Fireworks Etiquette: Light Up the Sky, Not the Neighborhood

We are coming into fireworks season, and your buddy Mark is about to tell you some truths about this time of year and the kinds of people who spend their entire paychecks on things that fly and go boom.

The vast majority of people who look forward to this time of year aren't going to be mindful of what time you go to bed or how sensitive your dogs are to the noise.

Here's how we do it. Every Fourth of July since my daughter was about five, we hop in my old hot rod and drive to a fireworks stand close to our house. I give my daughter a strict budget that never gets adhered to because when we get to the end of picking out all the sparklers, snakes, parachuting guys, and smoke bombs, money becomes unimportant. Mortars that will add something to our finale become very important.

Get our free mobile app

We settle up with the fireworks stand and head home. Then, as it starts to get dark, we start lighting stuff off, saving the mortars until it's completely dark. We save the big ones for last. When we have depleted everything we bought, we get our patio chairs out and watch the competition between the neighbors.

If I'm spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $250.00, then I estimate that each of my neighbors spends somewhere north of $2,500.00.

They start at dark and will light things off until well past 2 a.m. If that makes you happy, then I'm happy for you.

Be a good fireworks neighbor. Be done setting things off by midnight. Limit your display to the actual Fourth of July. If you can't do these things, invite your neighbors over to enjoy the show with you.