The Frugality: Hen Weekends

Hen weekends are expensive habits...

But it only happens once, though, right? So here are my tips for a classy/thoughtful/inexpensive hen weekend...

Instead of Hotels, try and find private accommodation, especially if you have a group. I managed to find this flat in the centre of Edinburgh, £42 each a night (sleeps 9):

Personalised bunting, from £3, Not On The High Street

Found on edinburgh-holiday-accommodation.co.uk

I don't do whistle-blowing, sash wearing, veil adorning hen nights/weekends. But I am a fan of thoughtful gifts and spoiling my friend. The biggest 'hen' reference were these badges:

£3.19, Flamingo Gifts

Friday night, we played 'hen' games. I took wigs and a polaroid camera - everyone drank and dressed up and we took polaroids for the bride's Hen Scrapbook, in which everyone wrote messages:

Scrapbook, £4.50, Muji

I wrote 'Cath's Hen Weekend Scrapbook' on the book with these stickers, £2, Accessorize

We stopped for Afternoon Tea at The Missoni Hotel, Edinburgh. Always ask for little 'extras' that places offer. We asked the hotel to write 'Cath's hen' in chocolate for a special treat:

Loved the Missoni kilt!

Luckily, the flat has a dvd player, so I took a silly, fun film to watch whilst nursing our hangovers:

£7.49, Play

Hen weekends are all about the little things that make the Bride feel special. If you're going out to dinner, or tea, try and see if you can go in early and decorate the table. Or organise a cake to be brought out. I decorated the table for the tea with crystal beads(£1.50 from John Lewis) and sequins. John Lewis have a great selection of accessories:

Why not dot silly photos around the place with these, £5

Personalised gifts for the Bride go down a treat (and don't have to cost the earth):

Cynthia garter - gorgeous AND something blue! £20, Agent Provocateur

My super talented friend at Samantha Lou made this personalised bracelet with the date of the wedding! Email samantha.norman@me.com

Hen Games that worked:

Mr & Mrs quiz - an oldie but a goodie. I've been to some who have made videos of the fiance which have been hilarious.
Bodyparts - ask the fiance to send you pictures of his nose, eye, hands, feets etc and put them on individual boards mixed with photos of other people's bodyparts and see if they can guess which one.
Memories - this is just a nice one to do at dinner - make everyone write down a special memory of the bride, and she has to guess who matches which memory. I have also done this with gifts and also knickers - she has to guess who bought what.

The last day was a trip to the oldest pub in Scotland with delicious comfort food - it's good to have somewhere booked just in case, even if you need to cancel if everyone is too hungover!