Straw poll: hen weekend budgets.

[PamplemousseRouge]

Hi everyone :)

Sorry this is a rubbish AIBU! To be honest, it's more of a WWYD - I just wanted to get your opinions on this if that's okay!

I'm organising a hen weekend at the moment with two other people (A and B). A, who has organised hen weekends before, has suggested a budget of £250.

This budget would have included:
return train travel from London to the city where we're spending the weekend; cottage accommodation for 2 nights with two activities included; all taxi transfers on arrival and departure between the train station and the accommodation; dinner, drinks and club entry for Saturday evening; dinner on Friday night; lunch on Saturday; breakfast on Saturday and Sunday.

Our original plan was to do the two activities included in the accommodation package on the Saturday (the only full day we're there). We thought perhaps that we could do one in the morning and one in the afternoon before going out in the evening.

However, due to the timings and nature of one of the activities, we may have to do have the two activities included in the accommodation package on different days. B has suggested then that we do one of the activities on the Friday night and the second activity on the Saturday morning. B then suggested doing another activity on the Saturday afternoon, which would bring the original budget to around at least £280 per person for the whole weekend.

What do you think is a reasonable budget for a hen weekend (2 nights) in the U.K. please?

Thanks everyone :)

Pamplemousse I'm glad your budget doesn't include personalised 'hen' t-shirts or hoodies for everyone that is something I really would resent spending money on!

I think with drink & food to get under £500 is an achievement

+1

Hen-do / 30th birthday / whatever weekends with food, drink, activities, travel and accommodation are hard to get under £500.

Does anyone genuinely enjoy this kind of stuff or do they just feel like it's something they 'should' do?

Nice meal out, couple,of drinks in a bar, taxi home by midnight. £40. Surely this is the kind of thing most people enjoy after the age of about 22, no?

How have you covered food and drink costs OP? Is it all set menus?

If I was spending £250-£350, I would be expecting 3 or 4 days in a foreign country.

I expect you've never flown anywhere for a weekend break then.... flight times to minimise time off work are usually more than £150 alone.

Momma I've done a really rough estimation - more for my benefit really. I've set a limit (for me) of £5 for breakfasts, £10 for lunch and £15 for dinner. Not sure if that's doable though! The hen do's in Oxford by the way.

My hen (6 years ago) cost around £120 each all in for a weekend in a little cottage in the Peak District. We car shared for transport, made our own dinners/ picnics and a few of my hens had decent knowledge of cocktail making and burlesque, so they held little lessons for us. It was very relaxed and chilled and, because we all have wildly different incomes, didn't put anyone under too much financial strain. One of my bridesmaids was out of work at the time so I ended up paying for her to come.

I paid for myself too - wouldn't have dreamed of asking anyone else to chip in for me given it was my decision to get married. Although it seems to be more the 'done thing' nowadays- the two hens I've been on recently I was expected to chip in for the bride to be, which grated a bit I must admit.

OP - can you save on activities at all? Aren't there any less 'traditional hen' activities or places to visit in the city you're going to that you could do for free? Or does the bride want a very traditional hen party? Can you discuss her paying for herself to help others out, or is she already doing so?

That sounds lovely, INeed! :) Especially with the bridesmaids with the insider tips to teach everyone too!

Is anyone familiar with Oxford at all? That's where the hen do will be.

Just seen your update OP - I used to live in Oxford and it's is likely to be more expensive than that food-wise I'm afraid, unless you're very careful.

Could you buy some Pimms from an offy and have a drink in Port Meadow one afternoon to save costs of going to a bar? Or go punting - if you have a go at punting yourselves you'd be paying about £20 per hour per punt, and should be able to fit 6-8 people in each punt so is quite cost effective...

Also - if you like ice cream go to G&Ds (one in Jericho, one opposite Christ Church), get some ice cream and go eat it by the river if it's nice weather :)

Momma I've done a really rough estimation ok so if you told me it was all included I'd think I could order what I want and the bill will come up too high. I'd tell people the actual costs are this and give them an idea of where you plan to eat / give an idea of average meal costs.

Some restaurants you'll struggle to get a main for 15. If you do starters or dessert (we always do one or the other) or sides then more like 25. Drinks depends on pop or beer or wine or cocktails.

It would be too expensive for me and tbh to not my kind of thing anyway unless everyone going are close friends. If you are going to do a whole weekend away I would make sure there is going to be a normal meal and night out close to home another time that everyone else could afford.

The bride is very lucky to have someone like you organising!

I was at uni in Oxford but that was ten years ago so I'm a bit out of date but agree that punting is a good call. Or a picnic in University Parks could be a cost effective option.

Sadly though I agree it is not a cheap place to visit. Is the location and accommodation set in stone?

I've been looking at this for a friend's 40th later this year.

There would be four of us so at €220 it's only €55 each for two nights accommodation. You take your in food for breakfast & the package I looked at (they do special deals for adult parties) would include a chef to BBQ!

Anything like this near to you?

www.glampingireland.ie/prices/

Oops

do the women involved have kids? Honestly for me once I had children I felt even less happy about spending either that sort of money or being away for 2 nights. I just very rarely feel the need for two nights away - particularly in a setting where I'm doing 'forced fun'.

Here is my rule of thumb - for a hen party the activity will only be fun if you would NORMALLY enjoy doing it - any 'special ' games etc are shit.

I remember a friend nearly crying with annoyance at having to go to brighton and 'be a spy for the day' while drinking with women she diidn't know that well.

can't people be brave and honest?!!!! Just make it close to home, one night out and people can drop in and out as they can afford.

To be honest, I would be happy to pay. It seems like you have got a good deal and not just gone with the first option.

I'm going on a hen party soon that has cost £225 and only includes 1 night in a travel love style hotel, an hour and a half activity and a 2 course meal. Any extras (including travelling) are not included. Actually I am quite cross about it, if my mum wasnt going I wouldn't Be!

*lodge that should say not love!

Punting sounds like a great idea! Thanks so much :)

I wouldn't go to be honest. Single mum and I can neither justify that sort of expense or the childcare.

I wouldn't want it if I was the bride personally. Perhaps appeals to a younger 20s audience without families though.

I would think a whole weekend away with activities and clubbing etc would be exhausting and I'd be totally knackered by the Monday. I prefer events where you can opt to come to parts of it and then manage your costs a bit that way too. Tbh I'd struggle to justify spending £250 at the moment unless it was a very close friend.

If it was a close friend and the hens all know each other, then staying in a cottage, cooking/takeaway and drinks together would be fun, without the need for endless activities. But I can see how a group of women who don't know each other are going to need some kind of structured entertainment.

Honestly I would struggle to spend £250 on a hen do, that's a lot of money for us as we're a one income family. If I was childless, £250 I could manage but not now I have children as I cannot justify spend that amount on a weekend of booze and mini golf (and what other activities you do on hen weekends)

Last year, I spent £125 on one because she was my SIL, anyone else I probably would have declined.

I would look on group on or similar as this may bring the costs down for meals and activities. It does seem a lot of money for a weekend. When is the wedding? I wouldn't go if I was spending £300 on a weekend then a couple more hundred on a hotel, clothes, drinks, transport etc for the actual wedding

If the bride said cheap and cheerful are you sure she wanted a weekend, not just a night at a comedy club or something?

I would not go on a hen weekend that cost 250 pounds, tbh I wouldn't want to do more than a night out for about 50 pounds but I'm a misery and wouldn't enjoy dancing lessons etc

waterrat one of the guests has children, but the other guests don't.

McTufty I agree with you - it is quite pricey, isn't it! The location isn't completely set in stone, but most of the guests are coming from London or around London (Reading, Kent etc.), so we wanted to choose a location that isn't too far from London. Nobody will have their cars with them - everyone's travelling by train.

We looked a little bit into going to Bath instead, but another organiser said that the train tickets for Bath were much more expensive. I thought about travelling to somewhere like Cambridge (which I've lived in before and absolutely love), but I suppose it's just as expensive as Oxford, and a similar distance from London. Brighton is also an option that looks really nice and isn't too far from London, but the bride's DP is going there on his stag weekend on the same weekend as the hen weekend.