Buying enough fireworks for a full fabulous display doesn’t come cheap, but it’s always worth the investment when you see the faces of your audience and hear the “oohs” and “aahs” after a particularly whizz-popping effect.

If you love fireworks and you have your heart set on staging your own display this Bonfire Night, but you’re a bit short of the funds you need, don’t worry. There are ways you can fund your display, without having to skimp on the length or the quality of it. Here are some handy ideas:

• Crowd-fund your display. Crowd-funding has been used to kick-start lots of exciting projects recently, from events to new products. If there is no fireworks event happening in the area on Bonfire Night and you know that there is lots of local demand for one, why not take to the internet and see if you can get some public support and donations? You’ll be surprised how many people may get behind your idea and help turn it into a reality.

• Charge an entry fee. This is essentially another form of crowd-funding, where attendees of your event help to cover its costs through ticket sales or entry fees. However, with crowdfunding your costs are covered upfront, so you know for definite that you have enough money to go ahead and purchase your fireworks ahead of time. If you charge for tickets on the day and not enough people turn up, you could be left out of pocket. You may also experience cash flow problems having to pay for everything out of your own money, waiting to be reimbursed by ticket sales.

• Assemble a team of volunteers. It takes a lot of people to look after an event like a fireworks display, from keeping an eye on safety to coordinating access and parking. You can save a huge amount of money on paying staff for these roles by putting the time in to find volunteers. For the chance to watch a free fireworks display (and possibly a hot dog or two to sweeten the deal), many people would be happy to help out for an hour or two.

If all else fails, you can always talk to your local council to see if there’s anything they can do to help – provided your event is a public one that could benefit and bring the whole community together.

What you shouldn’t do to save money

Whatever measures you take to trim the bill for your display, the last thing you should do is buy super cheap fireworks – unless it’s from a reputable place. Bargain bin fireworks are likely to mis-fire, produce lots of horrible smoke or do nothing at all. They could even be dangerous.

If you are concerned about money when buying your fireworks, speak to one of the team at 1^st Galaxy Fireworks, who can help you design a display around your specific budget.