Bonfire night

Bonfire night is nearly upon us. Some of you may be planning to go along to an organised bonfire and firework display and some of you may choose to avoid the crowds and host your own bash.
Hopefully you'll pick up some inspiration here!
So why do we celebrate bonfire/guy fawkes night? Well, I think we all have some idea that it was to do with a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliment but what actually happened?
Well, after Queen Elizabeth 1 died in 1603, a group of young catholics decided to plot to blow up the Houses of Parliment in an attempt to kill the King and members of parliment after their persecution of catholics.
The conspirators hid 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the House of Lords. As the plans developed, it became apparent that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack. Some started to have doubts and an anonymous letter was sent to Lord Monteagle warning him to stay away from Parliment on 5th November.
This letter made it to the King who then made plans to stop the conspirators. When the cellar was stormed by the authorities it was Guy Fawkes who was found with the gunpowder. He was caught, tortured and executed.

Today in Parliment they still observe the tradition at the state opening of Parliment of searching the cellars.
On the night the plot was foiled, 5th of November, bonfires were lit to celebrate the safety of the King.
It makes you wonder....are we celebrating the execution of Guy Fawkes or honouring his attempt to do away with the Government?!
A bonfire night party is one of my favourites! I love getting dressed up all warm and being outside watching a firework display. It's an easy one as far as dress code goes-anything warm!
I love bonfire night food too....the traditional favourites of roast chestnuts, baked potatoes and toffee apples just can't be beaten! If you're throwing your own party you could have a BBQ if you aren't having a bonfire. Check out www.fireworks.co.uk/party/recipes.html for some food ideas and recipes.

If you are throwing your own party and will be having a bonfire and fireworks please please be safe.  For advice on safety and the law regarding fireworks please visit the following sites.

http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/fireworkssafety/index.html

http://www.fireworksafety.co.uk/

Also bear your pets in mind. For advice about pets and bonfire night visit http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/general/fireworks

Have a fun, safe night!

Halloween party inspiration

Halloween is just a few weeks away. Will you be having a party? It seems to be becoming more popular in the UK to celebrate this holiday although we don't quite seem to have embraced it in the same way as the Americans.

As I sat down to write this I did wonder "what is Halloween anyway?" We all know the history behind Christmas and Easter but just where did Halloween start?

Well it is thought to have originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain. This festival celebrated the end of "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half" of the year. It was believed that the border between the otherworld became thin on this day which allowed both harmful and harmless spirits to pass through. In order to protect themselves from evil spirits, people would carve out turnips and pumpkins and place candles inside them. They would place these outside their homes on the Samhain holiday. The ancient Celts also believed that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on this night so they wore masks and costumes in order to avoid being recognised as human. Hence where the traditions of dressing up and pumpkin carving originated! The traditional colours of black and orange originate from black, meaning darkness and death and orange related to the autumn season.

So, will you be pushing the boat out for your party? You could be surprised at what a fantastic, professional looking party you could have for a relatively small amount of money. I've been amazed at the amount of nice quality (reusable-so keep them packed away for next year!) decorations, costumes and party items available on the high street. Check out all of those bargain high street chains such as Poundstretcher, Home Bargains and B&M as well as the usual suspects such as Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys.
First off you need to decide on the theme of the party. For example do you want to terrify your guests at every opportunity or do you just want some lighthearted, spooky fun?
If your guests are going to be in fancy dress you could suggest a theme such as movie monsters, Harry Potter or The Addams Family or just give people free reign and see what they come up with!
If you are providing food it's fun to throw in a few spooky looking dishes. Jelly with plastic spiders or mashed up jelly with jelly worms mixed in. Or you could go a gross step further and make witches fingers (chicken or fish fingers with a flaked almond or piece of red pepper stuck on the end with a small amount of cream cheese to hold it in place). You may also want some "normal" dishes too just in case your guests are put off at the thought of eating witches fingers and jelly with spiders!

You can go all out with decoration if you want to with things like spiders webs, pumpkins, fake tombstones, skulls, window decals and much much more however its just as effective with some low lighting and a few well placed lighted pumpkins. One thing that can make all the difference is to play some spooky sounds into the room. CD's can be purchased from just £1 at most of the stores listed above and will provide you with sounds such as moaning, wailing, screams, creaking doors and whispering! Very scary!

If you're having childen at the party you could put together some inexpensive goody bags with halloween sweets and fillers such as eyeball bouncy balls, glow bracelets, stretchy skeletons and slime pots amongst other things! All available very reasonably priced from http://www.partybox.co.uk/

Think about how you'll keep your guests entertained. A few party games might do the trick! You can never go wrong with the classic apple bobbing! This is a game that both adults and children will enjoy.

You could also have a go at pumpkin bowling! You can usually pick up plastic skittle sets in most supermarkets or toy shops. Instead of using the ball to knock down your skittles bowl with mini pumpkins instead!

So there you have it, hopefully we have provided you with some spooktacular (geddit?!) inspiration for your halloween celebrations!
Let us know how you get on and send us your pics so we can feature them in a future blog!

If you'd like to our help to plan a Halloween theme wedding please contact us

(Images taken from Google images and www.partybox.co.uk)