Fireworks Party: A Family Tradition That Lit Up Our Autumn

[Image 1. A dark navy thumbnail image. Centre left, is a orange and red firework burst. In the middle are three smaller orange, purple, and yellow bursts. Centre right is a green and yellow burst. The post title is at the top]

Originally written in November 2014 as "Fireworks Party" — Updated for clarity and reflection in 2026

For the last few years we have held a firework night party. I am not a believer in Halloween for many reasons. I have never liked the idea of trick or treating. It feels too close to begging, something we would not accept at any other time of year. My faith also plays a part as it doesn't sit comfortably with what I hold as a Christian. Firework night, Christmas, and Easter are more our thing. 

So we created something different for the boys to look forward to. We host a firework party for our family, neighbours, and their children. It has always been well received. The children love it. The adults enjoy it. It gives us a night that feels bright, warm, and full of community.

I thought I would share a few photos from this year’s celebration.

[Image 2. James, wearing a green coat and his fluffy hood up waves a sparkler. His uncle, wearing blue, is doing the same in the background]

[Image 3. William and James are standing in the Garden both wearing green coats. Will is in standing behind James with his hood up smiling at the camera. James is in front, hos hood down, her arms stretched out smiling and happy]

[Image 4. A garden at night. The green grass is lit by an outside light. At the bottom of the garden is a ground firework with a bright light, the sparks that escape, and white smoke above it]

[Image 5. James wearing a gren coat, waves his sparkler in the air grinning. Behind him in a blue coat is his cousin]

[Image 6. A green and white firework bursts against the night sky with green smoke trailing below it]

[Image 7. A white firework rocket is shown against the night sky rising before it explodes]

[Image 8. A purple and orange rockets has just left the ground and is shown against the night sky]

[Image 9. A ground firework bursts upwards, its bright white light highlights the greenhouse and fence behind it, and the green grass it is placed on]

[Image 10. William wearing a green coat stands near the patio door, as he smiles at the camera and waves his sparkler]

[Image 11. The back of James and William as they wait in line to get a firework from their aunt]

[Image 12. The boys cousin stands in a doorway looking out to the garden. Two young adult family members are watching as a large sparkler lights the space up]

[Image 13. William wearing a green coat makes circles with his sparkler]

2026 Reflection

This post marks the beginning of a tradition that carried us through several years. It grew into something bigger than a simple firework night. It became a rhythm in our family calendar. In 2015 we added chalk firework pictures before heading to Dad’s house for the main event. In 2016 we created firework crafts with iChild, first with pipe cleaners and then a rocket project, chalk picture session, and painting fireworks which became their own posts. That same year we made toffee apples for our My Little Chef series. We ended the season with another firework night at Dad’s, captured again in a Sunday Photo post.

We kept the tradition going into 2017. That year was our last. Dad was diagnosed with cancer the week after. Everything changed. The year that followed was a battle we were told had little chance of success. It worked, against the odds, but the treatment, the exhaustion, and the strain meant we never held another firework party, just updates on Cancer. We included firework activities in one of Will’s home education lessons in 2019, but it was not the same. Then 2020 arrived. Dad was cancer free, and we thought we might bring the tradition back. He had a stroke during the height of Covid. Life never returned to what it had been. Dad contracted Covid. He died in 2022.

These firework nights are some of the boys’ clearest early memories. They remember the noise, the colours, the food, the crafts, and the feeling of being at Grandad’s. They remember being surrounded by my side of the family. Those moments matter even more now. My brother and I no longer speak. I always suspected that would happen. Dad was the only thing that kept us together after Mum died. These posts hold the last snapshots of that version of our family.

I hope the boys read these one day and decide to create their own firework nights. I want to be an old man in my wheelchair, sitting in one of their gardens, watching my grandchildren wrapped up in coats and scarves, faces lit by sparklers and fireworks. I want them to feel what we felt. I want them to know where it started.

If you want to follow more of our family adventures, please click here.