Top tips for planning a virtual Hen Party!
Our top 5 tips for planning a virtual Hen Party!
It is a big day for you, you have been asked by your bestie to be her of the maid of honour. The excitement builds. You set the date for the hen party and then BANG…a pandemic rocks the whole world and plans have to change as a result. So, with all the buzz around the term “new norm” we wanted to see what this looks like for the perfect virtual hen party and we have some great ideas :0)
Why have a virtual Hen?
You might be wondering why would you even bother having a virtual Hen. Whats the point if nobody can be together and have the craic. There are actually a few good reasons to hold a zoom Hen in our opinion
Making the Bride feel special.
This is a really tough time for brides. Not only had the hen been cancelled, the whole wedding has been scuppered. With the new lockdown levels nobody knows what can go ahead and what can't. It's such an emotional and devastating time for Brides. And this is why we love a Zoom Hen. What better way to make her feel loved that to have all her pals and relations on a call just for her. Dress her up, make a fuss of her, send her gifts beforehand to be opened on the call. But make her feel loved.
The Wedding is going ahead.
The wedding is going ahead at 25 guests and the Bride wants a Hen! It can be as simple as that. Some couples have chosen to plough on with the wedding despite the number restrictions and some couples are actually delighted to have the weight of a huge guest list off their shoulders. For this gang, there still needs to be a Hen and so a virtual hen is the perfect solution. And to answer the question, can you ask people to the virtual hen that aren't being asked to the wedding? The answer is yes! You certainly can. Most people understand this is a tough time for couples in terms of wedding numbers and that it's mostly family and one or two close friends will be asked to the big day. So go ahead and ask as many you want.
Virtual Hens can actually be really good fun!
There is a myth out there that anything on Zoom now is a pain in the bottom. We are all zoomed out of it since the first lock down and nobody wants to do anything virtual anymore. Not true. There is plenty of fun to be had on a zoom Hen and memories can be created on a virtual Hen just as easily as on a real one. There are plenty of hen games that can be played on line and you can have a total laugh and even better, you can record it!
Planning a Virtual Hen
Traditionally, the hen party is always the main event in the lead up to the wedding day so why should lockdown make it any different? Just because things are working a little differently right now, it does not mean the bride should miss out, after all she has been dreaming of this day ever since she met Mr. Right. So here are our top tips on how to plan the perfect virtual hen party.
1. Send invites
First things first, set the date and get those invites out. You want to make sure they are all set up with zoom. We have all been guilty of a zoom party or two over the last few months and they can get a bit chaotic especially with the drinks flowing from the comfort of your own sitting room so our advice to keep the guest list to close family and friends.
2. Keep a Hen Party structure
Keep to the structure of the hen party you have planned and what times you would like to kick things off at. You can still have loads of games at a virtual hen. You can do an online Mr & Mrs quiz or plan traditional games like build a willy competition and set aside a prize for the winner, all you need is some play doh and laugh from start to finish, ideal for giggles of plenty. Virtual hen activities are also available. Activities like paint a nude and laughter yoga are an excellent way to get the party started, either way you will be laughing your socks off :0)
3. What to wear
Ok so we can’t hit the night club like we used to but who said you have to sit in you pj’s either, you can do a mini take of ladies day at the races and let the bride judge best dressed or dare we say it – worst dressed on the night. This is most certainly a popular one as it feels like an eternity since we all were able to go full glam so what not use this as an opportunity to get that insta profile pic updated :0)
4. Food and drinks
Get the drinks in and decide on the food of the night and make sure everyone is ready to eat at the same time– a pizza party is so handy and low cost for all. Who doesn’t love pizza anyways :0) Eat together, just because we cannot get to our favourite restaurant for a meal right now doesn’t mean you can’t have dinner together. A good virtual hen party just means thinking outside the box! There are SO many ways you can make the food section of the Hen fun. Try having a spot quiz during the meal and ask everyone questions about the bride. Or maybe ask everyone to cook a themed dinner and give a prize for the best one on zoom! Like maybe the bride loves Mexican, or is going to Mexico on the honeymoon. There are loads of ways to make this part of the hen fun.
5. Games
There are absolutely tonnes of games that can be played on virtual hen. The Mr and Mrs quiz is one of the most popular games played on any hen and its an absolute must for a virtual hen. 'Don't say Bride' is another good one where if anyone says Bride they have to do a forfeit. (Think of the star wars game). We are big fans of everyone sending the bride a little gift to her house before the hen as well and asking her to open them at the virtual hen. You can put a price limit on this or ask people to give a gift that will make her cry ;0)
Another great game for a virtual hen is the blindfolded lipstick challenge. This can easily be played at home on zoom and you just ask everyone to bring something to act as a blindfold and a lipstick. Whoever does the best job putting on their lipstick blindfolded wins a prize and you will also have great craic with this one as it sounds a lot easier than it is. Think of the Joker from Batman ;0) We have absolutely loads of games over in our games section. With a small bit of tweaking any of them could be used for a virtual hen.
5. Get the groom involved
The bride is more than likely living in lock down with the man himself so why not rope the groom into getting involved and present her with a surprise gift from you all to wind down the night. You can do her up a little hamper of all her favourite things and a little scrapbook or photo album with messages of love and support for her and maybe some tissues as it is bound to get her totes emosh.
2020 won’t be a year we will forget in a hurry but why not take some of the ideas above and make the most of the situation and host a virtual Hen Party, the bride deserves it after all :0)
