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Hen Weekend crafting walking and boring

(42 Posts)
GlamM Fri 09-Feb-18 10:18:12

I recently was invited to a hen weekend for a friend who is getting married this year. I agreed in principle then it became apparent that it was going to cost me personally upward of £300. I should point out that I will be attending the wedding which is also abroad and in peak season.

I was going to go, and then I found out that not only would I be paying £120 to travel there, we were all going to be doing crafting walking and macrame.....oh and sharing a room/ bathroom with 3 people I don't know .

I have decided not to go, I may be a Nana but I am not even 50 yet..neither is the Hen :-)

Does anyone else have a Hen Horror story.

annsixty Fri 09-Feb-18 10:22:25

I have never been to hen party but if I was ever invited that sounds like my idea of a nightmare.
You have made a very wise decision.

mollie Fri 09-Feb-18 10:26:26

Hen dos of any flavour fill me with horror. Never had one (two weddings) and never accepted an invite. Can’t blame you for opting out.

MissAdventure Fri 09-Feb-18 10:38:31

Sounds like a laugh a minute!

Bathsheba Fri 09-Feb-18 10:50:48

I would thoroughly enjoy a weekend of crafting and walking, but definitely not as part of a hen weekend - and sharing a room with three strangers would be an absolute no no shock.
But going with one or two like minded friends, and having my own room, now that would be an entirely different matter.
I don't blame you in the least for ducking out of this one GlamM

lemongrove Fri 09-Feb-18 10:51:30

Never been to one, but it sounds both boring and expensive!
Also, sharing a room with strangers? Nooooooo.?

TwiceAsNice Fri 09-Feb-18 10:54:03

Sharing a room is my idea of nightmare ( except for best friend who I have holidayed with) never mind the cost. What's with all this getting married abroad?! My hen many years ago was a meal in a local pub. We walked there and it cost next to nothing

BBbevan Fri 09-Feb-18 10:54:36

They didn't have hen parties, weekends etc in my day. Thank goodness.

merlotgran Fri 09-Feb-18 11:26:02

Stag and hen parties are just another example of the kind of self indulgence we would never have dreamed of.

The 'last night of freedom' has evolved into a themed extravaganza with money no object. Well, that's OK if you can afford it but pity the poor guest who feels duty bound to go even though she can't really justify the expense.

The happy couple have probably been living together for years. They already have the house, the furniture, the cars and often as not a couple of kids.

hmm

carol58 Fri 09-Feb-18 12:27:06

Ooo no on no! Why would she think you'd want to spend a fortune to do things you're not interested in & sleep with a roomful of strangers?! Did d it once to please a friend, never again!

BlueBelle Fri 09-Feb-18 12:39:03

I ve never been to a hen party or weekend and I feel a bit thankful personally I wouldn’t enjoy a forced over priced weekend at all so no I wouldn’t be attending
Now a walking craft weekend with a couple of friends might be different

goldengirl Fri 09-Feb-18 13:08:57

I went along to my now DiL's Hen Party which consisted of 3 parts. I attended the morning and afternoon bits - the afternoon being afternoon tea which was right up my street - but not the evening knees up which wasn't my scene at all and it was happily accepted.
No I wouldn't be attending GlamM I'm not up to walking and the other activities don't appeal and as for sharing a room for a whole weekend and paying for the privilege............shock

Luckygirl Fri 09-Feb-18 13:26:26

I too am an old curmudgeon when it comes to hen and stag parties - it is all out of control now and OTT.

dogsmother Fri 09-Feb-18 13:32:31

Just do it!!

You only live once, if you are all friends of the same person you will probably have more in common than you think.
Life is for living and it’s always better to have something to look back on than not !

Please don’t ever waste time thinking if only.....even for this ?

Parklife1 Fri 09-Feb-18 13:39:39

I went to my daughter’s, but it was a spa day and I left them to have a meal in the evening, having given the bridesmaids a major contribution to the day.

I was invited to my dil’s hen weekend, but declined gracefully, as I had no desire to spend the hight sharing a room in a hotel with a young lady I don’t know.

Teetime Fri 09-Feb-18 13:48:23

OH heavens sounds like my idea of hell - I wouldn't go.

Mapleleaf Fri 09-Feb-18 14:04:30

Goodness me, that's expensive! I don't blame you for not going, a, because it is a lot of money and b, it consists of things you really dislike. A wise decision, I think.

Maggiemaybe Fri 09-Feb-18 14:32:53

My philosophy is similar to dogsmother’s. If I’m invited to a party, I go. Life’s too short to sit at home. The crafting doesn’t appeal to me either, but with a few glasses of fizz and some good company, it could turn out to be a weekend you’ll regret missing out on. But then, sharing a room wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

Christinefrance Fri 09-Feb-18 17:28:32

Teetime echoed my sentiments exactly. I think these brides nowadays are quite selfish expecting guests to spend large amounts of money for the privilege of attending their nuptials.

janeainsworth Fri 09-Feb-18 17:54:15

I went to DD’s.
It consisted of cakes, tea and prosecco in her very small back garden with 5 of her friends and I felt very flattered to be invited.
I am like you maggie and would never decline an invitation!

Menopaws Fri 09-Feb-18 17:57:21

Not in a million years

Alexa Fri 09-Feb-18 17:58:05

Why does anybody want to do that? True, I am among the top category of introverts but perhaps I can understand hen partying like I can understand dogs smelling each others bottoms

TerriBull Fri 09-Feb-18 18:03:57

What everyone else has said. It's a presumption to expect people to splash out on an event of this type that's quite niche and not for everyone. Why can't people just have the wedding and have done with it, God knows that can be more than enough in some cases, without stretching the damn thing into a series of associated celebrations. As for sharing a bedroom or bathroom, no thanks!

icanhandthemback Fri 09-Feb-18 21:19:10

My DIL invited me on her hen party which was many miles away in a faded, jaded seaside town. I was going to be the driver for the weekend taking her friends and her. All of our family cried off for one reason or another and then so did her friends. I didn't feel able to drop out even though I couldn't think of anything worse especially as her mother absolutely hated me. It was awful. We stayed in a hostel type place which was just the pits. It was smelly, shabby and the food they served was all out of date.
Her mother was an entirely selfish woman who wouldn't let my DIL do anything she wanted to without making the most awful fuss. We arrived on Friday night and by Saturday lunchtime, my DIL was in tears wanting to go home and wishing I was her mother. It was horrendous and I made up my mind I would never go back to that place and I would avoid anything to do with her mother again. As we lived 400 miles apart it was very easy!

vampirequeen Sat 10-Feb-18 09:06:15

Sounds like expensive hell to me. It seems to me that if you're already paying to go to the wedding then you could reasonably excuse yourself from an expensive hen do.