Money saving tips for fireworks night

by Chiara Cavaglieri on 25 October 2012  |  18 comments
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Here are some money saving tips to make sure your bonfire night goes with a bang.

Love them or hate them, fireworks are in the shops again and sprogs everywhere are begging their parents to buy the very latest "apocalyptic nuclear blast thunderbomb", or similar device.

While it can be cheaper to buy fireworks from wholesale dealers online, most of us will end up buying ours at the supermarket at part of our weekly shop. So I've rounded up the various fireworks offers from the main supermarkets.

Aldi

Sparklers

For £1.49 you can get 21 gold, glittering sparklers, while for £1.69 you get ten 18-inch giant gold sparklers.

£10 or under

You can get Firefight, a mix of 15 different fireworks, for £4.99 a pack.

Then for £9.99 you have three different options. There’s Power Storm, a multi-shot containing 100 shots, Blasting Barrel, a display fountain, and Jet Blast, a collection of multi-coloured rockets.

Best of the rest

For £14.99 Silver Lynx fives you a selection of multi-shots, fountains and a sparkling wheel.

The Power Finale boasts high aerial bursts forming red and green umbrella effects and will cost you £19.99

And finally there’s the Merlin selection box, which includes wheels, fountains, Roman candles and rockets for £19.99.

Asda

Sparklers

You can get five ten-inch gold sparklers for 50p or five giant gold sparklers for £1.

The budget selection

Asda has a wide range of different fireworks available for less than £5. There’s a pack of five shooting stars for £3, the Deep Space 4 shot tubes for £5, the Star Struck selection box (15 fireworks) for £5, and the Cosmic Diamonds fountain for £5.

Then for £10 there’s the Livewire Selection box (with 17 different fireworks), the Dragon Heads rocket pack (four large rockets) and the Neutron Star multi-shot.

The top-end fireworks

If you’ve got a bigger budget for your fireworks, there’s quite a few to choose from. The Zero Gravity multi-shot (with 25 shots) will set you back £40, while for £50 you can get the Jaguar Party Pack, which includes 27 different fireworks.

For £60 there’s the Wild One multi-shot – from a single firework, you get 100 shots! And for £80 you can get the Space Odyssey, which includes two large aerial multi-shots.

Morrisons

Sparklers

A five-pack of ten inch Mega Sparklers costs 40p, but you can get three for £1. And a five-pack of 18 inch Monster Sparklers will set you back £1.

£10 or under

For £5 there’s the Pumpkin fountain, the Midnight Explorer (a five-rocket pack) and the Illusion Missile (a 100 shot barrage).

And for £10 there’s the Star Attack (a seven-rocket pack), Clash of the Planets (an 18-shot barrage four-pack) and the Ion Flux (an 18-shot barrage).

Selection boxes

There are four different selection boxes on offer. Solar Frenzy is a 19-piece box, including fountains and Roman candles, and will set you back £10. For £20 there’s the Tempest Deal which includes Atom Rockets and sparklers.

For £30 there’s the Aftershock Deal, which is an assortment of fountains, wheels and Roman candles, while for £40 there’s the Inferno Deal which includes all of the above plus Ultimate Force Rockets.

Sainsbury’s

Sparklers

For 50p you can get ten gold sparklers, while for £1 you can get five giant gold sparklers.

Buy one get one free

Sainsbury’s has a number of fireworks available on a buy one get one free deal.

For £10 you can get Apollo, a collection of four rockets, or a four-pack of Roman candles called Plasmic Lights.

You have two options at £15: Orion, a selection box of 16 fireworks which is “ideal for small gardens” and Sonic, a “multishot cake” which shoots stars into the sky and lasts 20 seconds.

For £20 you can again enjoy a selection box and multishot cake. Venus includes eight fountains, four Roman candles, two rockets a wheel and a mine, while the Battlestar cake will last a whole 35 seconds.

The Gemini selection box is ideal for larger gardens and families, while the Asteroid Attack cake contains 19 large star bursts, and lasts about 25 seconds. Each costs £35.

Finally, for £45, there’s the Supernova selection box which is designed for larger garden displays (and includes four long-lasting fountains) and Goliath’s Fury, a cake including multi-coloured starbursts lasting almost a minute.

Premium

There are four Premium collections available at Sainsbury’s.

For £65, there’s Vortex, which lasts approximately 100 seconds and features “multi-coloured stars”.

For £85 you can get Utopia, with mixed colour bursts, loud crackles and flashing strobes. It lasts approximately 105 seconds.

Next is Pyromania, which costs £95. It’s a double-pack of single ignition fireworks, each producing palm tree effects. It only lasts a minute though.

And finally, Colossus will set you back a whopping £125. In exchange you’ll get 140 seconds of “extremely large spherical bursts”, loud crackles and finally an intense colour burst.

Tesco

Sparklers

You have a choice of two types of sparkler at Tesco, the basic at 40p for a pack of five sparklers, or the slightly posher version for £1, again for five.

Buy one get one free

Tesco has a range of different fireworks on offer on a buy one get one free basis.

There’s the Shooting Star Rocket Pack, Magnitude (a 150 shot collection of multi-coloured stars) and a Ghost Fountain, all of which are normally £10 each.

At the higher end, for £30 each there’s the Solaris Selection Box (24 different fireworks), the Nebula Aerial Display ( a 14 shot collection, including gold weeping willow, blue starbursts and crackling comet stars), the Britannia Boom Shot Tubes (11 varied effect shot tubes) and the Britannia Burst Rocket Pack (16 multi-effect rockets). All of these are also available on a buy one get one free basis.

Party packs

Alternatively, there’s the Evolution 6 Piece Party Pack (six different fireworks) for £20 or the Endeavour Selection Box (36 different fireworks) and Apocalypse Aerial Display (described as a complete display in a box) for £30 each.

The Premium collection

Finally, there’s the Premium collection. For £50 you can get the Crusader, a 48-shot aerial display, while for £65 the Revenge pack will give you a 145-shot choreographed display.

And if you want to go all out, there’s the Mercenary. For £85, not only will you make enemies of your neighbours, you’ll also get to enjoy a 120-shot aerial display which finishes with a “show-stopping finale of brocade plumes and a crackling mine”.

Insurance

Finally, don't get hit by horrible surprise costs after the event. Make sure you have comprehensive buildings and contents insurance. According to Churchill Home Insurance, almost two million British homes have been damaged as a result of fireworks going astray - with each incident costing an average of £307 to put right. Contents insurance also covers you if you accidently cause damage to your neighbour's garden or any out buildings.

And check the small print to make sure you are covered for public liability (in case someone is injured as a result of your celebrations). Even if you have sufficient cover, make sure you don't invalidate your policy by doing anything silly like pouring petrol on the bonfire or setting off illegal fireworks.

Hopefully, your evening can now go with a bang while your bank balance stays intact.

This is a classic article that is updated.

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