A stag do is the ultimate opportunity to relax, have fun and unwind with your mates before your impending nuptials. But it can be an absolute political nightmare deciding who to invite and who not to invite. You know that you have to juggle tradition with friendship groups and passing homage to your fiance's family… But at the same time you know what a logistical nightmare to get large groups of blokes to do anything . Grooms and best men need to become expert social chemists, mixing personalities to create the components for a spectacular stag weekend.

For true stag do effervescence, you should ensure that each of the following has a spot on the guest list…

The groom (obviously)

The groom is the one person on the list who is under no circumstances allowed to enjoy himself. That’s not what the stag do is for. The stag do is intended to facilitate his complete and total humiliation in the most inventive and hilarious ways possible for the good of the group. From embarrassing tales from his adolescence to bold public dares, the groom should arrive home at the end of the weekend with his reputation in tatters. The old friends from school It’s great when friendships begin in school and stay strong throughout adult life. That’s why it’s important to invite a handful of the groom’s oldest and closest friends from their school days. Not only does this make for easy and relaxed rapport… these guys are treasure troves of embarrassing anecdotes which can be shared to the delight of the group as the beverages flow.

The work colleague

The last thing anyone wants is for the groom to be able to hold his head high at work when the stag do is over. Work colleagues are essential in ensuring that the humiliation continues first thing on Monday morning as they regale everyone with tales of drunken tomfoolery by the water cooler. Just make sure they don’t alienate the rest of the group by wanting to talk shop with the groom all through the weekend.

The henpecked husband

This guy needs to be there to remind the groom what he has to look forward to. This guy won’t have had a night out in such a long time, he’ll be a little giddy at first. After a few drinks he’ll become the life and soul of the party... and by the end of the night you’ll be attempting to pull him down from the ceiling while trying to prevent a violent altercation with a local women’s rugby team.

The teenage brother in law to be

Little brother to the groom’s betrothed, you can expect him to spend the start of the stag do with his phone in one hand and the other in his pocket. He’ll roll his eyes at all of your jokes and think that your bald spot is hilarious. When he eases into it, however, he’ll stop trying to be relentlessly cool, drop his facade and make you seriously glad you invited this kid along.

The Dads

Of course no stag do is complete without the fathers of the bride and the groom. They’ll start out flexing the power to be as dour and disapproving as possible, and making everyone feel as though they have to be on their best behaviour around them. A few large whiskies later, however, and they’ll be wearing their ties on their heads and trading war stories with the bouncers.

Now you’ve sorted out the invite list, you just need to decide where to go! Luckily, we have a whole range of stag do and hen party options all across Europe to suit any budget.