Stag Do At Home: How To Throw A Brilliant One Without Leaving The House

Not every groom wants a flight, a hostel and a 6am airport meet. A stag at home suits the ones with new babies, thin wallets or no appetite for Prague, and it lets everyone come rather than just the six who could afford it.

We don't sell board games. We design and print greetings cards, pin badges and party bits in the UK, so the games named here are recommendations rather than our own products.

The trick is structure. An unstructured night at someone's house is just a night at someone's house.

The running order

• Afternoon: food on, everyone arrives, drinks slow, something easy playing in the background.
• Early evening: eat properly. This is the single decision that saves the night.
• Main event: one big game that runs an hour or more and involves everybody.
• Late: a fast game, music, and the point where the group splits into conversations.
• Have a taxi plan and a spare-room plan before the first drink.
• Write the order on a piece of paper and give one person the job of moving things along.

The three games that carry an evening

• The Traitors - the board game of the TV show. Secret traitors, round-table accusations and banishments, and it turns a room of people who half know each other into a proper evening. Best with six or more.
• At Home Murder Mystery - a boxed kit with characters, clues and a script. One person hands out the roles, everyone arrives in loose costume, and the party plans itself around the story.
• Hitster - pull a card, play the song, place it on your timeline by year. No reading, no rules lecture, works while people are still arriving and drinking, and the arguments about which decade a song came from run all night.
• Between them they cover the three moods you need: a long social game, a themed centrepiece and a fast one that fills gaps.

Food and drink that survive the day

• A chilli, curry or big traybake in the oven, one plate each, no cutlery drama.
• A takeaway ordered at a fixed time rather than whenever someone remembers.
• Beer in a bath of ice, spirits on one table, and more water than you think you need.
• Something salty out all afternoon so nobody drinks on empty.
• One decent bottle put aside for a toast to the groom.
• Bin bags, kitchen roll and a plan for the morning. Future you will be grateful.

Making it feel like an occasion

• A theme, even a loose one: black tie, bad shirts, the groom's worst decade.
• Photos of the groom on the wall, the more unflattering the better.
• A quiz about him, written from answers his mum and his sister supplied.
• A message book everyone writes in, handed over at the wedding.
• Banners and bunting - an ordinary living room looks different in five minutes.
• A card signed by everyone who came, including the two who couldn't.
• No forfeits that end with anyone in A&E or a police station. A quiet rule, worth setting.

Shop wedding cards

How to write it so it lands

• Eat before seven. Everything else follows from that.
• One person runs the evening. Groups of men do not self-organise.
• Set the no-stupid-forfeits rule quietly, in advance, with the best man.

Where to shop next

• Stag weekend itinerary
• Bachelor party ideas in the UK
• Surprise birthday party ideas
• Adult birthday party at home
• Joint birthday party ideas
• Stag do games
• Stag do ideas UK
• How to host a murder mystery dinner party
• How to host a games night
• Stag and hen planning checklist
• Board games hub
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Mother's Day gifts
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

How do you plan a stag do at home?

Set a running order: food early, one big game in the middle, fast games late. Sort a taxi and crash plan first, cook something one-plate, and give one person the job of keeping things moving.

What games work for a stag do at home?

The Traitors for a long social game with accusations, an At Home Murder Mystery kit if you want a theme, and Hitster for fast music rounds while people drink and chat.

How much does a stag do at home cost?

Typically £20-£40 a head once food, drink and a game are split - against £300 upwards for a weekend away, which is why more people can come.

What food should you serve at a stag do at home?

One-plate food that holds: chilli, curry, a traybake or a timed takeaway, with salty snacks out all afternoon and plenty of water alongside the beer.

Do you sell board games or party games?

No. We design and print greetings cards, pin badges and party bits in the UK. The Traitors, At Home Murder Mystery and Hitster are outside recommendations, not products we stock.