Hens 'Spa-rty' anyone?

Now, Nan (my sister) likes to be pampered. She's often scuttling off to spas and facials, manicures etc etc. So my first thought for her hens party was a big girls day relaxing at a spa or getting beatified somewhere (Sparties as they're sometimes called). Let's see what's available in Auckland.

There are option when it comes to this, you can have it at home or you can go out.

Pampered on Location specialises in Group Pamper Parties. All you need is 3 or more girls, their therapists come over and you can get almost any beauty treatment - manicures, pedicures, waxing (face only), massage, tan, acrylic nails... whew...


Beauty on Demand is a team of fully qualified hair and make-up artists who also come to your home. They do almost everything Pampered on Location does, and can also do your hair and make-up. Hmmm... they also do make-up and personal styling classes, we could well do with some of those?


I can definitely see us being pampered & made-up, glass of wine in hand of course.

But, it may be more fun to do something away from home. There must be some great spa deals in or around Auckland for a hens do?

Back to the hunt, there are lots of spas out there, but not too many that specifically mention Hens parties (and I need to be sure they can accommodate a group of giggly girls).

The East Day Spa in Sky City does have a page that mention that it caters for hens night, but not too much information around what exactly you can include with this package or if it can be modified. They do offer free herbal tea, but I was looking for a place that could do wine.

Cotter House is ideal for the hen looking for a more boutique spa treatment and a night away too, as generally overnight accommodation is required as part of the booking. However, the nice ladies at Cotter House are most accommodating if you ring them. Lovely people and it looks gorgeous, but a bit too small for the group of 15 girls that Nan wanted to invite.

I was close to giving up, when I found...

Ruby Waxx. They have a funky-looking, private lounge room, and I can even bring my own nibbles... and wine! Beauty treatments include all the usual suspects, including their famous 'Brazilian waxes'.

That's definitely an option I'll consider (not the Brazilian, but Ruby Waxx)

Wine tour maybe?

We love our wine tasting, one of our favourite things to do is get out of the city and go to a vineyard somewhere, where we could sit in the sun (hopefully) surrounded by some amazingly beautiful vines and landscapes, 'sipping' lots of wine In fact Nan and Rich are even having their wedding at Mud Brick Cafe at Waiheke.

So a wine tour at her hens party may just be the thing to do. Of course, no one would want to drive and not do the wine tasting, so a wine tour is probably the way to go. There are actually quite a few options to choose from.

There's the Auckland Wine Trail - according to their website it's the 'one wine tour rated 'Highly Recommended' by the Lonely Planet 06/07. Their half day Auckland wine tours start from just $95 per person and it includes pick-up and visits to 2 vineyards and to Muriwai beach. However, this one does look a bit touristy, but I'm sure if we have the right numbers they can cater the tour for just vineyards.

Fine Wine Tours looks a lot nicer. A bit pricier though at $139 per person, but it does include lunch and visits to 3 vineyards.

NZ Wine Pro lets you co-ordinate wine tours with cheese and antipasto platters, I do love platters with my wine!

But the more I think about it, I suppose that if the wedding is going to be at a vineyard, it may be a bit of an over-kill to have the hens night at one too.

All you ever wanted to know about hen nights

Hen Party: An uncomplicated guide to entertaining other women. (Paperback) by Dani Kear (Author)

Hen Party is a non-fiction color picture book about parties for women only. It reviews a brief history of American women in the 20th century, including the history of Debutante Balls, Women's Suffrage, heroines of WWII, and more.

Hen Party connects the dots with the use of media images of women in advertising and television. The book gives valuable suggestions about why women should still gather today for social reasons, such as welcoming new neighbors to the neighborhood, and using your good china for reasons other than holiday dinners.

The author cleverly includes a 'How-To Host a Hen Party' guide. Everything from invitations, themes and menu ideas, to hostess and guest rules are covered. There are some final thoughts on how women, both career and stay-at-home, need the connection and company of other women. It is a fun, easy read loaded with great pictures of women gathered for quilting, horseback riding, singing together and lots more.

Get it at Amazon.com

Music for the hens night

Ultimate Hen Night Party Album

Track Listings
1. Ladies Night
2. Lady Marmalade
3. Groove Is In The Heart
4. Move On Up
5. I Feel Love
6. Respect
7. Is It Love You're After
8. Disco Inferno
9. If I Can't Have You
10. Young Hearts Run Free
11. Sing It Back
12. Forget Me Nots
13. Somebody Else's Guy
14. Holding Out For A Hero
15. So Macho
16. All That She Wants
17. Oh Ah, Just A Little Bit
18. Saturday Night
19. Love Shack
20. Dancing In The Moonlight
21. White Wedding
22. Oops I Did It Again
23. Chain Reaction
24. I Know Where Its At
25. Get Ur Freak On
26. Let's Hear It For The Boy
27. I Will Survive
28. We Are Family
29. Night To Remember
30. You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)
31. Boogie Wonderland
32. Band Of Gold
33. I Love To Love (But My Baby Loves To Dance)
34. Come Into My Life
35. I'm Every Woman
36. The Only Way Is Up
37. Never Gonna Give You Up
38. Touch Me (I Want Your Body)
39. You To Me Are Everything
40. Feels Like I'm In Love
41. Shy Boy
42. Things Can Only Get Better

Links:

Listen to some of the songs here

Buy it at Amazon here

How do Hens party?

Some ideas from http://www.weddings.co.nz/

Donna of Wanganui: My Bridesmaids are organising a cocktail party, with a selection of different cocktails to drink. The idea is that the guests pay a small amount towards the cost of the cocktails, and therefore the cost is covered without anyone spending too much. Going to a restaurant or bar would cost a lot more and this is more fun, and we get a variety of drinks to try.

Mel of Hamilton: A treasure hunt for the Hen is always fun. The guests help the Hen collect an assortment of things from a list that was arranged earlier. Items like a kiss from an elderly man, talking a barman into giving her a free drink, something old, new borrowed and blue and so on. It's great fun for all the guests and makes for a really memorable day.

Renei of Manawatu: Have an aromatherapy or a makeup party. So you can make sales and look good if the party wants to go out, and it breaks the ice for guests for to make conversations, etc.

Melany of New Plymouth: As I live in NP and many of my friends live in Auckland I've decided to have the Hens night half way in between, in Waitomo. We're all going to go caving in the Waitomo caves, then stay the night in the plane hangers and train cabooses you can hire there. After caving for the day, we'll all have some beauty therapy. Facials, manicures, massages etc whilst having champers, cheese & crackers and any other delectable we fancy. After that we'll all go out to the local pub and have a night out with the locals there. Small town pubs are great as they have heaps of atmosphere and the locals are usually really friendly, I'm sure we'll have met half the town by the end of the night! Also having a hens night away from your home town makes you feel a bit more free to let your hair down and make an idiot of yourself.

Karena of Masterton: For my sisters hen's afternoon her brides maid's put her in the back of a ute with high side's so it look like she was in a cage and she got dress up with a bright pink veil and a dress up big nose and glasses then they drove her around town. on the ute they had sign's to get people to toot their horns at her and arranged someone to follow to video it so she can remember it. It was such a laugh I can't remember the last time I laughed so much, I just hope that they don't do that to me when its my hens night.

Neala of Blenheim: Theme dinner & a movie nights. For those who like to eat & drink but don't want to spend their celebration of single life doing it in a bar, pick a theme and have drinks & food to match a classic movie. "Gone with the Wind" with Southern cookin', " Casablanca " with as many martinis as you can dream up and yummy finger food, heck, even "Cool Runnings" with rum & reggae. To add even more fun, dress the part so when you're sipping on your cocktail, you WILL feel like saying "Play it again, Sam"!

Karen of North Shore City: Start the day off with something exhilarating like - Canyoning... Then get pampered with hot showers, manicures and facials... Then some great conversion with your best friends with some yummy cocktails!

Karen of North Shore City: The hen and her close friends do a relaxing creative course - like a 3 hour sculpture course or flax weaving or ceramic painting complete with food platters and wine. Finish the day off with a good meal, great wine and good friends to laugh about the days creativity.

Gillian of Auckland: Hire a bus, by the time you split it up between everyone its quite reasonable plus you can drink on board and you know everyone will be taken home safely. The drag queen show on Queen Street is a good laugh and also provides a decent feed, its a great atmosphere for a stag or hen party then off to the pubs! Its a responsibly organised event and a great laugh, can entertain along the way with games, songs etc.

Janice of Napier: I think that if the bride is daring enough, that she should be dressed in disguise, wearing a mask as well to hide herself (sexy of course) and should attend the stag party as the sexy dancer for the groom. Without taking off her mask and without showing it all to all the stags there, doing an act that he will never forget. He will not only love it, but it will also add some spice to their lives. I know I would do it for my sweetheart. After all who better for their man to look at...

Inspiration from across the ditch

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