Tips for a Great Hen

Tips on Planning a Hen (for the Chief Bridesmaid)

Ask the bride for a suitable date, confirm this date with the VIPs and stick to it
Get bride to send a list of names and contact details of guests
Ask the bride for a list of definite no-nos (ie she may not want feather boas, or to do any arts and crafts)
Create a Facebook group for all the invitees, this will be an easy way to get in touch with everyone instantly, and for people to get to know each other before the event
Send out save-the-dates to give people enough notice of the event (in particular if you plan to go away for a night, or if the hen is abroad)
Be upfront about costs, let everyone know how much it costs, what their money covers, and how much you expect them to probably spend outside of that
Plan the finances with the view that a few people may drop off last minute, that way you will have enough to cover costs, and if everyone turns up, you have a little kitty to pay for something extra with
Text everybody with the directions, times etc the day before, so that everyone has your number
If you have a few events planned, ask someone for help moving people from one place to another

Staying in v. Going out

Staying in

PJ Party
If you’ve decided on a girlie night in, than what better way to spend it than with a cinema and PJ party?! These parties are reminiscent of your teenage years, when all you wanted to do was stay up late chatting about hair, make up….and boys! Pick your favourite romantic movies out and make sure you have tonnes of goodies –hot chocolate, pizza and popcorn are a must. You could even get a few games together –Mr & Mrs, Twister, Truth or Dare, or have a Wii tournament with forfeits for losers and prizes for winners. The great part about this is you can pick and choose what you do and it gives your friends a real chance to concentrate on each other, strengthening bonds with plenty of laughs.

Going out

Cookery Lesson
If you fancy doing something a little different why not try a cookery lesson? This idea is great because it suits everyone, every level, every age. The Ballyknocken Cookery School have thrown many hen parties over the years and made Gordon Ramsays out of gals who had never heard the word ‘spatula’ before! All classes are tailor-made to suit the theme and personal tastes of each party. Southern Italian is the most popular, followed by BBQ and Gourmet Entertaining but any theme is possible. Wines are available here and they can also arrange a private wine tasting lesson –what more could you want?!

Murder Mystery Tour
A Murder Mystery tour is probably one of the most fun and exciting ways to spend a weekend with your fellow hens, and what better way to break the ice between guests than by standing over a dead ‘body’ and being told the murderer is amongst you?! The Foxford Lodge in Co. Mayo is one of the most popular murder mystery tours with the girls on WeddingsOnline.ie. For the tour you arrive on Friday evening and try on your costumes for the weekend. From that moment you’re part of the team, so have your game face and thinking cap ready from the get-go, you never know what’s around the corner…

Other Ideas

Games for the Bride

Mr and Mrs Game

If you’ve married friends you’ve probably played this before. A favourite of hen parties, this game tests the bride to see just how well she thinks she knows her fiancé, with consequences! Appoint one person (usually the Chief Bridesmaid) to get all the dirt on the husband to be, and gather twenty questions to ask the bride, the more unusual the better! Whenever she gets a question wrong she must do a forfeit. Guaranteed laughs…

This is your Life

For a more sentimental approach to the whole games ideas, try creating your own version of This is your Life for the bride. This is a fabulous and heartfelt idea that is sure to bring tears and laughter to the hen night. Interview her friends, her parents and siblings, her husband to be….you could even try getting her favourite school teacher or boss involved (you can probably gage from conversations after work on a Friday whether this is a good idea or not)! You can put together a collage book of photos and quotes from when she a baby to when she met her fiancé, or maybe even make a video of your ‘interviews’. This is a great way of getting people who maybe couldn’t make the wedding/hen night to add their piece to the mix.

Guess the Memory

Each guest at the hen party takes a piece of paper and writes one line of a memory they have of the bride. These can be either sentimental or wild, but remember that everyone gets to here the story! The bride then picks a memory out of the bunch and guesses who wrote it. She must then regale the story about the memory to all the guests at the table, in detail!

Advise the Bride

For this little game you need a white tee shirt and a fabric marker. Each guest must write a piece of advice for the bride and sign their name. Make sure to carry the tee shirt around for the night and get anyone you meet to write their piece of advice for the bride. This is great fun and a nice keepsake –and by nice, we mean ‘interesting’…!

Top Themes