A Guide to Planning the Perfect Hen Party

There comes a time in your life when you have to step up and organise your friends hen party, from my own personal experience this maybe something that you have not chosen to do but have been suddenly volunteered by the group and of course you accept with that nervous smile, whilst they all silently heave a huge sigh of relief and say can't wait to see what we are all doing.


Initially you think this is going to be a breeze how hard can it be to organise a day/evening out with your friends, then it starts to sink in not only will there be your friends but also people you may have never met, aunties, mums and friends and family members that you didn't know existed to keep happy and ensure that they all have a glorious time.  Now you are starting to think how did I get into this position, well we do this on a daily basis and we have found that if you follow some simple steps then you will all have a fabulous time and you will be seen as the hostess with the absolute mostest!

Happy Hens in our hen house

1.  Chat to the Bride to Be

Now some of you may be horrified at this point as you may want the Hen Party to be a complete surprise, this is not an issue but at least find out who the hen would like to attend the party, must haves and also find out the absolute no no's, a good way to find out what they like is ask what hen parties they have enjoyed and which ones were compete horrors, remember this is not your party but theirs!

2.  Set The Date

Now this may seem the most simple part but in my experience less is more, set a couple of dates to choose from, using the Bride to Be as your benchmark.  Now be aware that you are not going to please everyone and some people will not be able to make it, don't worry the ones that want to be there will move their diaries to spend the day with the Bride to Be.
So how much notice should you give, we think the best advice here is to think of peoples circumstances and allow them to have a breather between the hen party and the wedding so ideally allow the hen party activities to be at least 8 to 4 weeks before the big day.

3.  Location

Now here comes the next potential minefield, consider your hens, age groups and also travel expenses including accommodation, the Bride to Be may want to visit New York or stay at a country mansion but how many hens will this alienate.

4.  Activities

Get to know your audience, you maybe catering for a diverse group of hens including age groups, budgets try not to isolate anyone.   A Burlesque workshop might not be how the Mother of the Bride thought you would be spending her day!

Consider all Hens for your activities

5. Timings

Be realistic with your timings, build in time for relaxation don't book an afternoon tea and then only leave an hour to complete it as this is an ideal time for the hens to chat and relax and get to know each other.   Also build in time for change of activities ie. transport timings, getting ready from afternoon to the evening.   You certainly do not want to create a stressful affair for the hens.

Be flexible, you can always build the day or weekend where people can dip in and out of so making it inclusive for all, a great way to do this is set an agenda for the activities and then send it to the Hens and ask them to choose which of these they would like to do, this takes the pressure of them if money is an issue or they really don't fancy the flying trapeze lesson!

6. Dress Codes

So everyone is comfortable on the day make sure that you agree a dress code for the day with Bride to Be and the hens, there is no point making the Bride to Be dress up as a Disney Character if this would be her living nightmare.  

7.  Games 

Games can be a great way to break the ice especially if you are a group of hens that do not know each other very well, Pass the Parcels are great, personalised games ie. 'He Said, She Said' games which also involve the groom.  There are so many ideas out there but remember your audience.  You don't want to offend or bore your audience!

8.  Communication

Once your hen party is planned make sure that you send all details including transport, accommodation, activities, timings, dress codes, money requirements ie. deposits at the outset, this ensures that everyone knows what is expected and there will be no misunderstandings on the build up or the big day.

A great way to ensure this is achieved is create a Facebook page for the event so everyone can speak and get to know each other before the day.  This allows the hens to chat beforehand and encourages participation and involvement creating a buzz about the day and ensuring that you should all have a glorious time.

We hope by following our simple guide you will have a glorious fun Hen Party where you even get to enjoy!

We would love to hear your thoughts and share any additional tips and suggestions that you might have.

50's Housewife Party Hen Party Ideas

Have you ever thought about what it was like to be a 50's Housewife, well you might be surprised that a women's role was a tough one and our soul aim was to create a glorious home and treat our little man as a king.  Thank goodness times have changed!

1950's Hen Party Prop Box Idea

We often get asked what makes the perfect 50's housewife party so we thought we would share some of our thoughts and ideas with you.

The first priority is to get everyone in the mindset of the 50s housewife and what better way then to invite everyone to dress up in their 1950's glad rags and using a simple glorious prop box it is guaranteed to be fun for everyone.   Some items that are a must for the prop box should be cat eye glasses, scarfs, velcro rollers, feather dusters, rubber gloves and of course pinnies!

Now you need to set the scene choose a colour theme, red and turquoise works well for the 50's theme but also red and white polka dots, choose cooking utensils to dress the table for interest, you can add wedding advice cards to these as a bit of fun for the hens.  

Looking at the food option why not serve an afternoon tea with beautiful vintage crockery or you can choose a diner feel with coke bottles and cupcakes to a buffet style option.

Now add the fun, either choose a craft option where the hens can transform their own half pinnies a 50's housewife must! and of course add some retro styled games to the mix, based around the 50's good housekeeping guide, you can add a personal twist on this by adding a 'He Said, She Said' game but with a 50's slant I can guarantee that the hens will be roaring with laughter at the difference 65 years has made to married couples of today.

Customise Pinny for your 50's Housewife Party

If you like the this idea but don't know where to start then why not allow us to organise your very own 50's housewife party and allow us to transport you for the day with our very own tongue in cheek view of this world.   We promise to tickle your fancy and create much merriment with games and activities centred around 'The Good Housewife Guide' and take time out with your friends to create and customise your own pinny or peg bag.   Of course you will be treated to one of our wonderful sumptuous afternoon teas, whilst swapping recipes just glorious!

Housewife Game Ideas

Our packages start from £40pp so will not break the household budget.  Take a look at our website for full package options and photo inspiration.

Feather dusters at the ready ladies!

Further inspiration can be found by looking at the following sources
1. Housewife Invitation Cards    2. Housewife Prop Box Ideas  3. Housewife Party Games  4. Table Settings

1.  1950s Housewife Party Invite Idea

2.  50's Housewife Prop Box

Customising Pinny Craft Option

4.   1950s Housewife Table Ideas

Planning a 1950s Hen Party

So you have been given the task of putting together a hen party 1950s style, so where to begin?

Decide on Your Theme:

So you have decided that you want to have a 1950s hen party now that can mean so many things to different people, you can go for a Grease style high school theme, 50s housewife look, Diner Style or a 50s Sirens party the choice is huge.  
Once you have chosen your theme why not take time and take a look at other 50's styled events set around your ideas you will be inspired by colour schemes, decorations, table styling, entertainment in fact its the easiest way to gain a quick insight into how to capitalise on your chosen theme so go on line and take a look at what other people have done you maybe surprised how much information is already out there.  Here are a couple of links for you to look at at fifties wedding and Hitched they both have some great ideas and pics to look at.So now you know what you can do you need to set about personalising it for your own event we have highlighted some key areas for you to consider.

Invitations: 

This maybe the first time that the hens get to see the theme and gain an insight the plans of the day.  So make it fun  Etsy  have a fantastic range of vintage styled invites or you can try Paperless Post this company offers on line cards and stationery  both can cost some money but once you visit their sites, you'll understand why. Also why not open a Face book page just for the event this will allow you to involve the hens and build the excitement of the day but also keep them up to date with details especially if some are not known well.

Location: 

The venue is key especially if you want to create the atmosphere of the chosen theme so this needs to be taken into consideration although decoration and styling can make any venue look wow, but you need to also build in time for set up and clear down especially if you are doing this yourself and trust me it always takes longer than you think!

Entertainment:  

Decide whether you going to add some jive dancing, a pin up shoot element, craft  or makeovers to the proceedings they are all great touches and will add an element of fun, it goes without saying that you need to consider budgets but more importantly the flow of the party as if hair and makeup is completed before dancing this could mean that if the hens were looking to go out on the town after the day the hair might be a bit tousled!

Styling Inspiration:  

This is the best bit once you have your theme you can really go to town with the special touches.  For example using a theme of the 50s housewife you could add some recipe cards from the 50s with images of adverts from that era on the reverse the following links will help as they have pictures of vintage advertisements and inspiration quotes  Anne Taintor products.  

Think colours and accessories if you are going for a Diner theme use red & black, add coke glasses, sundae dishes filled with retro sweets etc.   Vinyl records for cake stands or place mats are a great idea if you are trying to recreate a 50s diner.  Or for a 50s Siren theme try and give each hen a 50's icon table setting.

Sirens table setting from Hope & Glorious Vintage

You can also add some stylish hen party goodies, in the form of gift bags and a vintage 50's styled sash.

Food:  

All parties need great food this can either be an afternoon tea affair with cupcakes and meringues or why not try a sophisticated cocktails and canapes ensemble.   You can tailor make the food for example a diner affair why not add an ice cream van for those ultimate sundaes.  Again colour can be combined to create the 50s feel red polka dot tablecloths for the diner feel or gorgeous vintage embroidered ones for the Siren's.


Games:  

Games will help build fun if you have no entertainment booked  try some of these You can create a Good Housewife Quiz printout by utilising info from The Good Housewife's Guide,  Mad Libs Bachelorette Bash although American it still works and Is Your Man a Catch? or you can go on line and check out  eHow Bachelorette Party Games Video Series.

Music: 

Make a couple of play lists of 50's music to take with you if you haven't planned entertainment or you could use YouTube and create a play list of 50s commercials and music.  

We hope this has given you a bit of an insight into how to plan a 50's hen party and we would love to hear from you and gain your views and if you want to share your pictures with us then we would love to see them.

Brighton Hen Party ~ Flapper Fun

So the Hen Party season is now in full swing and we have kicked of in style with our first trip out to Brighton for a 1920s hen party.

1920s Hen Party 

Danielle and her hens arriving

So lets set the scene for you, our destination was the Sweetshop Boutique holiday home in Brighton a really cute candy shop coloured house with a vintage feel.

The lovely ladies that made up Danielle's hen party had requested a 1920s themed affair in line with the beautiful bride to be dress for her pending big day.   So we set about creating a beautiful 1920s experience whilst encompassing the house's unique style.

Sweetie Style Table Setting

The afternoon started with a good ole Hope & Glorious Vintage welcome with champagne and raspberries, and then kicked off with all the hens being treated to a 1920s hair and makeup makeovers created by Lara and Kat our wonderful talented stylists suppliers from Kitty Vintage.

Whilst the makeovers were in full swing each of the hens participated in creating a gorgeous 1920s headband with the help of Jo our talented crafty expert.   There were some beautiful head pieces made by each of the hens with all of them being so different and unique its amazing from a table of feathers, brooches and sequins what you can achieve!

Now for those of you who know us know that there is a very special member of our team that always gets to come and join the party.   Now Bertie was really excited to be part of the Brighton day as it is his favourite place indeed.   He was wheeled out in full splender bursting with afternoon tea goodies of finger sandwiches, macaroons, cakes, meringues with raspberries and scones.  Bertie loves being admired and he wasn't disappointed with lots of ooh's and argh's in his direction.  

Bertie Licious in action

Team H&G loved being part of Danielle's hen party celebrations and we can honestly say it was a pleasure to work for you all as you are all lovely gorgeous people and as Bruce Forsyth would say you are favourites so far!

We would like to wish Danielle and her beau all the best on their big day.

The gift that keeps on giving!

I was lucky to receive from Santa this little beauty in my stocking and I cannot tell you how wonderful it is and would definitely recommend to any of you crafty diva's out there to go and buy one quick smart.

Granny Chic available to buy on Amazon at the shelf grabbing price of only £10!

The book is devised by two wonderful people one in the States (Dottie Angel) and one in good ole blighty (Ted & Agnes).  It has lots of gorgeous vintage crafty makes inside which are easy to follow and you will end up with a unique piece of granny chic gorgeousness for your home.

I have managed to make a few items from this wonderful book including the 'anything and everything' crochet bag which can be a bit addictive and by the time I finished my first attempt could have fitted the kitchen sink in it!

My next dalliance is going to be the fabric Lampshades I just love these and I know they will look splendid in my humble abode.

Fabric Lampshades granny chic make

If I crack the lampshades who knows a piece of furniture could be my next victim! whoops masterpiece .

Blandishments!

Day 13 A kiss before dinner?
“First give your man a good dinner; then, when he is seated in front of the fire with a choice cigar, there is little he will deny you. I read somewhere lately, ‘Never forget the great truth that dinner precedes blandishments, not blandishments dinner; and though it is true that if you offered him a choice between dinner and kisses, he would say he would take both, yet he would invariably begin with the dinner, and allow the kisses to wait.’”

This is an extract from The Lady Realm 1902 on the Management of Husbands

One for you beach lovers

Surfs Up!

For those of us dreaming of hot summer days on the beach Day 12 brings you that kiss......From Here to Eternity (1953) won 8 academy awards - The classic beach scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the rushing waves was not written to have taken place there. The idea to film with the waves hitting them was a last minute inspiration by the director. This scene only lasts for 6 seconds before they run up the beach for another passionate kiss!