DIY, Event Planning Tips, Wedding Planning Tips
Fun Stag and Doe Game Ideas
Whether you know them as Jack and Jill nights, wedding socials, or something else, “stag and doe parties” are a great way to raise money for the bride- and groom-to-be. These parties help your clients raise funds to pay for their wedding or honeymoon.
Guests purchase tickets to attend a party full of family, friends, and fun games. But when there are so many different types of events leading up to the wedding, how can you sweeten the pot to invitees? Your clients need to choose unique and fun games and pair them with fantastic prices. It sounds pretty easy when you say it like that. But when it’s just a couple looking to fundraise some money and they haven’t taken any professional event and wedding planning courses, coming up with original and engaging games is a Herculean task! Thankfully, they have you!
Even if you don’t have the exact games in mind, you still understand the mechanics of it all. We’ve got you covered on the idea front, so use your planning magic and bring them to life! Read on for a list of our best stag and doe game ideas!
Choosing the prizes
While attendance is not mandatory for these types of events, the happy couple wants to make the party as appealing as possible. The more people who show up, the more participants they have, and the more money they’ll raise. To choose the best stag and doe games and prizes, think about the attendees your clients will invite.
- Are they young with lots of friends still in college? Their guests might love winning free drinks.
- Are they older or less fond of alcohol? Consider useful prizes like gift cards for gas and groceries.
Guests will also get excited about:
- Cash prizes
- Tickets to local events
- A camera or tablet as a “grand prize” for the most involved game
For each game, charge a few dollars to participate. Depending on the activity (and the cost or size of the prize!) prices usually range between $1-$5. Charge enough that your clients will profit, but not so much that guests feel ripped off or stop participating.
Check out these eight games that will help your clients fundraise while their guests have fun!
1. Silent auctions
Local businesses are often willing to donate gift cards, baskets, and small prizes to stag and doe parties for free advertising. Display the prizes on a table and sell ballots for each one. Guests enter their name in the pot for the one they like best. At the end of the night, draw a random name to choose a winner for each prize. The profits from the tickets go towards wedding costs.
2. 50/50 draw
At the door of the party, set up a bucket and a roll of raffle tickets. Give each guest the chance to enter a 50/50 draw. The winning ticket drawn wins half of the money put into the bucket when the raffle tickets were purchased. The other half of the money will go toward the bride and groom to aid with wedding costs.
3. Guessing games
You’ve probably played this game at school fairs or baby showers as well! Guests pay for the chance to guess how many jelly beans, gum balls, or other candies are in a large jar. Write down each person’s guess, making sure there are no doubles. Once that number has been guessed, it’s taken! At the end of the night, announce the person with the right guess (or the closest guess without going over). That person wins the candy. If you’re worried that candy isn’t enough, include a prize with the candy or give them half the amount of cash raised by the game.
4. Crazy Jokers
Buy a brand new deck of cards and tape all 52 of them face down on a poster board. Let guests buy cards, writing their names on the back of the ones they choose with a marker. When all the cards are taken or the night is winding down, flip them over. Each person with their name on a joker gets a prize!
5. Whipped cream pie auction
This game is messy but lots of fun! Save it until the end of the night so the guests of honor don’t spend the rest of the party covered in food. For $5 or so, each guest gets to put a tinfoil tray of whipped cream in the bride or grooms face. Let people buy as many pies as they want until you run out of whipped cream. Remember to encourage your guests to be careful. The bride and groom will be very upset if one of them ends up with a broken nose from aggressive pie-smashing!
6. Lock and key
Choose a good prize and put it in a box with a lock on it. Throw the box’s key into a pot with a bunch of mismatched keys from various sources. Let guests buy a key and try their luck on the lock. If the lock opens, they get to keep the prize. If you can’t find enough keys, choose a combination lock instead. Write down a list of possible combinations on a poster board, including the correct one. Let guests buy a combination and try it on the lock.
7. To sing or not to sing
Place two buckets in an area where people will pass by often. Label one bucket “sing” and the other, “don’t sing.” Instruct guests to drop money into whichever one they’d like the bride and groom to do. At the end of the night, count the change in each bucket. If there’s more money in “sing,” the bride and groom must perform a karaoke number for their guests. If there’s more money in “don’t sing,” they’re safe. Chances are their guests will choose the more entertaining option! If your clients would rather do something else, choose another embarrassing but funny task instead of singing.
Karaoke is a fantastic activity for the after party, too!
8. Go to Jail
Designate a corner of the room as the “jail” and two guests as “sheriffs.” Get as creative with decorations and costumes as you want! There are three ways to raise money in this game:
- Guests can pay the sheriffs to put someone in jail for as many minutes as dollars they’re willing to give. For $2, for example, they can send their dad to jail for two minutes.
- Guests can bail others or themselves out of jail by paying double the amount they were put “behind bars” for.
- Guests can purchase “get out of jail” cards throughout the night. If a sheriff comes to put them in jail, they can hand over their card and keep their freedom. Cards are single use!
Make it fun!
Your guests will know that the stag and doe party is to help your clients pay wedding costs. This doesn’t mean you should try to get money from them at any price! If your guests feel too hassled, they’ll stop participating in games and your clients will stop making money. Make sure the emphasis is on fun! Family and friends will be more understanding and give more generously if you give them great prizes and fun ways to donate.
Are there any other great stag and doe games you’ve tried and would recommend? Tell us about them in the comments!
Hello!
We are planning a stag and doe and they are cracking down on games of chance (i.e. raffles, 50/50, penny sale (you called it a silent auction).
Do you have any more ideas for ways to give prizes that do not include chance?
Thanks!
There’s a lot of other fun party games that you can incorporate into a stag and doe, like traditional carnival games (ring toss or bean bag toss for example), or if you want more silly games, you might want to try out some “Minute to Win It” game ideas 🙂
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