Planning a hens party is both equal parts exciting and stressful, especially if you’re doing it on your own! I am lucky enough to have been a guest and a planner for several hens parties over the years so I have plenty of experience with planning a ‘bride to be’s last hoorah. Planning a hens party in Auckland means you have endless choices of activities to make any bride feel special before her big day, from formal dining arrangements to include your grandmother, to a wild night with male entertainment and everything in between.

This Auckland hens party planner will take the stress out of your bridesmaid duties and allow you to enjoy the planning process while giving you some of the best hens party ideas in Auckland.

Your Auckland Hens Party Planner

A champagne bowl with a sticker of a cartoon 'slapped bum'

First things first for planning a hens party is to have the bride provide you with an invite list, and for her to give you an indication on a preferred date she would like her hens party to happen. Usually a hens party is planned for a month before the wedding, unless a lot of guests are coming from overseas or have to travel a far distance. If that’s the case then you have it the weekend before so some guests aren’t left out or have to make two trips to accommodate the hens party and wedding. After that the rest of the planning should be kept a secret from the bride, after all it should be a surprise!

Create a Facebook group, a team Whatsapp message or god forbid a Snapchat group. Whatever you do make sure everyone who is invited has all of the same details and gets them at the same time, this should be self explanatory…

Advise your date and ask for every guest to accept or decline the invitation as soon as possible, once you have a fair idea of numbers then you can start organising the budget.

How to Budget for a Hens Party

Budgeting is the first crucial step into organising a night to remember for the bridge to be, and working out how much each person needs to pay can be complicated. You need to gauge an idea of how much everyone can afford and give them ample time to pay, remember everyone has different financial pressures in their life and we all need to be mindful of this when planning any event.

Food and Beverage costs.

I’ve planned a couple of hens parties and stag events in the last few years and working out how much everyone will eat and drink is probably the most stressful part of the job. If you’re planning on supplying food and beverages yourself at the beginning of the day, such as making a charcuterie board and enjoying a few games at home then you’ll need to spend around $12-$15 per person, or more if you’re wanting to get premium food and wine!

I simply did a ‘mock shop’ online at my chosen supermarket and filled my cart with the amount of items I’d think I’d need for the amount of people attending, this way you can easily split the estimated cost between each person and add this to the total budget.

Entertainment Costs.

This is where you have to get your thinking caps on; what is going to be entertaining for everybody, take you through the whole day and not cost an arm and a leg? Get a bit creative with this and drag in some helping hands if you need it. Auckland has a lot of great choices for hens parties, you just need to know where to look.

Kick off the event at a friends house with drinks and nibbles, get in some mingling time for everyone to loosen up and get to know each other before the activities start. For ideas on entertainment, keep reading!

Hens Party Transport Costs

With the likes of Uber and other ride share companies transport isn’t as big of a pain to organise as it use to be. If you’ve got money in the budget and are travelling a fair distance then a party bus is always a classic option, otherwise advise your guests that their Uber costs to each destination will be for them to organise on the day.

Budget Friendly Hens Party Games

Simple games like ‘Design your own toilet paper dress’, ‘Playdough Penis’ or ‘Guess the Underwear’ always get in a few laughs and are great and cost effective games to break the ice at home. Google and Pinterest have plenty of free to print Hens Party card games.

Toilet paper dress
Playdough Penis
Bridal bingo
Never have I ever
Guess the Underwear
Pass the parcel

This is also the perfect time to fit in some well meant sentimental time with everyone the bride to be holds near and dear. Put together an ‘Advice and Memory’ station for each attendee to write their best piece of advice for the bride to be and a favorite memory together. This way even if the bride has a scattered memory of the night she will always have these amazing messages to look back on.

Hens Party Day Time Activities

A white cat sitting in front of a balloon which spells 'love' at a Hens Party in Auckland

High Tea

A High Tea is one of the classier options you can pick for a hens party, especially if you’re starting the day with a few members of the older generation. Inner Auckland city hotels like the Cordis, Park Hyatt and The Hilton each put on spectacular High Teas, however a quick Google search will reveal a few other locations like Moxie who host a High Tea in their Heritage Building in Birkenhead.

For a better idea on High Tea locations for a hens party in Auckland, The Urban List have a fantastic list of High Tea locations in Auckland.

Picnic in the Park

At first a picnic doesn’t exactly sound exciting or classy, but add a few cushions, some large blankets, low tables and a few bottles of bubbles and you have yourself a magical afternoon in the park.

Save yourself the stress and look into companies like The Picnic Social or Village Picnic on Instagram and you can save yourself a ton of time and energy by having someone else set up and prepare your hens special event for you, all you have to do is wrangle the team and get them to your chosen destination on time.

Parks like One Tree Hill, the Domain or any of Auckland’s beaches are great choices for a sunny afternoon in the sun. Most of these public places have a liquor ban either 24hrs or certain times of the day so run that risk yourself if you’re planning a boozy lunch.

Candle Making, Parnell

A candle making workshop is a wholesome and fun way to connect with friends or treat your mother to something special. Immerse yourself in the world of essential oils and create your very own home fragrance. With no experience needed and all equipment supplied, this is the perfect rainy-day or group activity in Auckland.

At Masala Bazaar you can expect to create you own candle with three different oils of your choice; build on a vision of a nostalgic summer beach holiday with a mix of Clean Linen, Pink Peony and White Lavendar Cotton. Or choose a vibe that emulates a cigar drenched whisky bar with a combination of Tobacco, Driftwood and Cinnamon Stick.

Whether you want to create a fresh vibe in your home or want to have a laugh with friends and create the most dreaded scent to swap as gifts; you’re in full control of this creative outlet.

Whether it’s just two of you or you want to book for a group of 8, Masala Bazaar can accommodate your group size at any of their 3 locations in Parnell. Book a private event for a Hens party at Chocolate boutique and indulge in a sugar laden dessert while you mix your oils, or gift this as perfect bonding experience for Mothers day.

Gin Tasting, Takapuna

Gin tasting in Auckland at Carbo Six Distillery

3 shots of alcohol being poured at gin tasting in Auckland at Carbon Six Distillery

Gin Tasting in Takapuna is a great hens party activity if you have a small group and want an intimate and private activity. Carbon Six distillery is a small gin distillery in Takapuna that does tastings where you can pick a bottle of your favourite flavour to take home afterwards.

Hens Party Evening Activities

Cocktail ClassES

Cocktail classes can be a bit pricey, but if it is in everyone budget then this is a great way to get everyone’s creative juices flowing, bars like Dr Rudis and Saint Alice has classes you can book for groups. Or if you want the luxury of cocktails but not the hassle of making them, The Cocktail Guy has a mobile cocktail bar he can bring to your party with your own bartender. This will undoubtedly add a touch of elegance and sophistication to your day.

Topless Waiter or Life Drawing

A topless waiter is the ‘classier’ choice to a stripper, and something you can host at home! Bare Butlers is a New Zealand run company who are well versed in hens parties, providing men for bare or naked waitering. They will serve you drinks at your home or chosen location (you provide the drinks) and play an assortment of games of your choosing.

Or for something a little different and creative you can have the attendees and bride to be battle it out to see who can paint the best naked man, with him sitting in your lounge! A strange naked man isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but I can’t have a Hens Party idea list and leave this off completely.

Men of Steel

Men of Steel is the classic option for the first Hens party in the girls group of friends. Grab your girls and book yourself a table at Men of Steel and prepare yourself for a night of cackling laughter, alcohol and a whole lot of gyrating. Men of Steel is a hilarious form of entertainment for women of all ages (above 18), and your grandma even might get in on some of the action!

Learn to Twerk, Pole or Burlesque Dance

Learning a new skill is always funnier with a group and after a few wines, have you ever wanted to learn how to twerk on the wall in front of your mother in law? Well now’s your chance! Onyx Fitness Studio on Hobson Street has one of the best pole classes for Hens Parties; a great option for a hen who is a little bit fit or a little bit competitive.

Karaoke

Break your voice box and party the night away in a private Karaoke booth in Auckland City, There are plenty of Karaoke bars dotted around the inner city, from individual booths in Chancery Square where you pay as you go per song, or to large rooms with food and beverage service.

ACE KTV Karaoke Bar close to Queen Street is a vibrant venue where you can belt out your favourite tunes in the company of your closest friends, being so close to the bottom of town you are within walking distance of the Viaduct to continue your night dancing away in many of Auckland’s nightclubs.

Holey Moley moved into a prime spot in the viaduct overlooking the harbour, surrounded by bars and nightclubs, the Viaduct is the perfect place to be if your prime goal for your hens party is the party the night away. Holey Moley is an adult only mini golf and karaoke bar, sink a few holes in one while you sink a few beverages.

Cabaret and Drag Queens

Caluzzi Cabaret is an all time favourite for hens parties, this magnificent show and dinner on K Road will get your blood pumping and dancing shoes going. Caluzzi offers a dinner and show like no other, the award winning Drag Queen waitresses will have you in stitches from laughter while serving you some great dishes and cocktails

All Day Activities

Waiheke Island Hens Party

There is a woman leaning on a wine barrel, wearing a matching orange crop top and loose fitting pants. She is standing between rows of vines that lead down to a restaurants between the vines at Tantalus Estate, Waiheke Island

Woman posing among vines at Waiheke Island winery Tantalus Estate — 7 Best Vineyards on Waiheke Island

There is no easier way to keep a group of women entertained than shipping them off to Waiheke Island for a day, book a bus from Oneroa Wharf to take you to any of the famous vineyards on Waiheke Island, fill your day will wine tastings, sight seeing and most importantly relaxing in the sunshine with only the best rose in your hand.

Planning a Hens Party in Auckland City