Bonfire Night on a Budget: Our top tips and tricks!

Bonfire Night is the last big event in the calendar before the festivities can officially begin, but with the cost of living crisis affecting all of us how can we celebrate without spending an arm and a leg? We’ve covered everything from food and drink to activities you can do from the comfort of your own home, putting everything into one handy shopping list to make planning your night in as easy as possible!

Shopping List:

X 2 packs 500g Beef Mince = £2.49 x 2 = £4.98

X 2 tins chopped tomatoes = £0.35 x 2 = £0.70

X 1 tin red kidney beans = £0.33

X 2 red onions = £0.21 x 2 = £0.42

X 2 Chilli Con Carne Recipe Mix = £0.95 x 2 = £1.90

X 1 box boil in the bag rice = £1.20

X 4 packs apples = £1.70 x 4 = £6.80

X 1 bag caster sugar = £2.20

X 1 bottle golden syrup = £1.55

X 1 bottle vinegar = £0.29

X 2 bags Party Ice = £1.25 x 2 = £2.50

X 1 bag Super Cubes = £1.25

X 1 200g bar Milk Chocolate = £1.30

X 1 pack rich tea biscuits = £0.65

X 1 pack Marshmallows = £1.10

X 1 pack oranges = £1.50

X 1 bottle vodka (35cl) = £10.75

X 1 bottle cloudy apple juice = £1.70

X 1 pack mini cake sparklers = £1.50

X 1 bottle caramel syrup = £3.25

Total:  £45.87 (Based on shopping at Tesco, correct as of (31/10/2023)

Use a big batch recipe to save £’s per portion

Slow cookers are a party hosts best friend, not only does it take minimal prep time but it’s also a lot more cost effective! Slow cookers are notably cheaper to run than an oven and by cooking a singular meal in bulk you can feed lots of people for a fraction of the cost of smaller individual dishes. Our go to options include a fiery chilli con carne to warm up your guests after standing out in the cold or a hearty stew.

What’s Bonfire Night without a toffee apple?

Toffee Apples are a seasonal favorite and can be easily made at home using things you’ll likely already have in the cupboard! Luckily because of our little hack we didn’t have to wait long to enjoy them either, instead of leaving them to cool we added our toffee apples to a bucket filled with Party Ice, ready to serve in minutes!

Ingredients:

• 8 Apples
• 400g Caster Sugar
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 4 tbsp golden syrup
• X 1 bag Party Ice

Method:

1. Add the apples to a bowl and cover with boiling water to remove the coating. Dry and push a skewer into the stalk end of each apple.
2. Add the sugar to a pan with 100ml water over a medium heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves before adding the vinegar and golden syrup. Boil the mix until it reaches the hard crack stage, you can test this by pouring some into a bowl of cold water. If it hardens and becomes brittle then it’s ready, if you can squish it still continue to boil.
3. Once ready dip and twist each apple in the toffee until covered, letting any excess drip away then add straight to a bucket filled with party ice to cool.

Add some wow factor with your drinks garnishes

We’ve been creating lots of delicious autumnal drinks this year, but none felt more perfect for the occasion than this Toffee Apple cocktail complete with its own sparkler! Often used on birthday cakes, mini sparklers can be found next to the candles in most supermarkets and make the perfect garnish for any bonfire night cocktail. Check out the full recipe for our Toffee Apple Cocktail below.