Posted by
James Trenchard
Older Hens
Being an older bride doesn't make much of a difference in terms of actually getting married, but it may make a small difference with your outlook on what you want to do for your hen party weekend. Whether it's your first marriage or not may also make a difference to how you want to set up your hen do.
Luckily, we've got some great ideas about what you might want to do for your hen party, from relaxing to outrageous during the day or night. There are such a huge range of hen party experiences, so it may just be worth taking a closer look at all of the fantastic hen party activities we can arrange, but we're going to pick out a few key hen party ideas for older hens for you.
The hen party planning process can seem quite a complex thing, so if at any point you have any questions, who you gonna call? Like the Ghostbusters of hen parties we'll help you to sort out an amazing hen party, be it a whole weekend or just a single day.
For now, we've got a whole variety of hen party ideas for older brides coming right up.
Stay at home
Staying put is something that we've all been told to do, but it's also a great choice for a hen party. There are loads of activities that can be brought to you so that you don't have to worry about getting to different places, getting lost going to those places or... anything, really. With these hen party activities, being an older hen won't matter one iota.
Sports day - Get physical, physical and transport your mind back to your childhood with a collection of fantastic games, akin to that of a school sports day. With egg and spoon races, sack races, tug-of-war and more you'll have an ace time. you just need to make sure you have enough space in your garden.
Cocktail Making - Take on your very own cocktail making masterclass, learning the art of mixology. These classes vary on what they offer but all of them are aimed at having fun, having drinks and (maybe) learning a great new party trick.
Dance Class - If you have the room, choose a class to learn your favourite dance style and a professional choreographer/dance instructor will come and show you the ropes.
Life Drawing - Have a nude man lay down in your living rooms and pretend to be interested in the 'art' of it all.
Chocolate Making - A great one for the sweet-toothed amongst older brides. Make some delicious chocolates. Just make sure to take photos in case they all miraculously 'disappear'.
Murder Mystery - An extremely popular hen party idea and one that's really fun, really flexible and will be a great memory for years to come.
Pamper Session - Someone will come to your house, give you a massage and then leave again. Talk about ultimate relaxation.
Afternoon Tea - For something with a bit of class, choose an afternoon tea to be brought to you. You can obviously do this yourself but where's the indulgence in that?
Semi-naked Butlers - With loads of these activities, you can hire a man/men to come and serve everything to you wearing nothing more than a little apron.
- Pamper yourself, you deserve it -
Stay local
You might not want to stay at home, but there's no need to travel to the end of the UK. Exploring a nearby town or city can reap the rewards for an older bride too. It means you're not travelling for hours and hours, but does open up more possibilities with regards to the hen party activities you can choose. Take Exeter for example, if you live within an hour of Devon's capital you can have access to a unique canoeing and bushcraft trip and stay in glamorous yurts complete with log burners, a private barn with kitchen and it's based on a farm which sells it's produce (eggs/meat etc). Alternatively you could go quad biking, try an escape room, treat yourself to a lovely hotel, some great food... and the list just goes on and on.
If you're looking for some inspiration for where to go, head to our hen party destination article and we'll give you our suggestions on the best places for a hen party. Alternatively, you could head to our list of all UK hen party destinations and see if there's one even closer to home.
Keep it relaxed
If you're looking for something to relax your bones and calm your body, there are a few options to stay nice and chilled out during your hen party weekend.
For example, a spa treatment will go a long way in making sure that you are refreshed and ready for anything (essential in the days and weeks leading up to a wedding day). No matter whether you're a younger or older hen, spa treatments work for anyone! We've put together a little article about hen party spa weekends which might give you some ideas on how to have a truly relaxing weekend.
Another option, which we mentioned earlier, is to have a company come to your house/hen party accommodation and run the spa treatments there for you.
Our final point on keeping it light and breezy, free and easy, is to keep it to a simple hen party and not add too many activities... try to keep it light. This makes everything smoother during a hen party weekend and also causes less hassle in the build up.
Do what you love
If you're an older bride, you probably don't want to just follow the crowd and do whatever the majority are happy with and why should you? You absolutely have the right to choose everything that you want to do for your hen party. With the huge range of hen party activities that exist in the UK, whatever you like to do is probably available in some kind of hen party format (depending on the legality and extremity of the things you like to pass the time with).
A hen party should be a celebration of the bride-to-be, no matter what her age so doing what you want is a no-brainer, after all, marriage is quite often about not just doing what you want and so this is one of your last chances to take the opportunity.
Dance
Dance like nobody's watching, or, if you like the attention, like everyone's watching. If dancing is something you love, be it professional or could-be-but-just-don't-have-the-time, add it into your hen party. There are plenty of types of dance classes to choose from, be it salsa, 80's, Grease, The Spice Girls or anything else, it's out there for you to enjoy.
If it's less structured dancing you're after head out and explore the local nightlife. You can get some great bar/club entry passes which let you into some of the most popular spots in your chosen hen party destination and this should allow you to show off your best moves and teach the locals a thing or two.
Drink
Most hen parties for older hens will be more than able to handle their drink or know (and ignore) their limits. Having a drink on a hen party is a bit like a fish breathing underwater... essential. You don't just have to drink in bars or whilst getting ready to go out... it can actually be an activity which you include. For example, a cocktail making masterclass is an extremely popular hen party idea and can include food, from buffet to three-course meal, making it a great addition.
You can also book VIP booths in most clubs so everyone can stay together and have private seating. As well as this, there are always drinks packages which you can choose so that everyone will be guaranteed a drink instead of spending the whole night queuing.
- Older brides can kick it just as hard as anyone else -
Canal Boat
Hiring a canal boat for a hen party weekend is an amazingly popular thing and we can really understand why. For one, it gets you away from the main hustle and bustle of towns and cities. Instead of being closed inside a big concrete box, you have the opportunity to float along on the water with open countryside all around.
There are some big boats to hire around the UK and you can even have your own flotilla (a small fleet of ships or boats) so no matter what group size, having a weekend cruising around in canal boats is a great choice.
The hen party destination options for these trips aren't unlimited, but no matter where you live, you shouldn't have to spend more than 2-3 hours to get to the pick-up point. The great thing about a canal boat hen party is that they are essentially like a private house with a changing view. All boats have at least shower facilities, with kitchens, comfy beds and usually a small social area to fit everyone staying on board.
One thing to be aware of is the fixed cost of canal boats. If you plan on hiring canal boats, make sure you have everyone on board (pun definitely intended) with financial commitment. If someone drops out, it's not unusual that the full price will still have to be covered by the rest of the group.
Party Boat
If you like boats, an older bride may like to head out onto the water on a party boat. Positioned at several great hen party destinations throughout the UK, you can jump on board with the hen weekend guests and cruise for around 2-3 hours. On board there are commonly drinks available, sound systems and food options are usually available too.
There are public party boats and these are usually much bigger with discos etc. Private hire party boats for hen party weekends are also very common, usually a bit smaller but still with great facilities and it means that you only have the hen party guests from your group on board. Some party boats also include entry into specific bars and clubs so that once you've landed you can continue the party for as long as you can keep going.
Yurt Camping
For a bit of luxury without the noise and madness of a town or city centre, you could choose a weekend in a yurt. Think of it like a luxurious tent, big enough to fit in a double bed or two, stove and some seating. Normally these sites are available for the whole site to be hired for one group, which is a great way to relax with the people you hold most dear.
Get away from it all, dance and be merry!
Go Wild
Finally, there is no reason why an older hen can't kick it with the younger hen party weekends, so go just crazy, let your hair down and enjoy your last night of freedom. With so much choice for where to go and what to do on a hen party weekend, you can make it as wild as you could possibly handle.
An Older Bride Summary
Being an older hen means not much these days. A hen party for a person with more life experience doesn't have to be dull. Take a look at out ideas to cover all bases for an older bride:
- Stay at home
- Stay local
- Keep it relaxed
- Do what you love
- Dance
- Drink
- Canal Boat
- Party Boat
- Yurt Camping
- Go Wild
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