Fire

Ever since the beginning of time, fire has been at the centre of gatherings and celebrations

For a smallish campfire use a flat wooden base about 18” across. Scrunch up the fairy lights so they are about the size of a football and loosely tape them together. Wrap them around a central core of bubble wrap to save on the amount of lights, as long as they are cool when lit. Tape the lights to the base making sure the switch or controller is accessible. Cut out random angular shapes from red, yellow and orange gels for theatre lights and tape them over the lights. You can use cellophane or sweet wrappers but the effect will be less convincing because they are not designed to transmit saturated colour. Finally attach the sticks over the gels in the form of a campfire with wire or cable ties and a glue gun. Alternatively the fire can be made using a metal firepit as a base

The fire is a great reusable prop that can be used in many contexts, for example as a focal point for a group activity

Fire can support a narrative e.g. a story, a witch's cauldron, or another activity such as baking clay or cooking bush tucker for example

It can be used in conjunction with other props and effects to reinforce the idea of ‘fire’ e.g. hot rocks made of fairy lights wrapped in bubble wrap

Use as part of an immersive camping environment, with bubble wrap for sound and maybe marshmallows as a midnight feast or as a cosy hearth to simply relax beside