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Guest post – 5 tips for organising a low-cost hen party at home

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He popped the question, she said yes, and then she popped the question to you – will you be my bridesmaid?! Weddings are a wonderful time of celebration, and it is an honour to be asked to be the bride’s right-hand lady during such a joyous occasion. However, before you start dreaming of all the beautiful dresses, the girlie shopping days and the flowing bubbly drinks, there is a hen party to organise. Here we give you some fantastic tips on how to organise the perfect hen party at home!

Fruit Cubes for Sparkling Cocktails

Check out my recipe for fruity cubes to jazz up your hen party bubbly

 1. Decide on the who, where and when:
This is the basic information required to get going with your planning. You should probably enlist the help of the bride in this part too as you don’t want to forget anyone she may want there. Obtain a list of invitees from her and agree when suits her best to have the hen. The where and what can be kept a surprise if you prefer. Decide where is best to host the hen party. If going with a home party then will it be based at your home, the bride’s, the mother of the bride’s or another friend’s house? The best part about having the party at home is that this can really help to keep the costs down. Everyone knows weddings can be expensive events, so if you can all avoid having to pay out for accommodation just before the big day, that’s a bonus!

2. Decide if there will be a theme:
Themes are hugely popular for hen parties these days and with so many choices it can be difficult to settle on just one. Think about the bride’s favourite pastime or hobby, what did she enjoy when she was younger, does she have an all-time favourite movie? Also, consider other hens she has been on, you don’t want something too similar to a hen party she attended only recently. Some popular themes are:

  • Movie/TV theme – Grease, Desperate Housewives
  • Cartoon theme – Where’s Wally, Disney
  • Style theme – Vintage, Masquerade, Bollywood
  • Country theme – did your bride live away previously? USA, Australia theme
  • Era theme – the 1950’s, 1980’svintage party wedding inspiration ideas retro_-19

3. Activities
This can potentially go hand-in-hand with the theme you have picked. For example, if you went with a vintage style then you could host an afternoon tea party, Australia theme may consist of a barbeque and an outdoor inflatable pool party. There are many activities to keep the hens entertained such as craft night, why not design your own fascinators, or consider hiring an outside professional to come in and provide entertainment. Such an example is the Naked Chef who will come to your home and provide authentic Italian cooking lessons, or a dance instructor to provide dance lessons – maybe to be replicated at the wedding itself.

4. Food and Drink
A very important part of the party is the food and drink element. A way of keeping costs down is to tell everyone to bring their own drink, but best have some bottles of prosecco ready to hand. Food may depend on your theme or activity i.e. the above mentioned afternoon tea party, Aussie barbeque or Italian cooking lessons. When requesting people to bring their own bottle, you can also request them to bring their own dish or pop down to the local supermarket and stock up on some nibbles and party food.

5. Invites and Goodie Bags:
In recent years these have become hugely popular. Although certainly not a necessity they do add a nice touch. Invites can be in the form of Facebook events, Whatsapp groups or a nice personal invite can be a short PowerPoint presentation sent via email, containing all the details of the hen party and some photos of the bride. Goodie bags are optional and can be add to the cost of hen parties so decide if you want them or not. If you do, there is no need for them to be overly expensive. Check out Pinterest for many ideas on how to decorate an average brown paper bag and fill with all things girly such as the below:

  • Hair bands
  • Lip balm
  • Small bottle of water for the next morning
  • Miniature bottle of bubbly
  • Beauty treats such as nail polish
  • Mini hairbrush
  • Sweets
  • Chewing gum or mints
  • Cleansing wipes.

Planning a hen party can be hard work, but in order to keep it as stress free as possible start early, consult with the bride and be organised, but most of all enjoy the party!wedding hen party queens birthday celebration idea diy fruit puree ice cubes recipe-28This handy party planning blog post has been brought to you by my friend Michele from Irish company Hen Party Latino. Over the years they’ve come up with hundreds of fantastic ideas for hen party ideas in Dublin and beyond. Thanks for such an informative, thrifty guest post!

This blog post is a guest post advertisement feature. The pink links in this post indicate a sponsored link 🙂

3 Responses

  1. Thanks so much Beth, I’m pleased you liked these tips – it goes to show that hen parties can be fun without massive expense, eek 🙂

  2. This is such a great post, the idea of an at-home hen do is really underrated. Nowadays it seems like they’re almost as expensive as the weddings themselves what with all the trips abroad and millions of activities. Saying that, I wish my hens had even bothered organising an at-home one for me, I ended up having to do it myself…useless!

    Beth x
    http://www.adventureandanxiety.com

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Cassie is a freelance writer with a Masters degree in Lifestyle Promotion Studies and is trained in Personal Money Management. She loves to ‘get the look for less’ so regularly shares thrifty-living advice, DIY interior design ideas and low-cost recipes on her blog.

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