It’s 2025, and that means one thing! Your Insta feed is going to be overrun with announcements of all those Christmas and NYE engagements. One wedding planning app (Bridebook) puts the number of engagements that happen around Christmas and New Year at a whopping 100,000!
If it’s close friends who have decided to tie the knot, once the congratulations are in, it’s time to move into planning mode. Wedding planning can become all-encompassing, so give the bride-to-be a break by looking out your event planner cap and starting the preparations for a Hen Do that’s going to make core memories, won’t break the banks, and will leave you still wanting to be pal’s with the other hens at the end of it; Easy peasy right?
Destination Do’s
Getting out of dodge for a do is a consistently popular option and has a fair amount of benefits.
1. It’s always nice to get away.
2. It’s a good way to bring a disparate group of friends together in a central or easy to get to location.
3. You avoid running into that ex-boyfriend from school who’s still holding a torch for the bride-to-be.
Destination falls into two categories: City breaks or rural getaways. A city break will give you a whole host of activity options as well as being the most transport friendly. It’s a good idea if you are pulling pals from different walks of the bride’s life who might not know one another.
Rural getaways are better for closer knit hens who won’t mind bunking up and spending time together in closer quarters. It’s also wise to note that there will most likely be a hot tub because, honestly, these days, what lodge/glamping spot/cottage holiday option doesn’t come complete with a hot tub? Wil they be comfy in their swimmies with each other?
Budget Savy Hen Activites
It’s incredibly easy to blow the budget when it comes to planning hen do activities, especially if you choose a popular (aka expensive) city like Dublin as your destination. However, experiences don’t need to be custom-made to make those memories. Take advantage of what’s already going on to get things going.
For example, take a trip to McGowans in the hottest new Dublin Neighbourhood, Phibsboro, and get stuck in their Smartphone Pub Quiz. It’s on every Sunday at 7pm and is completely free to enter. The big benefit of an activity like this is you don’t need to preorder from an expensive menu; people can order food and drinks at their own pace and price point.
For a cottage getaway, work with what you have. Have everyone raid their stash of board games, jigsaws and craft kits to keep busy. The same also applies to the drinks selection! Cocktail making is an awesome DIY activity, but it can quickly add up cost-wise. Have everyone clear out their drinks cabinet to fill out the ingredients list. It’s the perfect way to use up those cocktail bitters you got for Christmas and finish off the half bottle of lemon gin.
Stay Friends In The End
We’ll be honest: a hen do can often strain relationships, so to keep the peace and wedding party intact, these are our final bits of advice:
- Plan in advance – Doing things quickly and last minute can lead to higher costs, not to mention the stress of people having to get time off work at short notice. With advance planning, there’s time to get good deals and for people to make the necessary work and childcare arrangements.
- Set deadlines – Be clear about when people need to decide what and when money needs to be handed over. Setting clear dates for decisions and payment takes the guesswork out of who will be attending and also gives you time to adjust numbers should people not be able to make it.
- Talk to the bride – When setting the guest list, have a good chat with the bride about people’s likes and dislikes. If she knows she has a few introverted friends in a group of hardcore clubbers, make sure they know they can give the late-night club a miss and try to match them up with similarly minded hens. Also, make sure everyone can be fed. Got some veggies in the group? Give the steak house a miss!
With this planning info under your belt, it’s time to hit the ground running with you orchestrating the most epic hen do for your bestie before she walks down the aisle.
We can’t wait to see where your plans take you.
Images courtesy of unsplash.com and pexels.com
