Bonfire Night - please can we get your tips for successful parties

[GeraldineMumsnet]

Kids, adults, fireworks - it's a combustible mixture. So how do you make your bonfire night parties work? We need your ideas for games, food, safety, what to do with pets, and anything else we've forgotten. Thanks

There's no evidence that Bach helps animals, but it certainly won't do any harm. If an animal really doesn't cope and basic measures don't help then we tend to use diazepam because it has calming and amnesic properties. And there's evidence that it works.

thanks Davina.

Thanks for all these

My Ma and Pa used to always have a fab bonfire night party, so, based on 15+years ago, here's what you need:
big bonfire
brave dads to light fireworks
lots of sparklers & gloves to protect wee hands
mulled wine for the grownups
hot dogs for kids
stew??????? or similar
lights in garden or garage to provide some safety!!!
Am now feeling homesick and wish i was the kid again, simpler times!!!

Me too! Just a thought, does anyone have any particular regional variations on bonfire night ie particular customs for their area?
thanks

Wind-up torches or glow-sticks for the children so they don't get scared in the dark and can find their way to the loo etc. Batteries are so last century.

Get your neighbours to do baked potatoes in their oven so that your own is available to cook nice sausages etc and not the 'charcoaled on the fire' variety. A big pot of chilli is also good. As is a vast apple & blackberry crumble.

Don't have a bonfire party with indoor catering if you're one of the 'shoes off" brigade. It'll still get muddy/leafy/sooty & have food trodden into it and you'll be crying over your cream carpets until Christmas.

Gloves, double socks or cosy boots, warm coats and ear defenders for tinies.

Do not allow any child to creep up the garden to get nearer the fireworks or 'help'. Set them a distance boundary and stick to it (even if it means yelling at other peoples kids).

Set the fireworks in firm soil or sand and do not aim them towards other peoples gardens or houses (or my fields thank you v. much ). Also avoid straight-up, as they are still very hot when they fall back on your guests heads. If you can't avoid the above, then you don't have the space and should go to a display.

And don't have fireworks at home more than a week away from the 5th as it's bloody annoying.

Label your child!!! Kids do tend to go wandering at large fireworks parties!

Put your matches in a tin. It always widdles it down on bonfire night.

Have jacket potatos and sausages ready for when you get home or hot chocolate with cream and sprinkles. Plus hot toddies for the non small people!

The best idea is to go to an organised display. ie a council run one and then just have the party.

Children and Fireworks do not mix, neither do pets and fireworks

Lots of booze is a good idea.

Stack loads of wood in your back garden along with any bits of rubbish you can't be bothered to tip, such as old mattresses and the like. The kids may even like to use it as a den beforehand!

Can of petrol is required to really get it going.

Sparklers are a waste of money, sticks shoved in petrol work just as well!

For bangers and the like you can usually find these cheap down the market or at the car boot (no questions asked!).

Combine all of the above with lots of children and animals for an explosive evening to remember!

Rhubarb, that sounds like our last bonfire party (except we didn't have kids then).

My mother, who had drunk too much punch) threw the fireworks which had failed to ignite properly onto the bonfire. Then they went off, and how.

See what you did? You made me deflounce!!

Do another thread so I can make it all serious again!

No I will not!

I am going to find all your serious thread posts and make them shit with flippant comments about hippies and lefties!!

We tape off the bonfire with some of that red and white plastic tape so people can't get too close and have 2 people supervising, also do fireworks behind this tape. This is usually some of the Dads as you can't keep them away from a fire . Boys never grow up.

There are some great suggestions on here.

And I LOVE custy's pumpkin suggestion - brilliant (I dont care that it's on a Bonfire night thread )

Well dont want to put a dampener on this but our kids have been well warned by the fire brigade at school that sparklers are very dangerous and only go to an arranged display. When you hear about some of the injuries people have had it puts you off buying fire works so we wont be celebrating this. Our local display was on Saturday. We missed it this year - think we are sort of fireworked out as people set them off so often they dont surprise us any more. I am surprised that Mumsnet are recommending sparklers etc when they are now quite a big organisation and people actually following what they say.

Always make sure the firework is the right way up......we had a very impressive explosion that threw half the garden into everyone's face. Apparently I screamed pretty loudly as I ran for cover behind the water butt!

Warning! Extremely Irresponsible Behaviour
DPs father set off an old um boat sos thingy-flare out of his top floor window. It did a U-turn and returned into their next door neighbour's window causing some damage. It is now the basis for a hilarious,oft re-told,'oh he is such a card' story.Along with many another.