Hen Party Planning, help! Options

[Misti]

I find myself in the position of having to organise a friend's hen party within the next 6 weeks. Except, I have yet to go to ANY hen party, and I'm having a bit of a panic about my decision-making process.

So, does anyone have any advice? What works and what doesn't? Any recommendations for entertaining games that won't mortify my friend? And how to spend the evening, when she is adament she doesn't want to end up in a nightclub?

I have the basics down, i.e. attendees, date, and location: Although still nothing booked. Now just worrying about the details. I guess I just want it to be special for my friend, and to not mess it up, but I really don't feel like the best equipt person for this kind of thing...

[Misti]

Thanks for the ideas. We're planning to head to Bath for the day with an overnight stay, as since we finished uni, all the main invitees do a lot of travelling, and live nowhere near each other anymore!

So I'm thinking of a trip to the spa, maybe tea at the Pump Room (or somewhere cheaper seeing how budgets go). Currently looking into self-catering accomodation, as I'm thinking we could head back "home" in the evening to have something of an evening party in. There is also a group based in Bath that do a hen party life drawing class with "attractive male model" which sounds hysterically funny to me...

The Taming of the Shrew is also on at the theatre, which strikes me as perfect, but I know not everyone has the same passion for Shakespeare that I do. Not sure the bride-to-be would forgive me either...!

So starting to have lots of ideas. Just need to decide what is reasonable in one day, what is most up my friend's street. I know what I'd enjoy, but its harder to account for other people's interests and budgets!