1. Setting the Scene

One of the best parts of a bonfire party: the bonfire. If you haven’t got enough room in your garden but still want that atmospheric glow, then a fire pit is a great alternative.

Seating around the fire is essential and creates the ideal setting for gentle chatter and memorable moments. The perfect way to begin the long nights of November. Simple ideas are haybales covered with blankets, garden furniture or fold away camping chairs. If you don’t have time to get seating, then ask your guests to bring their own.

Hats, scarves and gloves are essential for any bonfire party, but keep guests extra snuggly by setting up a blanket station. Fold up a few blankets and place in a basket outside or on a table for guests to wrap up in if the weather gets a bit chilly. Why not add a cute sign for your blanket station such as “Snuggle Up” or “Keep Cosy”.

2. Light Up the Night with some Ambient Lighting

Make the most of the dark night’s drawing in and decorate your garden with some ambient lighting. Let the bonfire take centre stage, but why not try adding fairy lights to trees and mason jars containing candles to tables to give your party a fun yet relaxed feel.

For the glow stick fans, create stunning glow in the dark jars by snapping the glow stick, carefully snipping off one end, emptying the liquid into a clean mason jar and swirling until the inside of the jar is coated. You could even add some glitter inside for extra sparkle. If you have any old balloons lying around, then make use of them too! After filling the balloon with helium or air, simply pop in a snapped glow stick and tie. Simple but very effective.

3. Get Creative with Sparklers

Great fun for all the family and sure to spark an “Ooh!” moment, sparklers are a fantastic addition to any bonfire party. Display in a dressed-up mason jar with a cute sign and be sure to have an old bucket on standby filled with water or sand for the sparklers to be stored in once they’ve fizzled out.

Sparklers offer the perfect photo opportunity, a great way to remember your night. Follow our easy steps for capturing that perfect moment:

1. Set your ISO to 100.

2. Set your camera in Manual mode.

3. Set your aperture to F8.

4. Set your shutter speed to 1 second.

5. Have your guests twirl their sparkler in front of your camera while the shutter is open (make sure the camera is on a table or something that isn’t going to move).

You should see a trail of light for every direction they twirled their sparkler. If not, slow your shutter speed down even more. This can be a ton of fun!

How is that for easy sparkler photo tips that anyone can play with!

4. Perfect Bonfire Party Games

With everyone together, it’s a perfect opportunity to have some fun with a few games. There are endless possibilities when it comes to bonfire party games. Some great ideas include:

A traditional autumn game and great for all ages, apple bobbing. Fill a bucket with some warm water and place in enough apples for all your guests to have a go. Make sure you have some towels at the ready too!

Another fun (and drier) alternative is doughnut bobbing. Tie doughnuts onto a tree with some string and watch as guests try to grab for the sugary treats with only their mouths, no cheaters!

Make the most of your glow sticks and set up glow-in-the-dark bowling. Crack your glow sticks and drop one glow stick into each of the 6 bottles of water, this will create your six bowling pins. Set up your pins on a patio, driveway or flat grassy area. Three at the back, two in the middle and one at the front to create a triangle. Now grab your ball and have fun.

Trivia games are also a great option to play around the fire and might even spark a bit of friendly competitiveness. Sit everyone down, get into teams and see who comes out as quiz champion.