Autumn in the 80s & 90s: Bonfire Nights, Nanna’s Crumble & a Trip to Blockbuster

Autumn felt different when we were kids.

Growing up in the 80s and 90s, there wasn’t the huge build-up to Halloween that there is today. Trick or treating wasn’t really the main event. For us, autumn meant something else entirely.

It meant dark evenings, village bonfires, sparklers held in gloved hands, toffee apples on sticks and coming home with freezing cold cheeks.

It meant crumbles made with fruit from Nanna’s garden.

And when the weather was far too miserable to go anywhere, it meant a trip to the video shop, choosing a film and settling down on the sofa with popcorn and sweets.

Those are the autumn memories behind the Familiar Glow Autumn Collection.

Remember When Bonfire Night Was THE Night?

Before Halloween became the huge celebration it is today, there was Bonfire Night.

You'd wrap up in layers and head down to the local village display in the dark. You could smell the bonfire before you even reached it.

Then there was that enormous pile of wood waiting to be set alight.

And does anyone else remember the “Check for Hedgehogs” signs?

As children, it felt like they were everywhere around Bonfire Night. Before the bonfire was lit, there was always that reminder to check underneath for hedgehogs that might have crawled inside looking for somewhere warm and sheltered.

Then the fire was lit.

We'd stand watching the flames grow higher, waiting for the fireworks to start, while the grown-ups somehow managed to stand around chatting despite it being absolutely freezing.

For us kids, there were sparklers.

Writing our names in the darkness, waving them around far too enthusiastically and watching them slowly burn towards our gloves.

And, of course, there were toffee apples on sticks — incredibly exciting when you got one and almost impossible to actually eat.

It's that memory that inspired our Bonfire Night fragrance, with notes of Vanilla & Cinders.

Not pumpkin spice. Not an American-style Halloween.

A proper nostalgic British Bonfire Night.

Coming Home to Nanna’s Crumble

Then there were the smells waiting for you back at home.

Autumn wasn't just something happening outside. It was in the kitchen too.

For many of us, our grandparents grew things.

There might have been a vegetable patch at the bottom of the garden, fruit growing outside or something being brought into the kitchen that had been picked only hours earlier.

And somehow, Nanna always seemed to know what to do with it.

After being outside in the cold, there was something special about coming home to a warm house and a homemade crumble.

That contrast is such a vivid childhood memory — cold cheeks from being outside, then stepping into a warm kitchen filled with the smell of something baking.

Our Nanna’s Garden Crumble fragrance was created around exactly that feeling, with Rhubarb & Cinnamon.

It's warm, fruity and comforting, but the memory behind it is even more important.

It's Nanna's garden.

It's homemade pudding.

It's coming back inside after a cold autumn evening and feeling instantly at home.

Movie Night Meant a Trip to the Video Shop

And then there were those autumn nights when you weren't going anywhere.

No streaming.

No scrolling through thousands of films from the sofa.

Movie night started with a trip to the video shop.

For so many 80s and 90s kids, that meant wandering around Blockbuster trying to agree on what everyone was going to watch.

Choosing the film felt like the biggest decision in the world.

You'd pick up VHS cases, turn them over and read the backs. Someone would suggest one. Someone else wouldn't want it. Then you'd start the whole process again.

Eventually, somehow, a decision was made.

Then it was home.

The duvet or blankets came downstairs. Popcorn was made. Sweets appeared. Everyone found their spot on the sofa and the VHS went into the machine.

And for the next couple of hours, nothing else really mattered.

That's the memory behind Movie Night Memories, with notes of Buttery Popcorn, Brown Sugar & Vanilla Hazelnut.

It's not just the smell of popcorn.

It's the whole ritual we had around movie night before films were available instantly at the touch of a button.

Maybe That’s Why Autumn Makes Us So Nostalgic

Perhaps it's because so many autumn memories are connected to scent.

Smoke from a bonfire.

Something sweet cooking in the kitchen.

Popcorn on movie night.

We can go years without thinking about these little moments, then smell something familiar and suddenly we're right back there.

That's what we wanted our Autumn Collection to feel like.

We didn't want to create autumn fragrances simply because they smelled seasonal. We wanted each one to take you somewhere.

Back to the village bonfire.

Back to Nanna's kitchen.

Back to the sofa with a VHS, a bowl of popcorn and nowhere else to be.

Because sometimes the best thing about autumn isn't creating a new memory.

It's remembering an old one.

Smells like home. Feels like childhood.

Written by Natalie & Rebecca | Familiar Glow