If you are dreaming of a hen party with a cake in a more interesting shape than a cactus, attractions funnier than a male striptease and gifts more creative than a vibrator, see what you can offer your bride at an alternative hen party that will stand out among thousands of others.
In the posts ‘My Hen Party: Perfect Wife’s Qualifying Exam‘, ‘Hen Party Tasks and Ideas: What a Bride Needs‘ and ‘Hen Night Tasks: Recruitment for the Post of Wife‘, I described the course of three very successful hen parties which I participated in. This time I will tell you how to replace some clichéd associations with hen parties to ensure that all participants are comfortable and have nothing to be ashamed of later on.
The theme of an alternative hen party: How to replace penises and distasteful dresses?
The very idea of associating a hen party with a penis is totally incomprehensible to me. If a bride is still a virgin on the day of her marriage, such gadgets might make her uncomfortable. And if she is already past sexual initiation, decorations that resemble male reproductive organs won’t get her overexcited. The same goes for other party participants: whether single or married. It is much better to think of something that the bride has positively never experienced before and probably never will.
Themes that won’t make anyone embarrassed include Hawaii, Bollywood, the Arabian Nights or a chosen fairy tale. After all, the bride is soon going to celebrate a happy ending of her story as a single woman and marry her very own Prince Charming. On this occasion, you may all dress as princesses or – if you are willing to dedicate more time to preparations or even rent some dresses – as dwarves and Snow White. Let your bride feel royal even before she puts on her magnificent wedding dress! In such funny clothes you may either stay at home or party outside (if you wear long beards, there is a chance that no one will recognise you 😉 .
As regards the cake, I recommend a simple cooked cheesecake, which I have already done twice for a hen party. You will find the recipe and a template with the image of the bride here.
Alternative hen party’s highlight: How to replace a male striptease?
A strip show is to me another misunderstanding related to hen parties. In a few days, the bride will celebrate one of the most important days of her life. She will finally become one with the man she loves so much that she will vow to be faithful to him all the days in her life. Meanwhile, someone suggests her watching contortions of an unknown guy, which should turn her attention from her fiancé. I believe that to most girls who are really in love such a show won’t be attractive.
If you want to offer the bride a striptease, at an alternative hen party make her… strip her groom. Prepare his real-size photo and the same or a different picture remade in Photoshop. Make him much fatter or borrow the body of a totally unattractive guy to which you will only add the head of the groom. Next, cut the original picture into several stripes and paste them with a blue tack on the altered photo. While tearing off subsequent stripes from her groom, the bride will discover what her future husband ‘really looks like’ / ‘will look like on the wedding night; or ‘will look like on their 50th anniversary’.
Other similar attractions at an alternative hen party may include: recognising groom’s body parts by looking at eyes, noses and hands cut out from photographs of various men, inventing clothing items made from the veil by the bride or kissing a tonne of men. You will read the descriptions of these games after you click on each of them.
Penalties at an alternative hen party: How to replace penalty drinks?
On the one hand, I am far from criticising decent amounts of alcohol at parties. A hen party may be a great opportunity to try out some nice-looking drinks. One the other hand, I am really sorry for all those girls who don’t remember their own hen party due to getting drunk. Therefore, I warn you against using alcohol as a penalty. Believe me that watching a drunk bride is only funny up to a point.
You will ensure as much laughter yet without unpleasant consequences by… feeding the bride bubblegum balls. One ball for each wrong answer in a quiz with questions to the fiancé or any other game that requires providing correct answers. The bride will quickly have serious difficulties with delivering any answers, as is the case with drinking too much alcohol, but this embarrassing state will only last until the end of the quiz. Afterwards, the bride is allowed to spit the gum out of her mouth and continue having fun.
At an alternative hen party, you may also give her ‘a spoon of her mother-in-law’s soup’ (as long as your concoction doesn’t provoke indigestion) or make noise with party horns whenever the answer is incorrect.
Games at an alternative hen party: How to replace putting condoms on cucumbers?
The Internet abounds with this type of games, which not everyone will find tasteful. If you suspect that the bride or any other participant may feel embarrassed at taking part or watching such activities, at your alternative hen party, organise a more decent game that will ensure fun for everyone. Here are some hen party games that I have found on the web. It’s a pity that I didn’t know them earlier because I would have definitely organised them at my parties.
(a) Use it on the honeymoon
All girls form a circle on the floor. The host turns on music or recites a rhyme, and the girls pass on a sealed bag with unknown content – an item that the bride should take on her honeymoon. When the music stops playing or the rhyme ends, two people who have most recently passed the bag to one another enter the circle with it. Blindfolded, the girls have to take the mysterious object out of the bag and try to use it on one another. The items may include: a lipstick (one girl needs to paint another’s lips), a yoghurt and a spoon (one girl needs to feed the other), a hairbrush (one girl needs to brush the other’s hair), a stocking (one girl needs to put it on the other’s leg), etc.
(b) Love story
This is a game for an alternative hen party organised at a venue that leaves little place for antics (a café, etc.) Each girl receives a piece of paper, on which she begins to write a story of the bride. For instance: ‘Eve met Adam on a sunny day in middle spring.’ Next, she passes on the paper to the person sitting on her left, and writes the next sentence on the paper received from the girl on her right. Repeat it until there is no place left for writing. Each time when you pass the paper, only one – preceding – sentence should be visible. After you have written your sentence, fold the paper to cover the preceding one. This way you will never know what happened earlier in the story. In the end, unfold your papers and read the stories that you hold in your hands aloud.
You will find other decent funny games for an alternative hen party, which I have actually organised or taken part in, in the posts ‘My Hen Party: Perfect Wife’s Qualifying Exam‘, ‘Hen Party Tasks and Ideas: What a Bride Needs‘ and ‘Hen Night Tasks: Recruitment for the Post of Wife‘ (the latter includes downloadable materials required for the games).
Gifts for an alternative hen party that may be shown to others without blushing
Instead of a ‘Kama Sutra’
I really don’t think such things can be learned from a book, but I do know books that may help a lot in other areas of married life. My favourites are ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus‘ (which is much more profound that its title suggests) and ‘The 5 Love Languages‘ (which helps to clarify certain misunderstandings and suggests how to express love in a way that is meaningful to the other person).
Instead of thongs
If you know that the bride wears such lingerie, and you know her exact size, then fine. But I think it is safer not to choose such intimate clothing items for the newly-weds. Instead, it is better to give your friend a voucher. And if you really want to give her something for the wedding night, maybe you will make her laugh at… a nightcap! I know a couple who have received a pair of nightcaps from their witnesses on the respective stag and hen nights.
Instead of a vibrator
I have no clue why a girl who will soon move in with her husband and share the bed with him every night should receive a vibrator. It is neither practical nor creative or sentimental. From her closest friends the bride should receive something girlie that will remind her of them. I have already described numerous ideas for tasteful creative gifts for the future bride that will be perfect at an alternative hen party. One of them is a magazine dedicated to the bride (and possibly her fiancé). You will find them by clicking on the hen party tag.
Have you given or received other creative gifts on your hen party? Would you like to share your ideas for an alternative hen party? I would love to read about them in the comments!
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