What made your hen night great

[Springiscomingsoonish]

I’m looking for ideas about how to make a hen night brilliant. Been a long time since i was on one, and im now in charge of organising one. Tell me about yours please

Didn't involve anyone being forced to spend more than the price of a meal out.

Was accessible to all friends who wanted to come.

We cancelled my extravagant party and had a party in my sisters garden with glitter, cocktail making and karaoke. It was the absolute best day I could have wished for and was by far better than trapsing around bars etc

The simplicity of it - a nice meal out with friends.

I went to pizza express with my friends. It was perfect.

It was at my friends house, we had fizz etc, and my MoH had done a hilarious Mr and Mrs type quiz. It was cosy, laid back and lovely.

This.

No dressing up, no games, no extravagant trips abroad requiring months of planning.

Good food. Small enough that I could speak to the people that were there. Close friends and family rather than a cast of thousands. Transport arranged so that everyone that wanted a drink could have one.

I went for an Italian meal with friends. It was great. I would have hated what hen nights have be become.

Nothing worse than expensive forced fun.
Drinks at home, pizza and movie. Good time had by all.

Definitely Mr & Mrs quiz, so much fun! Just keep it simple, no needing to spend a fortune & going away anywhere, just getting drunk, dancing the night away & then home to your own bed.

Just went to the pub with bridesmaids and female family members, nice evening, no fuss, no one there would have known it was a hen night.

I made the stupid mistake of getting completely wankered on mine.. The night before my wedding. On the plus side I had no wedding day nerves, was far too hanging.

I can tell you what didn’t make it great - my bridesmaids not booking anywhere for dinner and assuming we’d just get a walk in table for 8 on a Saturday night in Brighton! It was great other than that - we did Go Ape at lunchtime then had a relaxed afternoon in a pub - but spending half the evening looking for the only restaurant with space did put a bit of a dampener on it.

I know that my bridesmaids were trying not to over plan and make it too much of a strict timetable, which is a good thing really. But not booking dinner was a step too far!

Just inviting friends not people you feel obliged to invite.

We went paintballing, pizza hut for dinner then drinks and stayed in a youth hostel.

Something simple. Food, plenty of drink, afew games, disco and I'd be happy.

A weekend away costs a bomb these days.

Like lots of others have already said, lovely but affordable dinner at a local restaurant then pub with a late licence. Loads of people stayed at mine and we all had brunch and hung out the next day. Was perfect.

There is a weird Mumsnet race to the bottom with Hen dos. Some wine and pizza on the couch doesn’t sound like anyone has made any effort for the bride. As long as everyone is clear that there is absolutely no problem if they don’t come then you should plan something special (within reason!). An Airbnb and some activities in a fun but reasonably local town with a great bunch of friends with options for people to opt in and out of all activities is the norm in my group of friends.

some ideas for a cheap but fun time:

• have lunch out on the first day (easy opt out for those who can’t afford it)
• a walking treasure hunt around the town with a prize for the winning team
• boots used to do a makeover session- it cost £15 pp but you get to spend that one makeup
• games and fun (mr&mrs, old photos etc) with pizza and cocktails back at the Airbnb
• on to a gay bar for cabaret and cheap drinks for anyone who wants to keep drinking
• brunch at the Airbnb

There is a weird Mumsnet race to the bottom with Hen dos.

I'm not sure how doing something that all the participants enjoy, is 'a race to the bottom' ?

Don't try to cram everything in. I once went on one where almost every minute was scheduled and it made for a weird vibe.

I would say fun activity that doesn't exclude anyone - painting and wine, escape room, drag brunch etc then nice meal and option to stay out if you want, or go home if it's all too much (booze, socialising or cost!)

I hired the local bowling club (cost me £40)
Had my iPad connected to the speakers and made an amazing playlist of alll our fave songs and played 2 games (couldn't play the third as they were so rowdy)
It was an absolute ball and everyone was up dancing the whole night. Such a brilliant night x

Best hen do I ever went on (and I’ve been on several!) was a weekend in bath. Group of 8, so not huge and all well known to one another. Stayed in a beautiful Airbnb, did a cocktail making class at the house the Friday night, spa and shopping at the Christmas markets on the Saturday, followed by a pub crawl in fancy dress (cowgirls, if you were wondering 😂) in the evening, brunch on the Sunday, home by Sunday teatime. It wasn’t dirt cheap but it certainly didn’t cost a fortune either, budget and time commitments were decided and agreed by all before planning started, that was important I think.
Also enjoyed a polo match, going to the rugby, pub golf…

It was nothing fancy, a bit like me! It was in December in Edinburgh so a bit cold for pub crawling and as it was 29 years ago, way before hen weekends or going away abroad was a thing.

We met at my flat, ordered in huge Indian and Chinese takeaways, drank lots of wine, my bridesmaid had organised her brother I'd never met to turn up in his kilt and be a pretend strippogram (in the end all he took off was his jacket!!) and we played silly games and had a really relaxed evening.