.
Party time! Green diamante sunglasses, optional.
.
Are you a panicked chief bridesmaid who has wandered this way looking for hen party planning inspiration? No worries. My guest blogger, Alison, has got one fab party game in the bag for you. With a little planning, you’ll be the toast of the table!
.
You can also read my top ten tips for planning a hen party here. Now relax – it’s Sunday after all!
.
.
.
.
On 6th May last year, a group of 20 ‘respectable’ women made their excuses and exited their daily lives. They left behind their husbands, boyfriends, children and responsible jobs. Hungry for fun, laughter, hot tubs, wine (lots of), karaoke and the opportunity to wear a boob tube, they made their way by road, rail and air to Bakewell in Derbyshire for my hen weekend. A group of 30-40 (and shhhh – up to 60) something ladies, hungry to be Bakewell Tarts!
.
.
.
.A truly beautiful and glamorous weekend where the sophistication was only briefly marred by the hen sweating on the first evening over vats of home cooked chilli (meat and vegetarian options). No one would choose to be greeted by a purple bride-to-be, but at least I could be described in some languages as ‘glowing’!
.
The whole weekend floated by in a haze of chatter and spa treatments. However, the real highlight of the weekend was our evening of glitz and glamour, fully catered by the professionals.
.
And the real highlight of the evening was our ‘pass the parcel’ – with a difference.
.
It was so beautiful. The stories shared so personal, hilarious, poignant and touching. It’s funny what your friends and family remember about you, what special stories they have squirreled away where yours and their back stories collide. And its strange how two people can remember exactly the same stories, but ever so slightly differently.
.
.
.
.
The game goes a bit like this:
.
1. Put a CD of 80’s school disco hits in the CD player.
.
2. “I’VE NEVER BEEN CLOSER, I’VE TRIED TO UNDERSTAND, THAT CERTAIN FEELING, CARVED BY ANOTHER’S HAND, BUT IT’S TOO LATE, TO HESITATE, WE CAN’T KEEP ON LIVING LIKE THIS (LAAA – LA LA…)”
.
3. Realise that the music has stopped – and that you’re still singing.
.
4. Watch your friend left holding the parcel rip wildly into the wrapping paper like an origami version of Edward Scissorhands! Clearly she’s been to many parties recently with pass the parcel, but this is the first time she’s actually been allowed out of the kitchen long enough to participate. There was nearly a fight!
.
5. Watch said friend, triumphantly hold aloft a RED CANDLE IN A JAR which was hiding between the first two layers of wrapping paper.
.
My job now was to guess who the candle was from – and why.
.
.
.
.
In the case of the red candle, the story relates to the time that I set my head on fire at a friend’s fancy dress party. I was dressed as Maid Marion at the time in and inadvertently dangled the scarf on the top of my pointy hat into a candle while talking to Lady Penelope. Luckily Wayne Slob came to my rescue – which was a brave act indeed as he was wearing a nylon shell suit at the time which was without doubt highly flammable.
.
Another gift was a teddy from my sister – memories of family holidays and the time when I was six and dropped my teddy in a lily pond. I was trying to baptize him ‘Stuart’, after my favourite uncle who had just bought me a transistor radio (made in Taiwan), until I was rudely interrupted by two old women sitting on a bench. Jolted back into the real world from my private moment, I was mortified – I dropped teddy in the pond and ran away in tears. He spent the rest of the holiday drying out on the radiator!
.
But probably the most touching gift was a packet of strawberry bonbons.
.
This gift was a reminder of a sunny afternoon spent in Central Park with my friend Diane, feeding bonbons to the squirrels*. The date was the 8th September 2001. We spent an amazing weekend together in The Big Apple, flying home on the morning of 9/11. We were in the air as American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 flew into the Twin Towers: towers we’d been standing on the top of a few days earlier and been photographing from the top of the Empire State Building exactly 24hrs before the impact.
.
It’s funny how some decisions which you think are minor at the time turn out to be massive. I remember the conversation about which day we should fly back. Luckily on that occasion we got it right. It was horrendous – but it’s a special and cherished shared memory which Diane and I will have forever.
.
And so the evening went on – with 20 different stories. All of them incredible memories from some truly beautiful friends.
.
If you are looking for a game to play on your (or your best gal’s) hen night, I highly recommend it.
.
.
.
.
Alison writes her own personal blog at http://alison-staples.blogspot.com.
.
Alison’s latest posts for Brides Up North:
.
D.I.S.C.O- If Music Be The Food Of Love, Mosh On!
Honeymoons – Just The Two Of Us!
Santa Baby- A Bride’s Letter To St Nick
Christmas Weddings In Soap Land – Some Very Un-Real Weddings!
Up For Discussion- Money Can’t Buy You Love – Bringing It In On Budget
Up For Discussion- Don’t Tell The Groom! Man Management
Up For Discussion- How To Do “I Do”- Writing Your Own Vows
Up For Discussion- Empty Chairs
Up For Discussion- Achieving The Perfect Level Of Wedding Morning Zen
Up For Discussion- The Name Game (and meet Alison!)
.
Would you like to guest blog for Brides Up North? Email julia@bridesupnorth.co.uk
.
*no squirrels were harmed in the writing of this post
.
.
Brides Up North UK Wedding Blog – Images © 2012
This is a sponsored post
Contact Brides Up North to submit your business as a Featured Supplier
.
.
