Multi-day benders that deplete your mates’ annual leave and wallets are a no-no. Keep it cheeky, cheap and – crucially – enjoyable
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stag or hen do should be a straightforward, fun night celebrating a good friend moving into a new chapter of their life. Instead, thanks to films such as The Hangover and Bridesmaids, as well as the general Americanisation of what a “bachelor” or “bachelorette” party should be, we’ve ended up with too many overindulgent, wildly inconvenient and quite frankly underwhelming send-offs to our friends who are getting married.
Somewhere along the way, they’ve morphed into three-day tests of stamina and disposable income. Groomsmen bankrupting themselves on long weekends in Vegas that are billed as obligatory for anyone who wants to keep calling themselves a friend. Injuries sustained during ill-advised human pyramids on Spanish beaches. Weddings called off after drunken lapses of judgments in strip clubs. To add insult to injury, in 2023, a survey by Aviva found the average person spends £779 attending a stag or hen in the UK – and that goes up to £1,208 when it’s held abroad. Consequently, they’ve become gruelling and – crucially – not even fun any more.
First, let’s address the elephant in the room: are stag and hen dos even necessary in this age of equality and frugality? Some would argue that they are archaic rites rooted in fragile ideas of masculinity and femininity and it’s time to do away with such debased ideas of fun. To that I say: boringggg. Now put on the pink cowboy hat, take a sip from the phallic-shaped straw, and embrace the ritual. I’ve come up with a five-step formula that respects tradition, but modernises some aspects, and makes for an actually enjoyable stag do or hen party. My credentials? I’ve been a best man a couple of times, thrown a hen do, and officiated a wedding.
