Hen or stag party
in Amsterdam
University friends, colleagues and in-laws all mixed together. The first half hour decides whether those circles mix or stay side by side all day. From €15 per person.
Half of them don't know the other half
At a hen or stag party the group almost never comes from one background. University friends, colleagues, neighbours and in-laws meet for the first time that day, and that's a different starting point from a group of friends who've been going out together for years. The first half hour decides how the rest of the day goes. If it goes wrong, the circles stay side by side all day and everyone only talks to the people they already knew.
That's why we set up the first activity as something where people need each other, without it turning into an icebreaker round, because an adult group switches off straight away at that. We put the teams together in advance, cutting across the circles. Once that first hurdle is out of the way, the programme can get more demanding. That's why we want to know in advance which groups the party is made up of and roughly how big each group is. We bring the equipment and the hosts, and if you don't have a space for the start, we'll arrange one.
What goes wrong in the first half hour
- The circles stay side by side and don't mix
- An icebreaker round feels forced and backfires
- Anyone who doesn't know anyone hangs back and doesn't join in for the rest of the day
How we set up the start
- Teams that we put together in advance, cutting across the circles
- A first task where you need each other
- Only then activities that take more nerve
Frequently asked questions
Half the group don't know each other. How do you handle that?
A group from different circles mixes fastest when the first activity forces people to work together without being an introduction round. We put the teams together in advance with the circles mixed, and we start with something where experience doesn't help, so everyone starts level.
Do you do an introduction round at the start?
We skip the introduction round. With an adult group it backfires, because it puts the spotlight on who's new. People learn each other's names naturally once they have to solve something together.
Can we put the teams together ourselves?
You can, but we advise against it if part of the group don't know each other. A group almost always picks people it knows, and then the circles stay intact. When we split the teams, we do take into account who belongs with whom, so nobody is the only one taken out of their group.
Does this also work for a group of thirty?
A group of thirty works well, as long as several teams run at the same time. Above twenty-five participants we bring a second host, otherwise there's waiting time, and that's exactly when people who don't know each other lose interest.
Does a second host cost extra?
A second host is built into the proposal as soon as the group goes above twenty-five; it isn't a cost added afterwards. We do list it separately, so you can see why a larger group costs more than just extra equipment.
Tell us about your hen or stag party
Just fill in the short form. As soon as we have a picture of the group and the occasion, we'll send a price estimate within 1 working day.
Planning a hen or stag party in Amsterdam?
Tell us what kind of group it is and when it needs to happen. We'll think along with no obligation.