More and more people are opting for hen parties that are either based in a large house booked out for the weekend or at their own homes. With drinks prices going up all the time, the hassle of being a group and getting into clubs that are any good is creating a whole new type of hen do. It is about having a private party with great people and a whole lot of fun. Another factor in this is that women are getting married when they are older and so have stronger opinions on what they want to do, drink, eat and more. So here is our little guide on how to create an amazing home-based hen do.
Space
The first thing you need to work out is numbers and space. No matter how much you want it to work having too many people in a small house will not end well. If you are hiring a big house for the weekend it is less likely to be an issue but having it your own home is something you need to plan out and be careful to count out the numbers of chairs, glasses and even plates!
Activities
A lot of fun hen activities can be done during the day which leave the group to fall back to a home for the party but that doesn’t mean you can’t have extra fun at home. One great idea is to hire in a naked butler. This can be a great deal of fun and has some of the pleasure of seeing a traditional strip show without a lot of the cost and cheesiness. These guys are also very experienced in making people feel comfortable, leading games, making drinks and generally being lovely as well as rather nice to look at. Staying with the same theme but perhaps a little more sophisticated is the idea of a hen party life drawing class. You simple won’t believe the giggle levels during this kind of class and the great thing is the guys like that to happen and there is no art teacher lurking around to tell you off like there was at school so laugh away.
There are, however a vast number of other things you might want to try and that can work at home. Cocktail making classes can be a lot of fun and work well in terms of making sure everyone is having a drink too! But also, more ridiculous things like planning a reptile party where an expert comes round with a range of snakes and lizards and makes everyone hold them!
Drink
So, for many drinking plays a big part in a hen party but not everyone drinks and even if they do no one wants to see someone throw up or have a tantrum. The risk with having a party at home is that there are no standard measures for spirits, no bar queues and no helpful staff to point out you may have over done it. No, at home you can drink as much as you want as fast as you want and there is little to stop it all going wrong. The way around this is to designate a bar keeper or keepers. These people will help get people drinks and keep the measures small. They don’t have to be forceful, but it can be fun getting the brides maids to help make the other guests feel special. Even if you don’t choose that option making someone responsible for the hen’s drinks is a very safe bet!
Transport and Sleeping
There are two choices for most guest at a stay at home hen do. The first is to get home after the party and the other is to stay over. If you are hiring a large property for the weekend, then obviously everyone will be staying but that doesn’t mean you should not plan the sleeping arraignments and transport to and from the place.
If people are coming to your home, make sure you pre-agree who is doing what and pre book the taxi’s and lifts. You do not want to have people needing to stay when there is no room and it is always best to have taxi’s pre-booked and ready to take everyone to the right address no matter how many cocktails they have had. When having a hen do in a different location get people to plan lifts and drivers a good few weeks before. The journey up to a hen do can be a great way to bring people who don’t know each other together but don’t force it, they will have plenty of time to chat later. The key is not to have people stuck driving miles on their own unless they want too or standing around at a train station for hours waiting to get picked up.
Having a hen do at a hired house or at home means everyone can relax more, people can let go and you certainly don’t have to deal with horrible club toilets, horrible club men and endless bar queues. But just sticking everyone in a room with too much booze might not end well. Plan the activities to break up the evening, monitor the drink and make sure everyone has a bed or a lift when it all comes to an end. If you follow these rules you will have an amazing night!