Bachelorette Party Ideas

• Throw your friend a party she won't soon forget. Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images

  Though men have been having parties lamenting the demise of their single status for centuries, women have only been throwing bachelorette parties of their own since the 1960s. Prior to that decade's sexual revolution, women were limited to bridal showers meant to acquire dowry gifts from family and friends. Today, bachelorette parties run the gamut from tasteful to tawdry.

Refined

• A sophisticated blend of risqué bachelorette party with the tame bridal shower, refined pre-wedding celebrations feature cocktails, candles and canapés. A blended event with both the bride and groom in attendance, along with their closest friends, provides the opportunity for classy speeches that reveal all the cute, embarrassing anecdotes on how the couple came together. Add a little spice to joint celebrations by asking guests to bring tastefully provocative presents like chic lingerie with specific instructions to leave obscene gifts at home. Finish off the event with a champagne toast to the couple's future.

Relaxed

• Spend a casual girls night in filled with chic flicks, spa treatments and scandalous stories of the old boyfriends who, sadly, didn't make the cut. Add zaniness to the event with gag gifts for the bride like a chastity belt to lock on once the vows are exchanged. To incorporate some naughty fun without resorting to strip-o-grams, pass out edible underwear as x-rated party favors or order a cake from an erotic bakery depicting the private parts of the male physique. Top off the evening by making bawdy phone calls to all the groomsmen or do a midnight drive-by past the bachelor party locale.

Raunchy

• Pull out all the stops for a night of naughty fun that would have even the crudest bachelor blushing. Rent a party van equipped with a stripper pole and a full bar to keep the party going in between stops. Adorn the bride in a flashy veil and tiara or a skimpy wedding dress costume to ensure she's the center of attention, and hopefully the recipient of a few free drinks. Make the first stop of the night at an all-male strip club or attend a performance by the Chippendale dancers. After checking out the full Monty, head off on a bar hopping tour of the local clubs, until the entire wedding party is tipsy. Wrap up the evening at an x-rated gift store to purchase the bride an assortment of nasty gadgets for the wedding night. Be sure to bring along a "Sober Sister" or hire a professional driver.