Hens Night: Where did it come from?

Hens night; the last night of freedom before a lifetime of married bliss. Whether it’s a lazy night in the girls, wild night out on the town, mini-break in Paris or a bungee jump, every bride to be simply has to have one. Lavish luxurious and horribly expensive, or homemade mud masks cheap, it has to be done. However, does it ever occur to us to ask why? Why do we have this odd tradition, and where has it originated from?

A hens night, or properly, a ‘Bachelorette Party’ is actuality a remodel of the centuries old ‘Bachelor Party’. So how did our stock standard hen night come to be? Well it was a child of the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, although it was still a scarce custom until the mid 1980’s. Whilst bridal showers were a far more common practice, they have slowly been swapped for hens parties, many believe this is largely concerned with gender equality. When compared to a typical bridal shower which consists the bride-to-be obtain a dowry and reinforces conventional gender roles, a hen night was seen as an expression of freedom. Now it’s just seen as another thing to organise on the wedding list!

Originally, parties in honor of the bride-to-be that were labeled a hen night often involved displays of societal freedom, such as male strippers, asking intimate questions, or getting inebriated. Parties that honored the bride-to-be but neglected to add those slightly more risqué attributes avoided the label ‘hen night’ like the plague. However, now it is common practice to use that name for a wide variety of events.

A more conventional event is a Bridesmaid Luncheon, in which the bride and often her mother hold a lunch for the bridesmaid. This often takes place several days, if not weeks before the wedding. More often than not, the bride will present each bridesmaid with a small gift as a token of appreciation. If the gift giving aspect of the event is important, then it should be properly referred to as a bridal shower.

From all the team here @ SexToys2theDoor we hope you plan the perfect hens night party, and have a fantastic time!