It’s a tradition as old as time itself. You may not be able to remember when or where you first heard about it, but we all know that bonfire night is coming up and there are fireworks guaranteed!
I love this time of year…..The fireworks, bonfires and storytelling are just so much fun!
So, with this in mind, I wanted to find some ideas for things we can do during bonfire night that are both fun and educational.
Below you will find some facts, fun books, crafts, activities and more to keep you busy with this bonfire night.
let’s start with some facts and the back story before we move on to the crafts, activities and lots more.
Who was Guy Fawkes?
Also known as Guido Fawkes he was born on 13th April 1570 in York where he spent all of his childhood.
He was a protestant by birth. His mother remarried a Catholic after his father passed away when he was only eight years old.
Fawkes converted to Catholicism and travelled to mainland Europe, where he helped defend Catholic Spain during the Eighty Years’ War.
The Infamous Gun Powder Plot.
Guy Fawkes was part of a group that planned to bring explosives into Parliament on 5 November 1605, when King James I opened it for a session.
They had hoped to kill him and all members of parliament at the same time, thus removing any opposition to their cause.
Guy Fawkes was recruited in 1604 by Thomas Winter. They wanted to blow up the House of Lords in 1605. There were 5 people in the plot: Guy Fawkes, Robert Catesby, Thomas Percy, John Wright, and Robert Keyes (and 7 other known accomplices).
An explosion was planned to take place on State Opening day. This is the day when the King and all of the Lords would be together in one room.
The plotters leased an undercroft beneath the House of Lords; Fawkes was placed in charge of the gunpowder that they stockpiled there.
However, the plot was discovered on November 4. They searched Parliament at midnight, and they found Fawkes with the gunpowder.
On 12 November, all of the co-conspirators were killed or arrested and taken to the Tower of London. On 27 January 1606, Fawkes and the other conspirators who had survived were tried for high treason in Westminster Hall and all were found guilty and sentenced to death.
Immediately before his execution on 31 January, Fawkes fell from the scaffold where he was to be hanged and broke his neck, thus avoiding the agony of being hanged, drawn and quartered. He became synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, the failure of which has been commemorated in the UK as Guy Fawkes Night since 5 November 1605, when his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, commonly accompanied by fireworks.
Following the plot, a law was passed to make 5 November each year a day of thankfulness.
This law lasted from 1605 until 1859. People still set off fireworks and make effigies of Guy Fawkes, even though this law has ended.
At various locations around Westminster and London, the conspirator’s heads and other portions of their bodies were placed.
5 Interesting Facts About Bonfire Night.
- Guy Fawkes was not the leader of the Gunpowder Plot. It was actually Robert Catesby.
- It was illegal to not celebrate Bonfire night in Britain (This ended in 1959)
- There is a place in England that doesn’t celebrate bonfire night. It’s St. Peters school. They do not celebrate it because they want to respect their former pupil, Guy Fawkes.
- Every year, the Yeoman of the Guards searches for people in The Houses of Parliament. They do this in November before the state opening (where the reigning Monarch visits parliament each year)
- Guy Fawkes has an island named after him.
Bonfire Night Fun Books.
I spent some time looking at all the books available for bonfire night (and the reviews too) Below you will find the best ones I came across and I also tried to include something for kids of all ages.
You Wouldnt Want to Be Guy Fawkes!
Reading age 8 – 12 years
Print length – 40 pages
Mr Fawkes, the King and the Gunpowder Plot.
Reading age 5 – 7 years
Print length – 32 pages
The Gunpowder Plot.
Reading age 6 – 8 years
Print length – 48 pages
Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot (Why do we remember?)
Reading age 6 – 10 years
Print length – 32 pages
Bonfire Night Crafts And Games.
Fireworks Glitter Foam Stickers for Kids’ Crafts and Art Projects.
Bonfire Night Craft: These glittery, firework puffy stickers are made of durable foam with self-adhesive for crafts that shimmer and shine.
This set includes 120 foam stickers that range in size from 10mm-70mm, making them versatile for multiple different uses. Includes 20 assorted designs and 6 colours featuring yellow, red, blue, orange, pink and green.
Bonfire Night Craft Kit For Making Fire Works.
3, 2, 1, blast off!
Decorate the rocket card blanks with acrylic paints or Deco pens before attaching the coloured stick and crepe paper streamers.
Bonfire Night Game – Ignite The Firework.
Just like the traditional game, stick the tail on the donkey, except the game has been changed to provide fun specifically for Celebrations like Bonfire Night.
Each player must try to stick their spark sticker as near to the target zone as possible, after spinning around 3 times blindfolded.
PRE-CUT Guy Fawkes Decorations & Cake Toppers.
PRE-CUT No cutting required!
These toppers are ready to be applied directly to your cakes and are fully edible, premium quality, thick wafer card.
Get them here.
Bonfire Handprint Art.
Amazing Scratch Card Set.
Create amazing bonfire night scratch cards with this huge set.
This comes complete with 40 scratch sheets, 10 cutouts, 5 stencils, 5 wooden stylus and lots more.
Website With Lots Of Bonfire Crafts.
When doing some research I found this website which has lots of different bonfire related crafts.
These include the following.
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Bonfire Collage
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Bonfire Painting
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Catherine Wheel Craft
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Chocolate Sparklers
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Fireworks Paintings
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Kitchen Foil Sparklers
The website is called activity village and if you click here I have linked to all the bonfire night crafts for you.
Bonfire Night Educational Resources.
BBC Bitesize.
I found some awesome resources over on the bitesize page, this includes life through images, an interactive quiz and lots more.
Check it out here…. Guy Fawkes – Gunpowder plotter
The Gunpowder Plot Facts & Worksheets.
Gunpowder Plot facts and information activity worksheet pack and a fact file.
These Include 5 activities aimed at students 11-14 years old & 5 activities aimed at students 14-16 years old.
Stem Learning – The Science Behind Fireworks.
This is a great 15 page PDF and has lots of facts and other bits inside.
Educational Bonfire Night YouTube Videos.
Guy Fawkes and the Conspiracy of the Gunpowder Plot
Horrible Histories – Fawkes’ 13 | Slimy Stuarts
Gunpowder Plot – Stories from Parliament
Gunpowder Plot – Stories from Parliament (Part 2)
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We hope you enjoyed this list of 18 great activities for your next bonfire night. Some are educational, some are fun and others just plain silly but they’re all perfect to enjoy with friends or family on November 5th!
If you have any more suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments below.
And we’ve got a whole lot more in store for the upcoming holiday season, so stay tuned!
Happy Bonfire Night everyone!
(Please share our website with other home educators. We are adding stuff all the time to make it a great resource for everyone on their journeys)
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Thanks for reading and take care.
