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| Hen Night Fever! | ||
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| One tradition that most brides like to indulge in is
a hen night. Whether you are looking for a simple night in with your
closest girlfriends to relax, a crazy night on the town or a mad week
away in the sun, we have a few ideas for you. Thanks to all the forumites
who have posted ideas over the last couple of weeks – you will
recognise many of the suggestions as your own! Who to Invite Although the actual plans for a hen night may be a surprise, most brides like to be involved in the guest list. Only those going to the wedding should be invited, and usually it is just the closest friends, bridesmaids and family. It is a great opportunity for getting together people from different parts of the bride or groom’s life before the wedding day. There are no rules about inviting family. If the bride wants to invite the mothers then do so and adjust the plans accordingly. You may find that a mum who does accept the invitation will just want to come for drinks or dinner and then leaves the younger hens to the rest of the evening. The Cost Budget carefully and establish costs before booking anything. Unfortunately, many hen night organisers have been stung by potential hens who say they are coming but pull out at the last minute leaving the rest to pick up extra costs. To combat this, start by liassing with the bride for the guest list, check if there are any ‘bad’ dates (exams, holidays, other weddings or commitments) before sending invitations. Put together a list of costs including:
Now this obviously depends on what you are doing, but be prepared to have a little dressing-up session. A decorated veil, silly costumes, L-plates, condoms, flashing earrings and deeley boppers (showing my age!) are popular and could even earn you a free drink or two. If you don’t want to go over the top, then badges or t-shirts printed with pictures, names, silly messages or ‘hen party’ are fun and inoffensive. If it's fancy dress you are looking for then here are some tried and tested formulas from forumites:
Do you want dinner and dancing, girls-only, to ogle some men, beauty treatments, a luxurious lunch or all-night rave? The key is to find somewhere that the bride and her fellow-hens will feel comfortable, can afford, can get to easily or that has convenient places to stay nearby. Look for all-inclusive deals from bars and restaurants to keep costs down and group leadership to a minimum! These places often have on-tap entertainment ranging from dancing, cabaret, strippers, drag shows, karaoke, cover bands and impersonators. Other good places to try are comedy clubs, Greek restaurants for plate smashing and belly dancing, activity centres for go-karting, bowling, health and beauty spas and even bingo. Or you could totally regress to childhood by opting for a day of mad, exhilarating, adrenaline rides at Alton Towers, Margate, Blackpool, Chessington or even Disneyland Paris! Looking Good Sometimes you just can’t beat a girlie night or day in washing your hair and looking gorgeous. Instead of hitting the town, invite girlfriends to either a day spa for luxury treatments and a few hours of pure bliss in the sauna, Jacuzzi and treatment rooms or to a nominated house instead. Put together your own home manicure and pedicure kits, make facial scrubs and masks from kitchen cupboard ingredients and tuck into your favourite finger food and drinks. You could ask everyone to bring a dish or have a colour-theme such as a pink hen night with rose wine or pink champagne, prawns, pink cookies, pasta with a cream and tomato ‘pink’ sauce and put the original Pink Ladies from Grease on the television. Whatever you do, it’s a good idea to invest in a couple of boxes of Kleenex and put on the best wedding-related videos. Our favourites include:
Equipped with a TV, stereo, bar, lots of seats and a dash of trashy chic, hiring a stretch limo is a great idea for a hen night. Decide whether you want to use it to drive you straight to your venue or indulge a little and use a couple of hours driving around as your cocktail or pre-dinner drinks time. For parties of six or more, it can work out cheaper than catching a taxi or train and visiting a few bars. Expect to pay between £35 and £100 for an hour. Some companies offer a free bottle of bubbly (or you can stock up on the way), flowers for the bride and even a little red carpet. Party buses are becoming more and more popular as they take you on a night of adventure visiting various pubs and bars with on-board entertainment, decorations and lubrication. Expect to pay around £35-50 a head for all food, drink, entry to clubs and the bus travel itself. Gifts Unlike American brides who have a bridal shower where they receive gifts from their girlfriends, it is not customary to receive gifts on a hen night. However, this is a good opportunity to collect small presents like a garter, or sentimental items like a favourite picture of you with the bride, a tape of the music you listened to as teenagers or even joke items from a sex shop. Great forumite suggestions for a marriage survival kit include:
Any drinking game can be adapted for boozy hen nights and pampering sessions alike. Find something that will make the party laugh and help those who don’t know each other to bond. In the game, I Have Never, each person takes a turn to say "I have never..." (usually something sexual or funny) and then whoever has done it has to stand up and take a drink. EmmaS suggests asking each girl to write a secret on a piece of paper. Each person takes it in turns to read someone else’s secret out load and the rest of the girls need to guess whose secret it is. She says it's absolutely hilarious after a few beers! Make a hen night Wheel of Fortune by adapting a spin the bottle game. You will need:
Dare to be Different If there is any game guaranteed to leave a girl quivering in her boots, it is being subjected to a list of dares. These can be as cheeky or as sweet as you want and it is a good idea to get capture it all on film. Sometimes the funniest dares take the form of a treasure hunt – it is amazing what will be given to a poor bride-to-be! Here is a list of suggestions including many forumite ideas:
If you can afford the time and expense, extend the hen night to a hen weekend or even week. Pub accommodation, hostels and B&Bs work out the cheapest but you could always hire a cottage, narrow boat or villa instead or even stay in a spa, holiday camp or caravan park. Whichever you choose, you have the perfect base for eating, drinking, playing games and generally enjoying yourselves rather cramming everything into a night. Some brides use their hen night as an excuse for a last girls-only holiday before their wedding. Check out cheap package deals to hotter climes or charter flights and ferry tickets for a city break with a difference. Popular destinations include Paris, Barcelona, Dublin, Edinburgh, Benidorm, Rome, Amsterdam, Tenerife and St Tropez. Always book accommodation before you arrive and do some research into suitable places to visit, eat out and for entertainment. Whatever you do just have fun and be sure to let the rest of us know what you got up to… within reason, of course! |
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