Oxfam’s Second Hand September campaign is one of the key moments in the year when you’re invited to think a bit harder about how you can avoid buying new things and shop second-hand instead.

At Hens with Heart we invite brides and hens to go to a little extra effort to think about how they can get into a second-hand mindset and find ways to avoid buying brand new things for their hen do.

There’s loads of different ways your hen can play a part in Second Hand September:

Browse charity shops for hen party accessories & decorations.
Challenge your guests to buy their outfits second-hand.
Re-use hen party & bride props that friends already have.
Donate leftover decorations or props to a charity shop.
Volunteer for Oxfam as a hen party activity.

Single-Use Accessories

Particularly when it comes to the Bride or the person you’re celebrating, the props and accessories you want to use are single-use by definition - because hopefully you only get married once! This means that lots of veils, crowns and accessories branded with ‘Bride’ are enjoyed for a couple of days and then spend the rest of their life in a memory box or sadly, thrown in the bin.

Why do hen parties generate so much new stuff?

Hen parties typically buy a lot of new ‘stuff’ when they plan a celebration. Typical things that hen parties might buy are:

Veils and Bride accessories
Themed/matching t-shirts or costumes
New going-out clothes
Decorations and other props
Sashes and hats
Games
Gifts and party bag fillers

How you can support Second Hand September

Browse charity shops for hen party accessories & decorations

Charity shops often receive donated hen party props after people are done with them. Think veils, bride cups, sunglasses, sashes….

Before you head to a well-known major supplier of such things, perhaps you can visit a few of your local charity shops to see what you can find. The chances are that you’ll find things in the charity shop even cheaper than you would online and you might even come up with inspiration for a really fun and different theme based on what you find!

You could also search on sites like Vinted, Gumtree and eBay for accessories where people are trying to move on what they have at home.

Challenge your guests to buy their outfits second-hand

You can turn this into a fun theme for your hen party by setting everyone a challenge to thrift their outfit, or even going together to a charity shop over the hen weekend to buy something to wear that night.

You can come up with some really fab themes that look great in photos and avoid everyone buying new clothes or fast-fashion.

Read all our top tips for shopping second-hand at your hen party here.

Re-use hen party & bride props that friends already have

If you’re one of the first in your friendship group to get married this might not apply for you so much. But if you’ve already been to a lot of hen parties, or lots of friends are married, the chances are that you’ve all got different props tucked away at home gathering dust.

In your group you could organise for everyone to dig out what they have and you’ll probably end up with a seriously fab collection of props for the next hen do!

Donate leftover decorations or props to a charity shop

On the flip side of buying second-hand, you could contribute things you have leftover to charity shops and get the circular hen party economy moving more. The more we can donate the things we’re not using, the easier it’ll be for others to get them second-hand instead of having to buy new.

Some people like to keep bits for sentimental reasons which is of course ok. But if you find yourself holding onto old hen party accessories just because, then drop them off at a charity shop next time you’re in town.

Volunteer for Oxfam as a hen party activity

We are a big and long-time supporter of Oxfam at Hens with Heart. If you really want to go big with how you can support them then you could volunteer at your local Oxfam charity shop or at one of their superstores around the UK.

It’s a great way to spend a few hours together and turn it into an activity as part of your hen weekend - it’s a lot more fun that you might imagine and its a really cheap way to create an activity and pass the time together.

Read about how you can volunteer for Oxfam at your hen party.

So, now you’re ready to make your hen do more eco-friendly and support Second Hand September. If you use any of our ideas please tag us with photos @henswithheart and you can use the hashtags #henswithheart and #secondhandhen to show the difference you’re making!

We’d love to share your second-hand inspiration as a Real Hen with Heart on our blog, too. Tell us what you do on our Share The Love page.