14 Affordable Hen Do Ideas To Wow The Bride
Hen parties are arguably one of the best parts of the whole wedding planning process: as the bride, you get to let your hair down, relax before the big day, and party like there’s no tomorrow with your nearest and dearest ladies. However, if you’re the maid of honour, you might be pulling your hair out frantically trying to Google “cheap hen do ideas” without getting caught by the lovely bride-to-be! Keeping everyone happy and within a respectable budget can make hen party planning difficult so we’ve compiled a list of affordable hen do activities that won’t break the bank.
Affordable Hen Do Ideas
Hire a Party House
Depending on how many guests will be attending your hen party and their budget, one of our favourite cheap hen party ideas is to hire a house for a weekend. Whilst this might look like a large cost, once broken down between your guests, you can use some of our other exciting hen party ideas below to make the rest of the weekend affordable.
Plus enjoy classic sleepover fun, play games or board games, have a movie night or enjoy your favourite drinks all within your budget. The great thing about this is that your group can bring a range of fun activities including board games from home to help save on costs.
‘Hunt The Ring’ Scavenger Hunt
Although this scavenger hunt idea might seem a little bit quirky, your bride and hens alike are bound to have a lot of fun! Start by hiding large plastic engagement rings: if you’re wanting to keep things simple, be sure to hide them around the party house complete with a series of clues, riddles and questions relating to the bride.
These clues will connect the rings together, sending your bride and bridal party on a truly wild goose chase! If your bride is a little more adventurous, consider taking this scavenger hunt and hitting the road! Planning this hen party might be a little tricky, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
Hide the rings in some of the bride’s favourite places in the local area, ending up at the bride’s favourite restaurant for dinner and a few glasses of wine. Check to see if any spots of your adventure offer specific hen packages to save a little bit of money along the way. Cheers, ladies!
Cocktail Party Cheap Hen Do Idea
No two cocktails are the same. Each one has its individual notes, flavours, and intensities. Much like your hen party crowd! A cocktail party can be anything you want it to be: it can be elegant, sophisticated and the perfect opportunity to get dressed up to the nines, or a chance to wind down in your pyjamas and enjoy a bit of a boozy night in.
Or, for a bit of a twist, try adding a theme! Take your party to the beach with Pina Colada (where getting caught in the rain may or may not be encouraged!) or really hit the town with the tasty but somewhat lethal Long Island Iced Tea. There are lots of unique ways to really make your cocktail party tailored to your bride, just think big and outside of the box! This really is a fantastic cheap and perfect hen do idea!
Plan A Murder Mystery Night
If you’re feeling incredibly creative, and you have a reasonable amount of spare time on your hands to really throw yourself into it, consider organising a murder mystery night for your bride! This cheap hen do idea can be as big (or as small!) as you want it to be. This might sound like a daunting task, but if your bride considers herself to be the next Miss Marple, we can guarantee she will not be disappointed!
Planning a murder mystery night from scratch might not be everyone’s style, which is why there are plenty of games that have been already prepared available to buy online. Murder Mystery Games has a wide array of Whodunit-style games to buy, and most of them are suitable for groups of between 7 and 200 people! One of their newest games, “The Chocolate Bar Mystery” is perfect for a bride with a bit of a sweet tooth, and can even be played virtually.
Camp Under The Stars
Picture this: a night out camping in the wilderness. Camping beneath the stars, soaking up the beauty and serenity of nature, and doing so with your closest friends. There’s a campfire roaring, where you’ve toasted marshmallows, enjoyed a BBQ and giggled with your girls. Sounds perfect, right?
So, why not make your perfect night camping a reality? Whether you’re a DIY master and fancy taking on the challenge of setting up your own campsite in the comfort of your own home, or you’d like to book a night away on an actual campsite, there are plenty of opportunities to make this night spectacular.
If glamping is more your bride’s cup of tea, there are also lots of companies that specialise in providing the most luxurious of experiences.
Spice It Up With A Burlesque Class
Whether the hen is a complete novice, a confident professional, or is just a big fan of the Christina Aguilera and Cher box office smash hit: a little bit of Burlesque never hurt anybody. So channel your inner Dita Von Teese and book a Burlesque class!
Yes, some of these dance classes can be a little on the expensive side, but if you know where to look (and split the cost evenly between all of you!), it can work out a lot cheaper than you’d expect.
Pizza Making
This is the perfect hen party idea for the bride to be if they love pizza!
Whether you opt for a professional, paid pizza making class or opt for a more affordable option with bases and choosing your own toppings. This can be a fun activity for everyone at a hen party.
Escape Room
For those brides that enjoy the latest thriller on Netflix, why not try an escape room?
Perfect for a smaller hen party or a group that can split into multiple teams, you can choose between a live action escape room or an escape room envelope game.
If you have multiple teams, why not buy a couple of the same escape room and let teams race against each other for a bit of healthy competition. This is a great way to put some of the pressure on even for a budget hen party if you can’t afford to go to a real room and can be just as much fun.
Paddle Boarding
For a hen that loves action-packed adventures, why not try a physical activity? Whether that’s something simple like Paddle boarding, which is accessible to a wide range of people, or a local water activity centre, there are plenty of ways you can explore the great outdoors with your hens. To name a few other action-packed hen do ideas:
- Hiking & Picnic
- White Water Rafting
- High Ropes
- Paintballing
Themed Brunch or Dinner
Ideal for a foodie bride, why not enjoy a private dining experience at a venue that offers delicious menus? If your budget can stretch why not look at options for a private chef?
Then choose the theme! Something related to your bride’s favourite toy or show as a child, or something that relates to a funny story from the bride and groom’s life together.
Alternatively, set up your own bottomless brunch, why not opt for an Alice in Wonderland themed bottomless tea party? You can of course find a themed brunch spot but there’s no reason your hen party can’t throw their own!
Paint and Sip
Another one of our favourite hen party ideas is a paint and sip activity. This is an ideal activity for a hen weekend as it can be a fairly affordable. Of course you can do this professionally with an artist who will take you step by step through to create a gorgeous painting, but for a cheap hen do idea why not select some crafts for your hen party?
You can get a range of excellent options including canvases, pottery, glasses, candles or tiles for coasters! A few bottles of your favourite drinks and you’ve got a fun and creative hen party idea.
Afternoon Tea
Classic hen pary ideas will often lead you to afternoon tea, and for good reason! Not only are they delicious, cute and provide excellent opportunities to chat and snap pictures with all the hens.
With options for your afternoon tea event to be a dry event or with a couple of delicious cocktails, this is an activity that can appeal to all ages of hens making it a family friendly hen party idea.
Outfit Making
Choose outfits for each other ready for a girls night out, these could be outfits chosen from a box of fancy dress or you could go bargin hunting at a charity shop for silly outfits. For something a little bit more craftsy, why not try flower crown making? The whole group can feel like fairy princesses, ideal for summer hen parties.
Pottery Painting
Whether you have a local cafe that offers pottery painting or you choose to organise this craft activity yourself, this is one of our cutest hen party ideas.
The Dream Hen Party Retreat
It’s the dream, isn’t it? Packing your bags, hopping on a plane and jetting off to a sunny holiday destination with your best friends. However, for a variety of reasons, you might be looking to stay a little bit closer to home. If that’s the case, then we recommend staying and celebrating at Sedgebrook Hall for an incredibly fun hen party weekend!
There are plenty of things to do in the local area and beautiful relaxation facilities which are perfect for a spa day after a long and exciting night before. For more information regarding our accommodation, our venue facilities, or planning your hen weekend, please feel free to get in touch with our friendly team today!
Discover our exciting hen party venue in Northampton with modern, comfortable and affordable accommodation during your event.
Top Tips For A Low-Cost Hen Night
- Book in advance
- Confirm a budget with the group
- Ask, don’t guess
- Break up the day
Book In Advance
It really is true what they say: the early bird (or hen, for that matter!) usually does get the worm! So, make sure you book the dates well in advance, or you might miss out on getting the best deals for the best prices. So book now, or forever hold your peace!
Confirm A Budget
Laying out a rough plan and then asking the group to confirm how much they’d be happy to pay for the listed activities is a great way to understand budgets. You could always ask the bride to do this with all of her friends, family and guests before the planning begins.
Ask, Don’t Guess
Planning an incredible hen night for your best friend is a really fun experience, even if it is a little daunting. And as her best friend, it’ll be no surprise if you feel an element of pressure when it comes to planning a party as perfect as she is.
There’s a simple solution to your problem, however: ASK. HER. WHAT. SHE. WANTS!
If you’re struggling to get inside of her head, this is a surefire way to avoid any potential confusion and disappointment later on down the line.
Break Up The Day
Another way to make a hen party affordable for everyone to take part in is to break the day up into chunks which allows people to pick and choose which parts of the day or weekend they would like to attend. This will help people to budget and not feel pressured to attend the whole event.
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