The traditional Hen night used to be a visit to a club with hunky Full Monty type strippers, or a pub crawl in fancy dress in which the Hen party blatantly ignored any of the men in the pubs and clubs. The evening ended with a male stripogram dressed as a police officer ‘arresting’ the bride (in more ways than one) or with the girls jumping up onto the tables and singing along to Abba’s ‘Dancing Queen’, proof a group of women together are wilder than men! But nowadays a whole industry is devoted to giving a bride-to-be a spectacular send-off to married life. Hen nights have become Hen weekends with visits to exotic locations abroad, and a wide variety of activities on offer. A glance on the internet or in a brochure gives people numerous ideas for a fun break. So what sort of activities do Hen parties choose these days? Well, off road racing, white water rafting, paint ball wars, karting, quad bike riding, pole dancing lessons, and clay pigeon shooting. Another popular choice for women who want a break from their hectic lifestyles is a visit to a health and beauty spa where they can indulge in two days of being pampered with massages and facials, or a theatre break in London with a stay at a top hotel. Now more than ever Hen parties are taking the adventurous route of travelling abroad. Unlike their Stag counterparts, who seem to choose cities based purely on night life, many Hen parties like to go to the capitals of Europe such as Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid because of the outstanding shopping and high quality hotels. The advent of low cost airlines has boosted the party industry, and a quick search of the internet will bring up lots of companies who will arrange foreign weekend breaks for Hen parties.