bachelorette parties
 

I think "spa" type get-togethers are becoming more popular.

we did the spa thing when i got married. we went to palm springs and sat in hot mineral tubs, got massages, manicures, pedicures, etc. it was great girl time and we all enjoyed it!

My Matron of Honor is planning my Bachelorette party. Right now the plan is to check out the "male revue" at a country bar. I haven't been in forever, and used to live there! I can't wait.

OK one of my coworkers was just telling me about a "spa" one and she said it wasn't really fun as far as a bonding experience because they didn't spend time together - they all got massages in different rooms, etc.

I like the "eat your way through a really full of restaurants highway corridor" idea that I just thought of this minute.

For mine, we're doing a nice lunch and a spa day. We're doing it about 6 weeks before the wedding, the same weekend as the shower so that travel is a minimum for one of my bridesmaids and one of Rich's groomsmen.

My matron of honor will be 2 or 3 weeks away from giving birth at the time of my bachelorette party in September. I can just picture her out at a club pushing her way through the crowd with her big belly! Clubbing really isn't my thing anymore, and anytime we go to a club I feel ancient (at the age of 27!). I'm not a huge drinker, and I'm not attention whore enough to wear the veil and array of penises usually associated with bachelorette parties

The boys are doing golf and wings/food at a sportsbar to watch college football.

But, is that "really fun"? Sounds relaxing, but not a good way to sow your wild oats for the last time before you get married.

I'd say get a room or two in a luxury hotel, and hire some male strippers. If she's uncomfortable having another man besides her fiance swinging his wang in her face right before she gets married...how about a sex toy party? All the ones I've been to, didn't only feature "solo" objects...it featured a lot of couple-friendly objects too. All sorts of lubes, BDSM stuff, massage oil/lotions, some lingerie, erotic electrostimulators, and toys for both (think of cock rings with attached vibrators).

We went to Breakfast with the Divas. It was a drag queen show and brunch on a Saturday morning in a restaurant down town. It was absolutely great and everyone had a blast.

My party was on the same day as my brother's birthday. My family said we were going to the restaurant to watch a jazz band. It was totally believable. They have jazz bands there and it is something my brother would like. My Dad and husband dropped my Mom and I off at the door saying they were going to park the car-or so I thought. I get to the door and this "wo"man says, are you the b**ch for the day? I said no, I'm hear to celebrate my brother's birthday. Then she said, oh no, you are the b**ch of the day and stands aside to show me my party! It was fabulous and creative.

Depends, of course, on your definition of "fun". Yes, I went to a spa with my big sis at our chapter reunion, and it was great for bonding. I actually got to talk with her as we lounged about in robes, gettling prettified.

I don't see watching male strippers as "fun", but to each his/her own. What you have described sounds absolutely hellish to me - having a bunch of probably gay men cavorting about half-naked or passing around sex toys like tupperware? Naw.

eta - and yes, I'm officially an old fogie!

Old fogie here. I'd probably get the "vapors" and need "smelling salts" if I went to a sex toy party.

This wins.

LOL, it has nothing to do with being an old fogey! Very few of my close friends have gotten engaged at this point, and I DREAD the inevitable strippers and sex toys. Sex toys have failed to shock me for at least 8 years now, and male strippers are grossssss!

Add me to the twenty-somethings who'd rather have a spa day than a stripper! :D

A little rock and roll then, lol? That's all you have left when you take the sex and drugs (alcohol) out of the equation, for this night of vice.

Joking aside, how about a girls only float trip?

My fabulous (bio) little sister/Maid of Honor rented a limo and took my girlfriends and I to a drag queen cabaret and dinner at Lucky Cheng's in Manhattan. I love this place! They are raunchy and hysterically funny - complete with lap dances, dirty balloon animals, and custom cakes. Afterwards she booked a VIP table at a club nearby and we danced and drank the rest of the night.

It was the perfect combination. Something I can always look back and laugh at. Everything was a complete surprise to me - I only specified "no naked men." Once you've been to an all-male revue, you've seen one, you've seen them all :) I didn't need to see anymore!

What about a weekend away on a lake ? or a wine tasting party ? a cooking class ?

I told my Bridesmaids that I'd LOVVE an old fashioned 90's sleep over including DVDs of Full house and other TGIF classics, (of course, perhaps a shot every time Uncle Jesse says "have meerrcceey" or Joey says "Cut.it.out.?"

The first time around, my friends and I went to a club and had a slumber party at my apartment. To me, it was obvious that our "sleepovers" from high school were the thing we'd all be missing as we "grew up" and moved into our adult lives. We had a great time with junk food, board games and just talking.

Second time, well, most of my second husband's friends were already married so the "wives" were all going to a club to go dancing while they had a bachelor party at the best man's house followed by some bars. The guys were supposed to be gone from the house by 9 pm so the best man's wife could take her kids home and put them to bed. She had a babysitter coming to the house so she could then join us at a bar. Well, the guys and the stripper were all still there when she got there with her 2 yr. and 4 yr. old daughters and her husband just happened to be down to his boxers and dancing with the stripper when she walked in. Can we say "Bad Scene?" The rest of the night was pretty much ruined for us because Jody was so upset, swearing she was divorcing him, etc. She did look at me and say "You're marrying the right guy, he was the only one who had all his clothes on." Yeah, my ex is pretty conservative and would've been happy with just a golf outing.. wasn't into the whole stripper thing but his married buddies all wanted it. So, the whole night was pretty messed up and chaotic. Those two are still married, but it did take a while for things to be right between them again. Ugh!

I got married within an hour's drive of my former university (where 4 of my 6 bridesmaids also went/currently go), so we got a hotel room there and did a bar crawl of all the bars we loved in college. It was like a mini college reunion and lots of fun. No real crazy drunkenness - my mom came to my bachelorette!

I've been to lots of these lately. many have been a girls weekend in Vegas where we rented a suite, got all dressed up, and spent the weekend dancing our butts off. Always a good time. Another was in Austin, TX. Semi fun but very much a college town and we were a little old. We did do a spa day there which I have to agree wasn't that great because we didn't spend time together. My favorite so far was the long weekend in Cabo San Lucas. We did this about 4 months before the wedding so budgets weren't too tight.

I would absolutely LOVE THAT!!! I'm a huge 90s fan so that would be my dream party. A pick-your-favorite-decade party would be a great idea. One of my friends had a Sex in the City-themed party, complete with Cosmos for everybody.

One of my classmates did a pretty afternoon tea party. Everyone was dressed up in frilly things--it was like being five all over again. Then, once night fell, everyone changed and had some Vegas-style fun complete with dirty party favors and a penis-shaped cake. I admit, both portions looked like two tons of fun. :o

You could also try here: http://www.bachelorettepartyfun.com. I've been paging through it for ideas for my friend's party and it seems like a couple good things in there.

I'm the Matron of Honor for one of my sorority sisters (my twin) who was also one of my bridesmaids. Her party is just around the corner. She's never ridden in a limo before, so we rented a limo for the evening. It will be picking us up at the hotel we've reserved for the night to take us to dinner, then we're going to a strip joint (that's what she wanted) and then to one of the clubs to go dancing, and then back to the hotel to crash. Like someone else said, I'm not really into the dance scene anymore, but she's a few years younger than me and she enjoys it, so it's one of those things you just kkinda suck it up and go with the flow. She did alot for me for my wedding, so I want this to be special for her.

I didn't have a bachelorette party...which was totally my decision - plus most of my friends are married with kids. I've been to my fair share though. I would say the best two were a night at on of the Indian casinos that had a dance club. The favors were a mix CD with awesome/fun dance songs. We gambled a bit, went to the pool and had some drinks, went out for a nice dinner, danced a lot, gambled some more. For my cousin's for whom I was the MOH we went out to dinner and then went dancing. Neither were really drunk fests, which was fine.

My husband's bachelor party was pretty tame compared to a lot that I have heard about...they went to a dinner, a hockey game, and then a nudie bar. He called me from the nudie bar and said, "This is actually pretty boring." They went because the married guy(friend from husband's work) wanted to go. The rest of the guys just wanted to watch the game and get drunk. He sort of had a second bachelor party as well where he just went out and got obnoxiously hammered with some bros.

AGDee - this is why you never have the bachelor party at your home...hotel rooms are key. :)

This thread is making me laugh!

One of the best bachelorette parties I went to was where we went to a karaoke bar. It wasn't quite as wild as a dance club - actually, it was pretty chill - but we were able to drink and have a good time, which is what the bride wanted.

A slightly more wild version of that - which I have participated in - is to have an 80s theme bach. party, where everyone dresses up in crazy 80s dresses. At that one we went to a dueling piano bar and then out to karaoke, where we belted out Madonna songs all night. It was great.