Festival Themed Hen Do Ideas
.jpg "Fabulous Festival Hen Party Ideas")
The BIG Pre-Wedding Weekender
The summertime is always the most popular time of year to plan a hen party… and it also makes for a great excuse to host your henfest! If your friendship group are lovers of all the classic British festivals and dream of partying it up at Coachella, making your unique festival is the perfect idea. What’s best is that you can create this dream event anywhere: in your back garden or even a cottage you have rented for the weekend. You’ll only need your imagination and lots of creativity to bring your iconic event to life!
What is included in this article:
Festival Hen Party Activities
So you’ve decided where to host your festival hen party, but now you need to think about how you will keep everyone entertained throughout the day! First things first, you should think about organising some hen party activities. This can be anything from classic games like a Mr & Mrs Quiz to arty and creative hen activities and anything in between, even if it’s slightly unusual! If you’re a bit stuck for ideas, don’t worry - look at these brilliant activities that would be perfect for a henfest!
Flower Crown Making
Pros - Helps to develop the festival mood, plus you get to keep your creation.
Cons - If you're not creative, who knows what it will look like?
It should go without saying, but you can’t have a festival hen party without sporting stunning flower crowns! Probably the most iconic festival accessories, you can easily buy one of these essential items online, or you could make one yourself with a flower crown-making hen party! It allows you to unleash your creativity and will get everyone excited for the rest of the day’s celebrations!
DIY Photobooth
Pros - Super-cute way to create memories on a budget
Cons - Hopefully, when the drinks are flowing, you still have a steady hand!
As the bride-to-be will no doubt be off having tons of henfest fun, setting up a DIY photo booth is a wonderful idea for capturing the memories of your festival hen party. All you’ll need for this creative idea is a cosy area set-up, some fun props and a Polaroid or disposable camera. If you’re looking for a great place to start, look at some of our favourite floral party props from Party Pieces and these fantastic Instagram photo props on Etsy!
Twister
Pros - Gets everyone in the garden, good for a cheap laugh
Cons - Some older family members might not be as supple as they once were
Whether you’re hosting your henfest outdoors or inside, including fun and hilarious games into your day won’t go amiss - especially classics like Twister! An iconic game that most of us remember playing when we were kids, this one will surely have you all in fits of laughter in no time! Even if you’re hosting a festival hen party for a group of mixed ages, it’s one of those ideas that is cheap and easy to set up. Argos is a great place to start if you want to pick one.
Bunting Making
Pros - All the girls will contribute to the festival-themed party.
Cons - Depending on how much you need, it can be time consuming. It might be worth just buying some.
A classic staple to any festival is some bunting. And this is a great way to get creative with the girls. Hobbycraft has put together a great step-by-step guide to DIY your bunting. Or you can get a crafty expert to help you along the way and add our bunting making hen party to the henfest.
Silent Disco
Pros - Party into the night without causing too many neighbour complaints.
Cons - The headset might clash with your outfit.
When have you been to a festival without a silent disco? If you want your event to be the ultimate festival experience, adding a silent disco as an activity would be a great idea. The Silent Disco Company are a great place to hire your silent disco headphones to use throughout the day and night!
Quintessential Garden Games
Pros - Good budget activity that creates an outdoor feel
Cons - You'll need plenty of good lawn space.
A selection of different garden games might be a great addition to add to your henfest. Games like Big Jenga, skittles, Giant Snakes, ladders, and Connect Four, you get the idea. If you are looking for ways to keep your guests busy things like this would be perfect. And if you have enough space why not play a game of Rounder’s barefooted?
Furniture, Decorations & Accessories
Chill-Out Nooks
RECLINE AND RELAX
Everyone can enjoy a place to sit and chill out at ordinary festivals. So you must create a chill in our nooks around the Henfest area. These could be in teepees, tents, or underneath a tree. All you need is some sticks, blankets, plenty of pillows, cushions and maybe a few fairy lights so it doesn’t get too dark in that area.
Lighting
MAKE IT MAGICAL
Lighting is something that will completely transform your henfest. You probably won’t see their effect in the day, but as soon as the evening comes around your garden or wherever your hosting will be transformed. Think of jam jar lights, fairy lights, etc.
Open Fires & Chimineas
KEEPS THE PARTY GOING INTO THE NIGHT
If you plan on keeping the festival going into the evening, adding an open fire with a fire pit or some Chimineas would be a good idea. This will keep everyone warm as the weather gets cooler and it will be a great focal point for when the evening draws in. You could also have some marshmallows with skewers to roast and some blankets.
Teepees & Bell Tents
RAIN RAIN, GO AWAY
When planning your event, it will all be weather dependent if you are having it outside. But it is always a good idea to have some teepees or bell tents for the whole experience. Not only do it make your celebration the ultimate experience, but they’re also great for using as your chill-out areas where people can sit and relax.
Bunting & Flags
STARTING TO LOOK LIKE HENFEST
If you are just looking for some decoration ideas, we would highly recommend some bunting and flags to put around your festival. This is a great way for people to identify where the event is and a great way to make a statement. Check out these amazing banners, tassels and bunting sets!
Outdoor Projector
CLASSIC MOVIE IN THE BACKGROUND
If possible having an outside projector would be a great idea for your henfest. All you need is a blank wall or even a white cloth draped between two trees, and you good to go. It would be perfect for playing the bride-to-be’s favourite movies throughout the day and night. Or use it to put on a slideshow of photos of the bride-to-be and all the guests.
Balloons
NOT JUST FOR KIDS
Another great way to make an impact with your decoration is with balloons. Whether you want them to decorate your festival by hanging them from the trees or dotting them around the area, and you can choose from so many different balloons to decorate. Here are some amazing balloons.
Seating Ideas
RUSTIC AND WHIMSICAL ATMOSPHERE
There can never be too much seating at a festival, and there are many amazing ways to make your seating unique for the henfest. You could get some hay bales and throw some blankets over them, find some stripy deck chairs, giant bean bags or even some outside cushions. There are so many ways you can get creative with your seating ideas.
What to Wear to a Festival
The most important part of the henfest and what you and the girls will be discussing for months before is what you will all be wearing. Festival outfits are probably some of the most iconic ways to dress, hen fancy dress and of course for the last night of freedom. Here are some ideas and inspiration on things you could wear for the occasion.
Tie-Dye
Tie-dye clothing is the perfect way to dress for a festival, it's colourful, it's bold, and you will fit right in with this popular pattern. You could easily make your tie-dye clothing too if you are looking for a little bit of DIY. All you need is white clothing and your dyes, and you’re good to go. Here are simple step-by-step instructions on how to tie-dye your clothes from Instructables.
Bandana & Flower Crowns
Regarding accessories, you can do something as simple as putting a flower crown or a bandana on your head. It’s an effective way of getting into the spirit if you don’t want to go all out festival with your outfit. You can buy these online or get creative and make your own as mentioned above.
Dresses
This will probably be one of the first things you decide when invited to a festival. Dressing up for a celebration can be an extremely fun thing to do. Usually, outfits are flowy, full of patterns and have a boho style. So look around for some maxi dresses and swing dresses. But don’t worry if dresses aren’t your thing you could opt for shorts or a midi skirt.
Glitter
Another thing that can transform your outfit into something amazing is glitter. Although it’s an extremely simple addition it looks so effective for your henfest. You can use glitter and put it through your hair if you have braids or on your face. If you are conscious of the effect glitter has on the environment, you can buy biodegradable glitter from Eco Glitter Fun!
Why not take some amazing photos with the help of our guide to Instagram-worthy hen party photos?
Crazy Sunglasses
If you are looking for a statement piece that will completely transform your outfit this could be what you have been wanting. Usually, at festivals, you see plenty of people with the classic round sunglasses, but you don’t have to stick to the usual trends. Instead, look online and see which sunglasses best suit the style that you’re looking for.
What Food for a Festival Themed Party at Home?
Buffet Station
With everyone enjoying the henfest, you don’t want them to go hungry. This is why a buffet station is a popular food option at a themed garden party. It’s an easy and hassle-free way to enjoy a selection of food. You could cook something in the slow cooker like a chilli or a curry along with smaller nibbles.
Pizza Oven
Sometimes, you just can’t go wrong with some pizzas. They’re extremely easy finger foods that everyone will enjoy.
To get authentic, you could hire a pizza oven from The Pizza Oven Shop. Alternatively, you could always contact the professionals to make them for you to enjoy yourselves and hire the Mobile Bistros. This fantastic company covers the entire North West area!
Fruit & Snacks
Since you are hosting a henfest, you will probably plan it for the summer months. If that is the case, having some fruit and other healthy nibbles would be a great shout. Sometimes fruit is the nicest thing to eat whilst the sun is shining. You could prepare fruit bowls for your guests so they can just pick up a bowl of mixed fruit that is already done.
BBQ
A great food idea would be planning a BBQ. There are so many delicious foods that you can cook on the BBQ and cater to a range of different diets and needs this way. We have found an amazing recipe for cooking and shredded pulled pork in The Kitchen. But of course, think about Vegan too with the best Vegan BBQ recipes from Vegan Society.
Sweets
Everyone has a sweet tooth, and everyone will be looking for a table of sweet treats during your henfest. You could get a cotton candy machine or a popcorn machine ready for people to serve themselves. Or have some marshmallows with some skewers so people can roast them on the fire.
Street Food
Street food is quite popular now, and there are some amazing varieties of food available that you can make or buy for your guests. Street food is always great if you want something delicious, a little bit different yet still pretty easy to make. BBC Good Food has some amazing ideas for street food options.
In Need of Festival Drink ideas?
You want to put the theme in everything you do, and that means with the drinks. You must get the drinks part of the experience sorted before anything else because you don’t want to spend your whole day running around after everyone to ensure they’ve all got drinks.
Create a Drink Station
Creating a drinks station will be your best friend during the henfest. This will help reduce waste. With a drinks station, put it separate from all the food so it doesn’t get too crowded. You could buy clear glass dispensers like these from John Lewis and fill them with different pre-made cocktails. And keep your beers in a wheelbarrow with ice and water to keep cool.
Ice Luges
If you want to make sure the event is one to remember, adding an ice luge might be just what you need. It will make a statement and with so many different shapes and sizes to choose from you will find one that is perfect for your celebration. Vodka Luge is a website that sells a variety of different luges for all occasions.
Hire a Cocktail Bartender
If you want to have a larger variety of drinks for your festival it might be a good idea to hire a cocktail bartender hen party. It will transform your event as you have a trained cocktail bartender on hand to shake up some amazing drinks for you all. It’s another great way that you can enjoy the whole exprience too.
Disposables
You don’t want to be left with loads of things to clean up once everyone leaves henfest right? So why not have some eco-friendly disposables. This way everyone can enjoy using all the cups and plates etc without worrying about the environment or cleaning up. We have found some great cups from Vegware and plates from Dukes Valley.
We offer 40+ hen party entertainment ideas across the UK for hen parties looking to have their party at home, in cottages, lodges, glamping sites, apartments or Airbnb.
Mobile Hen Do Activities
