By Laura Rancie.
Bonfires and backyard parties are as Aussie as BBQs on the weekend – a timeless tradition we all love and look forward to.
As the months get cooler and the evenings welcome warmer jackets and cosy blankets, we take a look at the culture of gathering around the fire, toasting S’mores and bringing good friends and conversations together around the firepit.
Here are some tips to help you plan that awesome night-out, at home, with your friends or family:
Check the weather forecast and sunset time:
This is one of the easiest parts of planning but is often overlooked! No one wants to sit in cold, wet weather! Also of importance, windy nights will make it difficult for the fire to stay alight and will make the smoke your guests worst enemy, blowing every which way in their faces.
Check the weather the morning of your bonfire and also what time the sun will set that night. Go the extra distance and invite your friends just before sunset to create the mood, watch the orangey-pink hues together and light the fire as the sun goes down.
XL marshmallows:
When toasting marshmallows, anyone can just grab a pack of the usual small pink and white marshmallows at the local supermarket. Don’t be like everyone else! Put in the effort and find the XL marshmallows – you know the big ones.
They’ll add a whole level of excitement to the night. Costco stocks them and you can also order online. For an extra layer of creativity, you could get a beautiful burlap-style tablecloth and place it over a trestle table near where you are gathering. Then lay out all ingredients ahead of time, for people to pick and nibble on as the evening gets started. A dessert buffet is a great idea. Here you can have all your toasting sticks, napkins and marshmallows too, as well as hot drinks.
Create ambience:
Turn on the tunes with an outdoor portable speaker. You could even ask your friends ahead of time to tell you their top 3 favourite songs and make a playlist with a mix of everyone’s top jams.
A nice gesture would be to put a cosy blanket on every other chair for people to snuggle up with. You can get cheap ones at your local Kmart. Lastly in the ambience category, is lighting. We suggest hanging up fairy or bulb lights from around the trees or your patio area. Alternatively, you could put tiki torches or electric tea light candles to light the path towards the firepit area.
Invite guests to come prepared:
Ask guests ahead of time to come up with a story - like a spooky or funny campfire story to tell around the fire, something great that happened to them in the past year or even just to think about one thing they’d like to share with the group that night.
Bring together these easy tips and your next bonfire evening will be as memorable as it is cosy!
