Lounge in a limo or board the bus – it’s your hen’s party!

When your bestie is planning her wedding and you’re organising the hen’s party, make it one to remember, not one you’d rather forget. Break with tradition and write your own story!

Ignore the tired tradition of sparkly headgear and fluffy boas, take a look at these original ideas for a hen’s party that will have you thinking further than the local pub. Keep in mind that the celebration is for the bride-to-be to celebrate with her bridesmaids and friends before the main event – the wedding.

Check out these themes for a memorable hen’s party. Wherever you are, there are ideas for a fun occasion.

• Weekend Wine Tasting – Try all the wines you ever wanted to sip at a cellar door. This can be a one-day experience or the highlight of a hen’s weekend away to a wine region such as the New South Wales’ Hunter Valley, Victoria’s Yarra Valley, Western Australia’s Margaret River, South Australia’s Coonawarra and Barossa Valley. The choice is yours!
• Hire a Party Bus –Visit all the trendy venues in the city! You can tailor a party for your group and you won’t need a designated driver or taxis. You can pick and choose the locations. Some companies even provide on-bus entertainment, so you never miss a moment of fun!
• Let’s Go Cooking – indulge in a cooking class with your hen’s team – everyone can join in and you can make it as up-market or casual as you like. For a no-frills day of fun, food and festivities, theme it My Kitchen Rules and hold it in the backyard for a girls-only barbecue. If MasterChef is more your style, check out the cooking classes in your city to find a fantastic hands-on chef experience with matching wines. You can book a bus trip for a seafood cooking class, find out how to bake bread and even take a lesson in how to make pickles!
• Pamper Me – choose the best spa in your city and find a package deal for the whole group. An all-time favourite, there is nothing like an indulgent pedicure, facial and massage to prepare for the upcoming nuptials. Find a package that combines the pampering with champagne and a night out complete with stretch limo to make an unforgettable experience. Or make it an overnight stay.
• Adrenalin Adventure – for thrills and excitement, consider overnight glamping, go-karting, paintballing, jet boating or party boat cruise. Consider the age group of your hens before suggesting this one!
• High Tea Indulgence – Sip cocktails and champagne while sampling some elegant sandwiches and macarons. Research some of the city hotels that feature high tea events and make a booking well in advance. Perfect as a half-day party and the ideal celebration if you are including the mothers of the bride and groom on the invite list.

For a successful hen’s party, tick off this ‘chicklist’:

Your 8-Point Party Chicklist:

1. BRIDE’S PREFERENCES: Talk to the bride about the date and style of party she wants and the activities she would prefer before you book anything. It’s all about her, so she has the final say!
2. TIMING: Plan for a party well before the wedding.
3. BUDGET: Affordable or indulgent? Ask the others what they are prepared to pay and set a budget.
4. ACTIVITIES: Pick activities that the whole group will enjoy. Remember, the party is for the bride-to-be, so tailor the activities to what she is comfortable with.
5. PAYMENT: Set up a Gift Card Registry for a special party fundraiser so everyone can go online to make their payment for the event. This ensures the group pays up front, so you can make bookings for the event once you have the numbers.
6. INVITATIONS: Send out invitations and include the details of Gift Card Registry for payment. If you use social media, make sure you send the invitation to a closed group.
7. RSVPS: Keep track of RSVPs so you can make bookings for the right numbers. Follow up those who don’t reply on time.
8. SOCIAL MEDIA: Decide before the event what you plan to share on social media. Get everyone’s agreement not to upload embarrassing photos.

Gift Card Registry makes planning easy

Once you have organised the style of event, booked the date and decided on the guest list, it’s time to set up a registry to collect the payments specifically for the hen’s party. Before you send out the invitations, go to Gift Card Registry at giftcardregistry.com.au, or phone 1300 354 632.

Once set up you can include a link or web address for Gift Card Registry on the invitations. It’s easy to use, secure and convenient for the people you want to invite, and they can leave messages when they add their contribution.

Specify an end date and when it arrives, Gift Card Registry will send the total amount loaded onto a prepaid Mastercard to you to use for the bookings. As the prepaid Mastercard can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted in Australia or overseas as well as online, it’s the easy solution to organising payment for the hen’s party!