Bonfire inspired plate of veggie dippers, using peppers and carrots to create the flames and breadsticks and twiglets as the logs.
For more tasty treats check out the BBC Good Food guide to Bonfire Night Recipes.
Bonfire Birthday Party
If you are really looking to pull out all the stops for a special occasion why not try some of these extra special treats.
- Upgrade from a Bonfire cupcake to a show stopping Bonfire Birthday cake.
- Set up a hot chocolate making station using a slow cooker with lots of different toppings to choose from such as mini marshmallows, sprinkles, chocolate and toffee sauces.
- Upgrade your toffee apples to chocolates apples this Bonfire night. A bit easier on the teeth and you can decorate with sprinkles, nuts even popcorn!
Thanks so much to our guest bloggers at York Mumbler. If you have family or friends in York be sure to let them know about the York Mumbler site.
There’s plenty on Gateshead Mumbler to help keep little ones (and big ones!) busy, check here for more ideas and info for playgroups, classes and fun days out from tots to teens!
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