How To Plan A Bucks Party On A Budget?
Strapped for cash but still want to give your best mate the day, night, weekend, time of his life? Well no worries! Everyone knows not everyone is cashed up, or maybe you’re just focussed on saving for another time, maybe even the buck says something like “I’ll be happy as long as we do something” (cop out, but you can also interpret that as him being really excited just not wanting to ask). Regardless, we’ve got a list of things for your consideration. It’s important to note there’s no shame in having something low-key, at the end of the day it’s about the buck and as long as they’re happy then you’ve won!
Cater to the Buck
First and foremost, and the most important thing of any buck’s party is to know the Buck himself. As you’re probably his bestest friend in the whole wide world, there’s no need to overthink this- you DO already know him, or at least you’ve got a feeling of the things he enjoys and what kind of people he likes to hang out with. If your Buck is the kinda guy that enjoys video games and really needs a break from wedding planning and work, why not set up an epic games night and a LAN party at your palace (at least get him out of home). The biggest cost here will be a mountain of junk food and an ocean of drinks, any variety. It’s low-key, it's chilled and vibey, it allows him to relax around people he knows and spend some time with his friends. And if there’s leftover cash in the kitty, go out for a nice dinner or bears, before you get straight back into gaming. Alternatively, if he's an outdoor kind of guy who prefers sitting around a campfire (nature’s TV) instead of the club, why not take him out camping? There’s millions of campgrounds around the country and most of them are pretty cheap, especially if you don’t need a power hookup. Even better than that, you’re actually allowed to just go off and camp somewhere! If you’ve got some cash left, why not make it a trip to K’gari or the Whitsundays, or head outback to the desert or mountains. Australia is full of lakes, rolling hills, beaches, sand, and forests, just look ahead for any permits or routes to get in and you’re golden to just sit back and relax with the lads. Extravagance can be bringing bacon on a camping trip or taking a waterfall detour on a road trip, it’s totally what you make of it!
Of course if he’s a higher energy buck, then have a look below and we’ll go into that a bit more.
Budget vs Being Cost Effective
So you’ve got your budget, we’ll assume there’s not much wiggle room, so let’s look at ways we can stretch it as far as we can. We’ll start with optional extras, sometimes the steak doesn’t need ALL the trimmings, and maybe the restaurant lets you BYO your own trimmings. Let’s translate this to you’ve got a private box at the races, why not (venue allowing) bring your own alcohol instead of submitting to their prices? There’s a temple for the average lad and lade down the road called Dan Murphy’s, truly one of those important places up there with the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and a public bathroom after a bad piece of chicken. Here you can pick up anything you can think of and bring it back to wherever you’re hanging out, to enjoy it guilt free and no side eyes from your bank every time you tap the credit card labelled ‘essentials’.
Alternatively you can switch it, order the trimmings but bring your own steak. This would look something like, instead of hiring a venue, say a private apartment in the CBD and getting a stripper there, instead you go to one of the lad’s house and have a poker dealing stripper rock up in her baby blues there. That way you’re saving the venue cost, which is usually pretty bulky, but you’re still getting all the entertainment in the comfort of your own home (its important to note for this analogy that strippers aren’t particularly cheap either).
We can also look at bang for your buck, for your Buck’s. This’ll be your inclusive packages, think food and bev, just bev, just food, packages. Usually you’re bundling these onto something like a private booth or room, so you’re still paying some costs, but if you can’t do BYO then these packages can still be better than drinking at the bar, depending on how big of drinkers your mates are. Shop around for these ones as they can vary quite a bit.
Finally, there are a few good companies for sorting out a full package experience for you and the lads, usually at a cost per head. This has the benefit of a ‘fire and forget system’ where you tell them (us) what you want, and they’ll (we’ll) sort out the rest and come up with a figure. It can also be cheaper than booking everything yourself separately due to business relations etc. Either way you’re generally looking at a lower cost plus less of your own time and stress in organising anything.
Cheap and Cheerful Activities
If you’re looking to go out and do some things, here’s a bunch for you, usually on the cheaper side. Now cheap is all relative to your budget and prices vary per region, either way you’ll have to pay at least something.
- Arcade. You can have loads of fun with the boys at a private arcade and embrace your inner child. Some of them, particularly if you’ve booked them out, will even allow BYO, which only adds to the fun. Even for the more hardcore or older dudes, playing the classic arcade games together and winning prizes can bring a smile to someone's face. There’s sometimes also a ball pit/kids obstacle course which can be a lot of fun (shots before hand to really let that fun sink in), or lasertag, which is always a ripper of a time.
- Barefoot Bowls. A good day out on the green with the lads, good for socialising and a few beers. Of course you can invite a few more people here as there’s usually a decent indoor section, and if you have other things planned this is a good way to have a lunch.
- Paintball. A classic way to get bruises, and relatively cheap for the fun you get out of it. Biggest cost is the balls themselves, but the age old advice still stands “If you’re not too trigger happy this won’t be a problem”.
- Golf. A couple of options here, you can look at a 9 or 18 hole. Either way that’s a good few hours with your mates out in the sun. Good for a casual afternoon and chill type of bucks. Alternatively you can grab the boys and head to a driving range and spend as long as you like taking out any frustrations that you may or may not have.
Remember that these activities can focus on quality not quantity, so if the lads/buck is happy spending 6hrs playing paintball then focus on that!
Expand the Party
Particularly if you’re looking at a company that’ll do it all for you, many packages are charged by the head, and some have a minimum number of people or a minimum cost they have to cover. So, assuming you’re not covering it all yourself, see if you can’t muster up a few more people that the buck would like to hang around with, that’ll put the cost per head down and help you reach some of those minimum party size requirements. This of course has its drawbacks, but you can always start with a bigger event with lots of people, then minimise that to the buck’s closest friends for the smaller (and cheaper) activities. This could look like inviting 20 people onto a deep sea fishing party boat, which can normally be pretty costly, then dropping down to the closest 5 for topless waitresses and a steak dinner before hitting the clubs and meeting up with another 15 people to take advantage of a per-head drinks package.
When it comes to budget it’s very “work smarter not harder”, however unless you’re doing it all at home it will cost at least some cash. We always recommend splitting it up by head and having everyone pay the best man or whoever’s organising it just for simplicity and accountability. Feel free to mix and match activities and group sizes, so long as the buck’s happy it’ll be a good time!
