to ask your views on fireworks

[McHappyPants2012]

just because i feel that in october christmas threads are depressing

I like them in people's back gardens as well as the organised displays - they still look good, and it's nice walking along and seeing them all. We used to always have fireworks in our garden when we were little and I thought it was really exciting (especially when the Catherine Wheel came off the stick which it did I think every year) - would love to do that for my son now but we don't have a garden!

I like organised displays. Last year was over an hour freezing in the in-laws garden. They didn't have anything higher than a category 2 going off every ten minutes.

Was thinking about taking my 14 month old to the local display this year. Does anyone have any experience of baby ear defenders? Or is it just a really stupid idea?

I love them, really love them.

But not random bangs exploding in the street weeks and weeks each side of bonfire night. That's not how fireworks are meant to be used and it scares my cats

I am not keen on fireworks. That said DD really enjoyed watching other families fireworks from her bedroom window last year so will make an effort this year.

Have a reasonable sized garden so all the neighbours and their kids are coming over to ours with a packet of fireworks each so that nobody is wasting extraordinary amounts of money on gunpowder and we'll all stand inside at the patio windows, eating hotdogs and treats while the poor Dads run around setting fire to things outside.

The organised events are pants round here. We used to go pre-DD, but would always leave early to go to the pub!

I agree that it's not supposed to be 'bonfire month' btw. People who set them off on the wrong day should be chased around their gardens by Catherine Wheels.

Love love love them but only on bonfire night. Having them at parties and weddings at other times is anti social.

I love them, but, as others have said, only for Bonfire night and really, really rare other special occasions - eg the Millennium NYE was OK, but every NYE isn't (IMO ).

Is there an age limit for their sale in GB and do you need to buy a license to get fireworks?

I love firework displays but not the ones that parts let off in the street.

I also love Christmas and my shopping is nearly finished

I love them at any time . Like usual I live in a very diverse area and Diwali was amazing last year. Fireworks going off in every direction constantly for hours.

you can't buy them here within city limits, or set them off in your garden, which is a good thing as they are basically bombs

i LOVE fireworks - but only organised displays

I really miss bonfire night

I think you should have to pass a safety, first aid and legislation test and keep it updated at least every 3 years to be allowed to buy them.

Fantastic, at organised displays only.

They should not be allowed in people's gardens.

I HATE them in anything other than organised displays. A firework hit our front window last year, they land in my garden, scare the dog and are explosives. Why do people buy them? Just go to a display.

I think they should be banned apart from in official (licenced) displays...

They are beautiful.

But people should not be allowed to buy them and set them off in their gardens!

I am in favour of organised displays only. They are dangerous and too many people don't handle them with the care they should.

I think an organised display is great but the public shouldn't have access to them.

Similarly (becase they cause our pets so much distress) I wish they were held only on the nearest Saturday and/or the 5th itself.

PICK love fireworks, only at organised displays though.

I think they are too easily obtainable and dangerous in the wrong hands.

I love fire works, I love daft expensive garden fireworks. I love big organised displays. I love seeing other peoples fireworks and displays I happen to see as I drive past.

I judge people who don't like fireworks as people I probably won't like.

It's really interesting, I have seen this question asked regularly on various forums over the past 12 years and in my observation it does seem that more and more people are saying they should be organised displays only.

I like looking at fireworks, but not hearing them. They've already started here. I hear them every night.

I love fireworks when they're at properly organised displays

I hate random rockets going off in the middle of the night

People who don't handle fireworks correctly are idiots, if they hurt themselves so be it if they endanger others that's for the police.

It is not an argument against the sale of fireworks to everyone else.