Stag and hen parties needn’t mean booze‐soaked debauchery ‐‐ only. Plan a party that does not revolve around alcohol.
Stag and hen parties needn’t mean booze‐soaked debauchery ‐‐ only. How about clubbing in Paris, going Boho at Glastonbury or having a flutter at Ascot?
Oh, I do like to be…
Get together a gang and set off to Blackpool for a weekend’s home‐grown seaside fun. Trawl along the promenade for slot machines and cheap boozers, before turning your stomach on The Big One, the world’s highest rollercoaster. Or for real vertigo, venture up the tower and stand on the glass‐bottomed observation point. Head there out of season for ironic Carry On fun.
Rock on
Plan your stag/hen do around a music festival and camp under the stars together in a huge tent. Don your funkiest, floatiest Boho gear, and dole out prizes to those who have the closest encounter with a genuine star.
A day at the races
Ladies’ Day at Ascot is the perfect excuse for getting out your most ridiculous hat, having a flutter and quaffing champagne. Do your best to get a photo with a horse and jockey in the enclosure. Any gal that manages to get herself on TV or in the press wins a prize.
Zehn bier, bitte
You like beer? You love beer. Then time your stag/hen to coincide with the annual Munich Oktoberfest and get up to all sorts of nonsense at the expense of those enormous beer glasses. Take a phrase book ‐‐ it should come in handy when you’ve had more than a few.
Member of the board
If you’d like a competitive edge to your evening, organise a home tournament of beer, board games and curry. In addition to more traditional games such as Monopoly and Cluedo, up the ante with the likes of Kerplunk, Jenga and Perudo. Losers pay with forfeits drawn from a hat.
Vive la difference!
For a night of cultured clubbing, take the last (good value) Eurostar to Paris. After a night of grooving, grab a café au lait and croissant and take an early morning stroll to Sacre Coeur to watch the sun come up, before catching the first train back. Don’t forget to take a disposable black‐and‐white camera to get some arty shots of your posse in moody Montmartre.
Place your bets…
Organise a night at the dogs or set up a mini casino at home. Various companies can supply gaming tables, accessories, croupiers and fake money for an authentic (and less expensive) touch.
Balearic beat
Nowhere beats Ibiza for a mix of old‐fashioned boozing and high‐glamour clubbing. Lounge around on the trendy beaches during the day and hit the top‐end clubs by night. Return looking glowing and tanned, despite your late nights.
Pub Olympics
Organise a traditional pub crawl, where the only rule is that you have to engage in an activity in every pub while downing your pints. Start in a pub that’s staging a quiz ‐‐ with enough numbers, you could scoop the prize and boost the night’s kitty. Then move on to a pub with pool tables, for a spot of hustling. In the next, play darts or a round of cards, or go for some ritual humiliation on a karaoke machine.
London on sea
Head to Brighton for a mix of old‐fashioned seaside fun and sophisticated clubbing. If you’re feeling brave, start off with a skinny dip on the nudist beach. Try rollerblading on the promenade, have a play at the fairground and line your stomachs with fish and chips on the pier, before hitting the trendy clubs underneath the arches.
A la carte
Rather than go to a single restaurant for a slap‐up meal, eat your starter, main course and dessert in different swanky restaurants around town. For ease of movement (and so as not to lose valuable drinking time), hire a limo to escort you between venues, and quaff champers as you glide between them.
Cocktail hour
Spice up a basic pub crawl by learning how to mix up trendy cocktails ‐‐ a number of fashionable bars around London offer this service to groups, and serve up fancy canapés while you learn.
Keep it simple
Take the group ten pin bowling, followed by a slap‐up meal, or invite everyone over if there’s a big game on, for a night of take‐away food, beers and shouting at the TV.
