Planning a hen party is pretty straight-forward when you stick to the tried-and-tested format of cocktails, dinner and dancing, but, as much as we love this kind of bash, it doesn't suit every bride. We've already written about planning a hen party abroad, alcohol-free hen party ideas, and what to do if your bride doesn't want a hen party at all, so here, we're sharing our 16 favourite alternative hen party ideas.
These hen party activities ideas are cool, unique, and a little bit offbeat, and, chances are, your hen and her guests won't have experienced them before. If you think your bride would like something unconventional, you'll find all the inspiration you need below.
Alternative Hen Party Ideas
1. Host a Picnic or Beach Party
Planning an al fresco hen party in cool climates is definitely a risk, but it's worth taking the gamble. This is an opportunity to let your imagination run wild in terms of décor, food and drinks, but the beautiful surroundings will go a long way towards creating the atmosphere you're after.
Having a solid Plan B is crucial for this one - you've got to be able to pack up your spread and head indoors if the weather doesn't play ball - so make sure to secure a bridal party member's home, rental apartment, or an event space nearby that works with your theme.
2. Head to a Music or Food Festival
While it may take a logistical whiz to pull off a festival-bound hen party, it's destined to be a weekend that your hen and her guests will never forget! Organisation is key when it comes to securing tickets, which can sell out up to a year in advance, but the upside is that, once you arrive on site, the entertainment is taken care of.
In our experience, hen parties work best at smaller festivals - in Ireland, our favourites are: Beyond the Pale, Co. Wicklow, All Together Now, Co Waterford, Another Love Story, Co. Meath, Body and Soul(A.Wake) , Co. Meath, and Sea Sessions, Co. Donegal, while in the UK, we like The Great Escape, Green Man, Wilderness, End of the Road and How the Light Gets In. And of course, for the ultimate festival bride, Coachella
3. Embrace the Fun at a Drag Brunch
Yes, bottomless mimosa brunches are delightful. But when you can enjoy your boozy brunch with great music and fab female impersonators? Now you have yourself an epic hen party! Unleash your inner diva at the famous Irish brunches at Bow Lane, Bernard Shaw, Wigwam, Robertas, The Tipsy Bird and Doll Society. In the UK check out Bougie Drag Brunch, Queen of Hoxton, and Mrs Riot.
4. Rent a Luxurious Country House
If your hen appreciates the finer things in life, a night or a weekend away in a sophisticated countryside manor, complete with private, gourmet dinners, long chats by crackling fires, country walks and maybe even a few outdoor pursuits, is a clear frontrunner.
Our favourite thing about a country house retreat, is that, if you pick your venue carefully, the heavy lifting will be done for you. Our very favourite spots for a countryside hen party getaway in Ireland are Loughcrew Estate in Co. Meath, The Lime House At Rock Farm Slane, The Millhouse in Co. Meath Inishbeg Estate in West Cork, The Wicklow Escape, Roundwood House in Co. Laois, Ballintubbert House in Co. Laois, The Old Rectory in Co. Leitrim and Ardnavaha House in Cork.
5. Enjoy a Once-in-a-Lifetime Meal
Every hen party involves some kind of meal, but these days, more and more pre-wedding bashes are based around unique food experiences. You may decide to go for a high-end, fine dining meal (an affordable option if the attendees are all based in the same city, even more so if you score a lunch reservation), seek out an exciting pop-up restaurant, book a fun food tour, or take over a private dining room in a beloved restaurant for the evening.
You could even use the hen party as an excuse to whisk the bride off to a food destination she's always wanted to visit - from San Sebastian to Berlin, there are plenty of options where the food offering is surprisingly affordable.
6. Pay Homage to a Beloved TV Show or Film
Okay, so willy straws and night clubs may not float your hen's boat, but there should be room for silliness at even the most sophisticated hen parties! If your hen is fanatical about a certain TV show or film, you can find fun ways to incorporate this into her pre-wedding celebrations.
You don't have to build a replica of Monica's apartment in Friends, but it can be as simple as playing a themed game before dinner, or encouraging guests to channel their favourite characters through their outfits, but of course, you can go all out and book a private cinema for a screening, or jet off to a famous filming location for a tour. We would love to see what a bridal party might deliver with RuPaul's Drag Race, Father of the Bride, Game of Thrones, The Greatest Showman, or Sex and the City as their theme!
7. Plan A Karaoke Party
This alternative hen party idea will be a hit if your bride enjoys belting out Zombie by The Cranberries or getting her Madonna on! It may seem like an intimidating option to some, but our love for karaoke stems from the fact that it's a judgement-free zone - whether you sound like Adele, or a farm animal from a viral video, it becomes a level playing field when you add dodgy instrumental tracks into the mix.
There are lots of ways to do it, from booking a private room in a hip karaoke bar, to renting a karaoke machine for your Airbnb rental. We've broken down your karaoke options in Ireland in this helpful post, but if you're in the UK, check out Lucky Voice, and Karaoke Box.
8. Bring the Bride High-End Glamping
Most hen party guest lists are a mixed bag of adventurous, outdoorsy types, dyed-in-the-wool party animals, and shameless lushes who would rather pay a premium hotel rate than set up their own tent (guilty!). Glamping is a firm favourite of ours because it works for all of these personality types, so long as you find the right venue. We have a list of the best glamping spots in Ireland to help you find one!
The highest-rated and most luxurious glamping spots in Ireland and the UK, including our ultimate fave Rock Farm Slane, boast accommodation options to please even the pickiest of guests, and packages to suit every kind of group, from foodies, to beauty buffs to yoga fans.
9. Do a Wine (or Beer! or Gin! or Whiskey!) Tasting
For a lot of brides-to-be, the perfect hen party requires ample quantities of their favourite tipple, but a proper tasting can really take things to the next level! There are a few ways to make a tasting work. For a casual, at-home hen party, you can set it up yourself, making sure there's enough pretty glassware for everyone, or you can book an expert who offers mobile tastings.
Vineyards, breweries, distilleries and specialist bars often offer private tasting services, too, and most will offer non-alcoholic alternatives for non-drinkers. In Ireland, we like Ely Wine Bar's tastings, Listoke gin school, and The White Hag International Brewery Festival while, in the UK, you might like to pay a visit to Furleigh Estate, Buckfast Abbey, or Hampshire Wine School, or book in for a Humble Grape or Wine Tours of Kent tasting or The Little Gin Company tasting.
10. Go to the Races
You don't have to be a horseracing aficionado to get on board with this one - in fact, it can actually be more fun if you've never been to the races before! There's something electric about the atmosphere at a racing festival, which provides a great excuse to get glammed up with your gals. Lots of racecourses offer VIP packages, but you could also combine your race day visit with an overnight stay in a luxurious spa hotel.
In Ireland, there are races throughout the year in Leopardstown, Punchestown, Fairyhouse, The Curragh, Naas Racecourse, Galway Racecourse and Limerick Racecourse, while, in the UK, your options include Cheltenham, Ascot, Aintree, and Newmarket Racecourse.
11. Enjoy a 'Zen Do'
There's never a bad time to stretch your muscles, and for a lot of brides-to-be, a yoga or mindfulness-based hen party is the ideal way to decompress in the run up to the big day! 'Girls gone mild' is all over TikTok, but as it turns out, the move towards including a grounding moment of quiet in a hen itinerary has long been growing in popularity in Ireland. For big groups, you can either rent a house for a weekend and hire an instructor, or go for a package deal, which may include meditation, sound baths, country walks, beauty treatments and maybe even dip in the sea.
In Ireland, we like Yoga Mara Wellness Escapes and Wild Wave Yoga who also specialise in Zen Hens, Burren Yoga, Cloona Health Retreat, Cliffs of Moher Retreat and The Yoga Tree and in the UK, options include The Luna Flow, The Clover Mill, and Sharpham Trust. There are also some incredible destination yoga retreats in Spain, Portugal, Greece and beyond if you fancy turning your bash into a mini sun holiday.
12. Step Back in Time (sort of!)
If your hen is a fan of period TV shows like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton, a bit of historical reenactment could be just the thing to get the party started! In Ireland, we love the Aristochicks offering at Rockfield House, where guests to the stunning manor house experience life both as early 20th Century domestic servants and their pampered employers. You can also become ladies of the manor at Loughcrew Estate for a hen weekend with a difference, or don the wellies and expect laughter, mud, breadmaking, céilà dancing and animal antics as you take on the role of farmer’s wife at the farm experience at Causey. In the UK, you could go on a Bridgerton tour in Bath, or try a murder mystery package like Miss Mapletree's Perfect Murder.
13. Have a Craft Afternoon
Wedding planning oftern brings out a crafty DIY side to a bride and her bride squad that they never knew existed, so why not roll with this and set up a crafternoon (which has nothing to do with making favours for 250 people!) that will have everyone busy and entertained. It's a great mixed-age activity as you can do crafting activities like flower arranging, pottery, flower crown making, and other fun workshops.
We love Flower Pop in Dublin, for its in-studio flower crown and wreath-making workshops, or there are mobile craft workshops that come to you such as Space to Grow and Hullabaloo which operates nationwide. You can also order Paint at Home Pottery kits from them should you want to do your own set up.
14. Have a Mixed Gender Hen (or Sten)
The idea of defined lines between guys and girls in your bride's friendship group mightn't sit well with her, and maybe she'll want to celebrate her hen night with all her friends - not just the gals. So consider having a mixed gender gathering. You can read about the pros and cons of having one in our post here and we've come up with some great ideas for a mixed gender hen here.
15. Set Sail on a Boat Trip
There are a number of ways you can have a boat trip for your Hen Paty. The more glamorous option is a boat party, AKA booking out your very own cruise for a jaunty, pre-wedding soirée - Charter Ireland is a good place to start. The next option takes to the high seas, with the likes of Dublin Bay Cruises, Casey's Skelling Islands Tours, or Dingle Dolphin Tours offering fun sea excursions. Or you could make a weekend of it (or indeed a week!) and hire out a self-sail cruiser or barge and make your way down the Shannon - Shannon River has lots of info on boat hire and routes. In the UK, check out Skuna for their unique Hot Tub Boats and BBQ Boats.
Bottom line, boats are fun, and they appeal to all tastes, whether your friends are the types to take the helm, or hang out at the back drinking bubbly (guilty!).
16. (Pent)House Party
If you and your pals spent your younger years crammed into the kitchen at a house party, why not pay homage to those times with a bougie twist? Lots of hotels offer cool suites and rooms where guests can host their own A-list style private party. (Or maybe even a slumber party?) We have a great list of great penthouse suites in Dublin here.
The Dean Dublin hires out a cool loft space with a foosball table and its own bar, the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Golden Lane, Dublin 2, has a world-class outdoor terrace, as does The Morgan Penthouse comes with its own lounge area. In Cork, the Clayton Hotel has an amazing split-level Penthouse suite and offers private dining and drink stations.
Still looking for the perfect hen party activity? You'll find our ultimate list of ideas here and listen to the One Fab Day podcast below!
