By Elly Klein
As a hens’ night entertainer (I have a humorous and somewhat educational show called the Men Are Like a Box of Chocolates Hens-travaganza), I know one of my clients’ main concerns is price. They want to organise something fun and memorable without breaking the bank.
Hen’s nights can be out-of-control expensive. It shouldn’t cost a small fortune to get together with the gals and celebrate a bride-to-be’s last big night out as an unmarried woman (unless everyone’s agreed they want to splurge). Hen’s nights are a great bonding experience, so it’s important for the bride to have as many of her female friends and family members there as possible. It would be terrible if half the invitees couldn’t afford to attend.
So, I’ve compiled a list of over 69 ideas to get your party started. There are four categories: Tight Budget, Moderate Budget, Big Budget and Any Budget. The Any Budget ideas are games and goodies you can incorporate into your party to create a true hen’s night experience.
TIGHT BUDGET
If you want to keep things as inexpensive as possible, the hen’s night will need to be held either in someone’s home or a public place, such as a park or beach. This way, you can ask guests to contribute a small amount or bring along a plate and/or bottle. Ideas:
- Slumber Party: PJs, cocktails, chocolate and chick flicks. What could be better?
- Naughty Trivia: Search online for ‘naughty trivia questions and answers’, and create a fun, girly trivia night.
- High Tea: Cupcakes, macarons, finger sandwiches, exotic teas, bubbly, fresh flowers and tiered plates make for a lovely high tea at home.
- Singstar Party: Bring your Singstar DVDs and best karaoke voice!
- Picnic/Beach Party: Add a theme, such as Hawaiian, and have an outdoor hen’s party.
- Topless Waiter: For a nominal amount per head, simply add a topless waiter to turn any party into a hen’s night.
- Shoulder Massage Party: Search online for ‘hen’s night massage’ or ‘corporate massage’, and enjoy a little pampering while you party.
MODERATE BUDGET
A hen’s night at this price point is the most common, as it usually includes one activity. Again, if you host the party in someone’s home or head back there afterwards, you’ll be able to keep costs down. There are so many fun and unique bonding experiences to choose from. Here are some favourites:
- Entertainment: Men Are Like a Box of Chocolates Hens-travaganza, male strip show/dance troupe, burlesque show, a play, musical or comedy show, a Gold Class movie experience, tarot card reader/clairvoyant…
- Fun Lesson: Wine (and cheese) appreciation, cocktail-making, cupcake-making, jewellery-making, art class (with nude male model), theatresports…
- Tour: Winery tour, shopping tour, ghost tour, chocolate and/or coffee tour, pub crawl…
- Dance Class: Lap dancing, pole dancing, 80s dancing (with costumes), hip-hop dancing (with costumes)… There’s also ceroc, tango or salsa dancing, but it’d be nice to have some hot guys there to partner up with.
- Sport: Horse-riding, surfing, ice-skating, rollerblading, hiking, ten-pin bowling, lawn bowls…
- Outing: Amusement park, expo (such as Sexpo or the Mind Body Spirit festival), karaoke, paintball, something that’s unique to your city (such as jet-boating on Sydney harbour)…
- Pamper: Massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, other treatments… in a day spa or by using a mobile spa service.
- Purchase: Party plan sex toys, lingerie, shoes, jewellery, clothes… Pitch in to buy something for the bride.
- Dinner: Degustation with matching wines, three-course meal with pre-dinner cocktails… In this case, adding an activity might make the whole hen’s night too expensive, so perhaps just stick to a lavish girly dinner party.
- Big Night Out: Forget dinner. Meet at a bar, club or casino and have a big night out!
BIG BUDGET
Occasionally, there will be a hen’s night where everyone agrees to splurge. In this instance, here are some ideas that are a little pricier than your average:
- Ski/snowboard trip: Sharpen your edges and hit the slopes.
- Tropical resort trip: Lie in the sun, read trashy books/mags and flirt with cabana boys.
- Road trip: Hire a house for the weekend, jump in the car and off you go.
- Vegas (or equivalent): Sip cocktails by the pool, gamble, go to a show, go clubbing, have a blast!
ANY BUDGET
Regardless of your budget, it’s probably worth throwing in a few traditional games and goodies for an authentic hen’s night experience. Suggestions:
- Goodies: Search online for ‘hen’s party supplies’ or head to your local cheap & cheerful store to stock up. Just don’t go overboard, or it’ll look tacky.
- Bride & Groom Trivia: How well does the hen know her fiancé? Ask the groom a list of questions ahead of time. For every answer the bride gets wrong, she has to do a shot or take a sip of her drink. Ask questions like: What’s his middle name? What’s his favourite movie? Besides you, who would he turn to in a crisis?
- Wedding Dress Design: You will need lots of white toilet paper rolls, plus scissors and sticky tape. Each team must design a wedding dress with the materials they’ve been given. One model per team. The hen chooses the winner.
- Post-it Memories: On a Post-it, guests have to write down a memory they have of the bride and stick it to a wall. She must then take each one down, read it out and say who she thinks wrote it. For every one she gets wrong, she has to do a shot or take a sip of her drink. Give her something nice to keep the Post-its in.
- Hen’s Challenge: Purchase a lovely gift for the hen, but make her earn it. Give her a short list of cheeky challenges to complete, such as: get a single man to buy you a drink, get a piggy-back ride around the bar, wear your bra on the outside of your clothes (in public!) for five minutes
- Naughty Sculpture: Out of Play-Doh, guests must craft a life-like sculpture of a penis. The sculptor of the appendage the hen finds most appealing wins a prize.
- Pin the Willy: Remember Pin the Tail on the Donkey? Well, this is the grown-up version – Pin the Willy on the Hunk. Purchase a Pin the Willy kit online or at a cheap and cheerful store.
- Womanly Advice: On a nice piece of stationary or in a journal, guests need to write one piece of marital advice for the hen. Once everyone’s finished, they can stand up and read out their piece of advice. It’s also a lovely keepsake.
There. Over 69 ideas to get your ultimate girly party started. Happy hen’s night!
Elly Klein is a professional writer, author and humorist. She’s the author of Men Are Like a Box of Chocolates, the most delicious relationship advice book ever, which is now a decadent hen’s night event running in multiple cities. For the full free seven-page version of her hen’s night guide, simply email her on elly@ellyklein.com.