Why it’s a good idea for a bachelorette party
Icebreakers may seem like a cringey thing that only happen at awkward office workshops and summer camps. However, don’t underestimate the importance of breaking the ice in a room full of people who have never met each other, like at a hen party. If your Bride to be (B2B) has invited only her close friends who all hang out together normally anyway, then no worries, you don’t need to break the ice. However, most Hen weekend’s are made up of childhood friends, work friends and miscellaneous family members. There’s usually a range of ages and interests and the last thing you want is for anyone to feel like they don’t belong, so some bachelorette icebreakers are a great way to kick start the bonding.
Who is your audience?
The first thing you need to know when thinking about your bachelorette icebreakers, is who you are trying to cater to. Whenever anyone gets the How to Hen Toolkit, one of the very first things they do is fill out the “Thinking out loud” consultation sheet. On that sheet I don’t just ask about the couple getting married, I also ask about the guests attending. Is Grandma going to be there? If she is, what’s her sense of humour like? Is she likely to clutch her pearls or burst out laughing when she’s asked to pin the junk on the hunk? The bigger the range of tastes, the trickier your life is going to be.
So, the rule of thumb is always to go back and consult the B2B. How much does she care about offending her mother-in-law? How much does she care about that one childhood friend who has delicate sensibilities? If she doesn’t, then that takes some of the pressure off you to reign in the crazier aspects that you know those work friends are going to love.
Games and ideas
In order to help you navigate this tricky balance, I have broken down these bachelorette icebreakers into sweet and family-friendly activities, and ruder, more outrageous games. I have also included some games that you can adapt to fit either category.
Sweet and Family-friendly bachelorette icebreakers
What age was the Bride?
- This a really nice, nostalgic game to play with the group. Simply collect photos of the Bride at different ages either through her parents or through Facebook and display them on a board numbered 1 – 10 (or however many you have). You then ask each person to write down their guess for each number. The person closest to the real age wins a point, and the person with the most points at the end wins. You can also break this up a little bit by incorporating statements/ stories of things the B2B has done or said and ask people to guess the age she was when they happened. This is a good way to make the game last longer if you end up with not that many photos.
What’s in my purse/ handbag?
- It’s simple, you use a scoresheet with items you’d expect to find in people’s handbags, with different items scoring different points. Such as one point for keys and five points for face wipes etc. Get each person to empty their handbag and tally up their scores. This bachelorette icebreaker is available as an easy printable at my etsy shop!
Download your icebreaker games below
How do you know the Bride?
- This one is a lovely icebreaker because it gets people sharing their stories and genuinely helps the ‘getting to know each other’ process. Get everyone to write down either the story of how they met the Bride, a fond memory they share or a reference to their relationship. Ask people to keep it quite vague so as not to give too many details away. All the pieces of paper will then be put into a hat or a bowl and passed around the room. Ask each guest to pull out a piece and read the story out loud. That person then has to guess which person the story belongs to. You can design it so that the person who guesses the most correctly wins a prize at the end.
Rude and NSFW bachelorette icebreakers
Sex Scoresheet (VERY NSFW)
- This is ‘getting to know you’ on a whole new level. Print out this scoresheet and ask all members of the group to fill it out and figure out their score. Now for the truly uncomfortable but hilarious bit. Ask the B2B to go around the room and guess what she thinks each person’s score is. You can turn it into a drinking game if you get her to drink for each wrong answer and the other person to drink for every correct guess.
Musical “BangGangs”
- Like musical statues, but the kind of statues you certainly wouldn’t take a class of children to visit. You know what I am getting at here. Play the music, stop the music, and each person must couple up with someone and hold a sexual position of their choice. If they move before the music starts again. They’re out.
Balloon Hump
- On much the same theme, you can simply ask people to burst as many balloons as they can in a given timeframe, but only by humping it aggressively between them. Cue your Bride absolutely crying with laughter as she watches her Aunty Janet bending her best friend from high school over the back of the sofa to get that balloon to burst.
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Adaptable bachelorette icebreakers
How well do you know the bride?
- If you are being sweet and wholesome, you will ask guests to answer questions like “What was her favourite school subject?” or “When was her first date with (spouses name)? However, if you want to be a bit more outrageous you can throw in questions like “When did she lose her virginity?” or “What’s her favourite position?”. Both of these versions are available as an easy printable at my etsy shop!
Drink If/ Never have I ever
- A party classic for a reason. If you haven’t played, you simply go around the room with each person saying “never have I ever…” followed by something they haven’t done. In the wholesome, family – friendly version questions can be things like “Been to France” or “Broken a bone” etc. Which, in fairness is how these games tend to start. However, if you are anything like me and my friends. This quickly descends into “Had a threesome” or “Had sex in a public place”. Tailor the questions as you see fit for the guests you have.
What’s on my phone?
- Very similar to the “What’s in my bag?” game above. Simply use a scoresheet based on common through to not so common things you’d find on someone’s phone. So maybe one point for apps like Facebook or a photo of a meal and five points for things like a photo editing app or a video of an animal etc. You can make this a little raunchier by adding things like ten points for a “sexy photo” – obviously this has to be one they are willing to show to an independent judge like the B2B. Or even ten points for a junk email advertising some sort of ‘appendage’ enlargement or “happy pill”. You can download the family-friendly version of this game at the How to Hen Etsy Shop
Most importantly, while it’s fun to push the boat out a little, try not to do anything that will genuinely upset or offend anyone, especially the Bride.
Good luck and Happy Henning!
Hi! My name is Sherrie. I am a personal Hen Party Researcher and I am the Fairy Hen Mother behind How to Hen. I started this site because I wanted to create a space where bridesmaids and maids of honour could get inspired and feel confident in their ability to plan a kick-ass bachelorette (hen) party for their bestie.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or lost on how to create a perfectly personal, unique bachelorette weekend for your bride, then you need the How to Hen Toolkit. it’s the roadmap that guides you through every part of the process and gives you everything you need.
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