A Hen-Do (Bachelorette) from the Heart

I was very excited to be take my friend Louise on a personal hen-do a couple of weekends ago. You first heard me talk about my idea of how to throw a super hen party or bachelorette (as my US lovelies would say) here just as I started to put together her special day.Now that she has had the big surprise, I can share it all with you! Hooray!

We started off by meeting at the train station, ready to go to London.I am sure that most people would bust out the champagne and start a day of heavy drinking....but that's not really our style. So instead I devised a little game to play on the way there....a 'challenge' without a willy in sight (THANK goodness)

My game is called 'Pimp Your Pants' and it goes something a little like this:
1. Take a pair of cheap, plain pants.
2. Use random craft materials to 'pimp' them into something quite special. Pack felt, beads, gems, sparkles, feathers, glue, scissors and some thread.
3. Wear them....preferably on your wedding day (although this is probably not enforceable)

Doesn't this look fun? Craft on trains should really become a thing. Anyone want to develop a Craft Train business with me? Trains aren't that expensive to buy, right?
 
What you cannot see from these photographs is the poor young man who was forced to KEEP HIS EYES ON HIS PHONE who was sat opposite us the entire way. I'm sure, being English, that acknowledging our shenanigans might have caused him to die of embarrassment...cough!

Louise loved the game, but wasn't surprised that craft appeared in her day. She believed that brightly coloured pants were going to set the tone....how wrong she was...

Our next stop was Oxford Street, with a quick look around the shoe department of Top Shop, while we killed some time before the next surprise. If you ever visit London and fancy a schmancy meal in one of the many Michelin Star restaurants that live there, then you cannot do much better than the lunch menus. If I could have captured Lou's goldfish expression on entering Jason Atherton's Pollen Street Social, then I would have done.

A three course meal from the lunch menu, set us back 29 pounds and 50 pence each with some extra spent on service and vino. I might have paid that amount just for the dessert. Look how happy she is!

After a calming meal, it was time to head outside to the massive street party that is Gay Pride. This was a fortuitous extra to the day - a bit of innocent fun, plenty of costumes, music and a great atmosphere. We followed the parade to Trafalgar Square. It was pretty hot though, so we escaped into the National Portrait Gallery to look at the Tudor portraits. Lou loves this period of history, so it was really nice and more importantly, air-conditioned!

We wandered to Leicester Square and plonked ourselves in a bar for an early evening cocktail. Being hardcore party people, this made us a bit sleepy, so we went and found some tea in Starbucks.  Luckily it wasn't too long to wait until the final surprise of the day: we were going to see Les Miserable on the West End.

Now, this was my first time at Les Mis, but for Louise it was her 5th time. It is something we always meant to share together and never quite got around too. Also....brilliant and definitely worth booking in advance if you are going to be attending. We had the nose-bleed seats, but had a pretty good view of the stage. You just have to sit forward a bit and you can see 95%* of the stage!

 

 * Totally estimated percentage!
A sleepy train ride home and a long wonderful day - what more can you need for a hen who means the absolute world to you...

What's the best hen/bachelorette you guys have been too? I know what I want for mine and the bridesmaids have been briefed. I'm excited to see what they come up with...