Please stop giving personalised hen party keepsakes that just become rubbish

[pontipinemum]

If you are planning a hen/ wedding/ any party etc please don't give me 5 personalised keep sake gifts!

I recently went to a hen which I really enjoyed, I am sure I will remember it. It was really fun and I have photos + memories.

I was also given a lot of absolute junk that did not even make it home with me.

• Hat
• Little plastic toy
• Tassel/ neck thing
• Plastic glasses
• Personalised key ring - did keep
• Plastic shot glasses
• Pen
• Eye gel things
• Sash - I can get on with this one
• Chocolate willies - were actually nice and I did eat it
• All in a personalised little bag.

The VAST majority of these things were left in the hotel the next day.

I know it is exciting and you can get carried away. But least don't

I have also seen a LOT of personalised gifts left after weddings

Yabu..I wear my Suzie The Stripper t shirt to work every Tuesday.
The other judges stopped giving a shit ages ago.

I was given a t-shirt with ‘Slappers On Tour’ written across it one hen party.

Luckily it no longer fits…

@Gardenisablooming 😂to be fair I may have worn that on maternity leave

@TheLightSideOfTheMoon oh no........

Can this rule be extended to children’s party bags, secret Santa & Easter baskets.

WarmHare
Can this rule be extended to children’s party bags, secret Santa & Easter baskets.

Id see these as totally different- they’re mostly sweets and crisps, something like a plastic medal and eg a whistle or puzzles that the kids keep and play either again.

It's all just crap that's going to end up in landfill/the ocean. Started seeing it in charity shops now.

@WarmHare- if only :)

I agree. My hen night was organised by my sister and she spent a fortune on utter rubbish. I now feel I have to reciprocate in some way as she has a big birthday coming up!

It all seems pretty semi-useful stuff and is a bit of fun.

I once went to a christening and was given a keyring with a photo of the boy and his little brother. I don’t use a keyring of my own kids so it’s sat in my woman drawer of doom.

And teacher gifts too please. I have seen mountains of tat gifted to teachers. How many "Best teacher" mugs, totes, signs, trophies, bookmarks do they need?

I hear you. Dd did do personalised ‘be my bridesmaid’ boxes

but we (she asked me to help - I didn’t take over) tried to make them full of usable stuff and not full of landfill (or at least something a charity shop would use)

they contained

a rose quartz heart crystal (dd is into her crystals)

a pink Beanie Baby with a heart on its chest (we have loads of the damm things as Mum used to have a business selling them back in the 90’s). We had a space to fill in the boxes so😂

a small bottle of Lanson champagne (know all drink it)

Molton brown bubble bath (know all use it as gifted in past and well received and appeared in their bathrooms)

5 Marc de champagne Lindt chocolates (no allergies that affected these)

Yankee Candle small candle in a jar (all use candles)

hopefully they weren’t received as landfill or at least were of use to a charity shop

For her hen, I don’t believe MOH is planning even sashes and def nothing personalised! I think the money will be spent on decent wine and cocktails knowing her!

Def no strippers (if this is even a thing these days??? - last one I went to was a day at the polo 😂. Def no strippers at that!!). Ok now I want to know - are strippers still a thing - desperately hoping they’re out of fashion as I hated them with a passion!!!

Haha I have a temporary tattoo of my BIL face from my SIL hen. Tempted to put in on my bum, give his brother a nice surprise 🤣

We were given most of the above and a pencil!! Who the eff uses pencils?.chocolate which shes knows im highly allergic too and wine oh i dont drink...it made me think do you know me at all!! But the best bit was a candle with the date of the wedding and the date was wrong so that was brilliant

We did a collection for a colleague who was getting married. I suggested a bottle of champagne to give her before her leave. The woman who took on the job decided to give the gift on her return instead and go shopping.

Satin Mr & Mrs pillows, same theme on pair of wine glasses, key ring, mug, photo frame. None of it nice. And she’d been married a couple of weeks at this point. Who wants that stuff? Landfill.

Any plastic tat at all. See also Halloween rubbish.

Stop buying it - there's zero need.

Oh god I totally agree. So much utter tat that goes straight to landfill.

I have a group of friends who are amazing and that I love dearly but are really into this sort of plastic rubbish for parties......balloon arches, personalised sashes, stupid plastic fake sunglasses etc. I'm very much the odd outlier in hating the waste but I've had to make them promise me not to do that sort of thing for my own big birthday coming up. I'm sure they think I'm a fun sponge but it would genuinely make me feel awful seeing lots of plastic rubbish that will go straight in the bin.

Party bags for children's parties are absolutely dreadful usually too. At least if it's a sweet cone it gets eaten!

All of the tat for all of the occasions. It’s expensive. Save yourself the money because nobody expects, wants or needs it. It’s a lose lose transaction.

I like a pen and a pencil. I bought myself a Mrs mug in the Emma Bridgewater in the sale.

I have three kids and piles of shit that was given to us if I stored it up, it's actually disgusting waste. All useless and forgotten about. A cake and some sweets are grand thanks.

Totally agree!

The eye gel things are fine I use them regularly anyway but no one wants a plastic champagne flute with their name on and “Hannah’s hen 2026” in their glassware cupboard. It’s wasteful.

I was dreading PAYING for a personalised towel on a hen I went on once but actually it’s just a nice towel with my name on, no reference to the hen at all and I use it for swimming and the beach all the time so I thought that was a nice compromise

Omg, that’s one of the most hilarious things I’ve EVER read!! 😂🤣

I had absolutely no idea "Be My Bridesmaid" boxes were a thing. To be honest, I didn't know that the hens got gifts at hen dos either.
All I've come across is the couple giving the bridesmaids a gift on the wedding day eg a small piece of jewellery. My aunt was a bridesmaid when my parents got married in 1953, all dead now, but I have the little gold locket they gave her on the day. I still wear it.

We got mr and mrs mugs for our wedding, thankfully the writing disintegrated in the dishwasher after a few washes therefore we now have a pair of cream mugs! We got a bit of other tat but some was quite specific traditions from elsewhere so we have dutifully hung behind the door for when they visit

I'm also going to suggest that couples don't give out wedding favours. They're often a waste, get left at the venue or thrown away. Just a nice meal and good hosting is enough.