Firework crafts for Bonfire Night

Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot....

Are you looking for some firework crafts to entertain the children while you wait until the evening fireworks, or prefer a warmer and quieter alternative to hanging around to watch a display? You are in the right place! Here's a selection of simple firework crafts and activities that you can do with young children.

First up, why not make your very own Fireworks display in a box. The fireworks will last a lot longer than when they are in the sky, and you can get really creative with different sparkly materials to make your own display.

Very young children might be too little to take out to watch fireworks, but you can still have fun at home with a Firework themed sensory tub. All you need is a base material - I used dyed black rice - and some sparkly and fun accessories. Add a couple of spoons and some divided containers and the children will be kept busy for ages. Just remember to pop down an old table cloth or similar to try and contain the mess!

A slightly messier craft, but a lot of fun, are these Paper plate glitter fireworks paper plate glitter fireworks. Paint the paper plates black to make a background and add some coloured sparkly glue. Then drip white glue onto the plate to form a firework shape, and sprinkle liberally with glitter to make your fireworks. They look great hung up on a wall or window!

Finally, you could make some cardboard tube fireworks. Cover some old cardboard tubes with black paper and fill with some pipe cleaner fireworks for a brilliant table centrepiece or decoration. It's really easy to make, and children can have lots of fun customising their fireworks.

I hope I've inspired you to get crafting this Bonfire Night!

Cardboard tube firework craft

I decided that with Bonfire Night not too far away I'd use some glittery cardboard, foam stars and sequins to make a simple firework craft.

You need:

Cardboard tubes
Black paper, even better if it has sparkly bits in it!
Coloured pipe cleaners
Star foam stickers, or you can make your own cutouts from coloured cardboard
Sequins
Black tissue paper
Bostik White Glu
Bostik Glu Dots

Instructions:

First cover your cardboard tubes in black paper. Cut a piece of the paper to size then glue firmly in place with the Bostik White Glu. As the paper that I used to cover the tubes was quite thick, I also secured the ends in place with a couple of staples to make sure that it was held in place. You might want to use paper clips around the top and bottom while the glue dries to keep it all in place.

Then prepare your fireworks. I found that a length of pipe cleaner about 15cm long worked well for each firework. I used pipe cleaners in red, orange and yellow but any colours would do, and sparkly ones would look fantastic! Use a Bostik Glu Dot to firmly stick the foam stars to the ends of the pipe cleaners. I find that the Glu Dots work really well on the pipe cleaners as they stick firmly to the textured surface.

Then use some tape to secure your pipe cleaner fireworks inside the cardboard tube. Try and position them at different intervals and heights to add a bit of interest. Then scrumple up some black tissue paper and stuff it into the top of the tube to hide the ends of the pipe cleaners. Finally finish off your firework craft with some sequins glued to the outside of the tube with some White Glu.

These cardboard tube fireworks make a great Bonfire Night decoration, and you could use them as a fantastic table centerpiece for your Bonfire Night party!

If you are looking for firework crafts, you might enjoy some of my other crafts:

Fireworks display in a box
Paper plate firework craft
Firework themed sensory tub

The box of craft materials was provided to me free of charge by Bostik as part of the Tots100/Bostik Craft Bloggers Club.

Paper Plate Firework Craft

Not long to go until Bonfire Night on the 5th November, and so today I'm sharing a quieter alternative to going out and watching fireworks - making paper plate firework decorations with the children! It's a bit messy, but most children love any kind of craft that involves glue and glitter!

These firework pictures are really easy to make, and because you need to make them in stages they are great for little ones with short attention spans.

You need:

Paper plates - either black paper plates or you can paint them black like we did. If you don't have any paper plates, you can just use black paper or card, the reason for a paper plate is that it helps to keep the glitter under control!

White PVA glue in a squeezy bottle

Glitter in lots of colours - either loose glitter that you can shake on or glitter glue pens

Star sequins or stickers

Instructions:

First paint your paper plates black if necessary. Then create the background of your firework. Either apply the glue sparingly and sprinkle on glitter, or use the glitter pens with a brush to paint lightly in the background. Leave your backgrounds to dry, if you've used a thin layer of glue it won't take too long. Then use the white PVA glue from the bottle to squeeze out the shape of a firework on the plate.

Before the glue outline has dried, sprinkle liberally with glitter so that it sticks to the surface of the glue in a firework shape. Shake the plate a little from side to side to spread out the glitter evenly, you should find that the edges of the plate help to keep it (mostly!) where it needs to be. Leave to dry thoroughly, ideally in the sunshine or on a radiator, it will take several hours, or longer if you've been heavy handed with the glue.

To finish off your picture you can add extra star sequins or stickers, or perhaps add them around the edge of the plate. Then either stick up with some Blu Tack, or punch a hole in the top and thread through ribbon or string to hang.

You might also like my other firework related crafts - how to make a firework display in a box and a firework themed sensory tub.