Last night Donna and I went to a Stag & Doe party for a couple I work with, Aaron and Kristina. I'd never really heard of a Stag & Doe, so we had no idea of what to expect... all I knew was that it was a big party for the couple-to-be. Of course, in Australia the tradition is that the girls go out and play up, buy naughty presents for the bride (who normally wears a veil the whole night) and they all get pissed. For Aussie blokes the tradition is quite different... they go out and play up, buy a stripper for the groom (who normally wears a ball-and-chain around his ankle the whole night) and they all get pissed. Hmmm, actually they sound quite similar now I come to think about it...

Anyway, I don't know what the tradition is in Canada, but this particular couple were celebrating their impending nuptials with a Stag & Doe. I'm presuming that the Doe is the future bride (as in, doe, a deer, a female deer), and the groom is the Stag because, well, that's just what blokes do.

As it turns out, a Stag & Doe is really just a big party - in fact it's rather more like a school fete than a party - thrown by and for the future couple with a great deal of help from their family and friends, so all their other family and friends can come along, have a fun night, and raise a few dollars to help give the new couple a financial kickstart to their life together. And it's a bloody good idea! In Australia you just turn up to the wedding, buy the couple a toaster or something similar, and that's it.

We turned up at the door of the hall where it was being held, to be met by a bewildering array of events - chocolate wheels, lucky door prizes, 50-50s, poker, lucky dips, fish races... seriously, it was just like a school fete! People would wander from table to table, buying tickets in raffles and games and all having a great time. It's a great concept!

We sat with a group from Holy Trinity and enjoyed the evening. The fish races were fun; you got to buy a goldfish for $2, and then using a straw you had to blow bubbles in the water behind it to make it swim to the other end of the channel. Our fish (we called him Flash) didn't do so well in the fish races, but fortunately I had paid an extra dollar to take out insurance, as the losers had to eat their goldfish otherwise. I'm guessing this is not an RSCPA sanctioned event? There were quite a lot of goldfish left over at the end of the night that I'm sure are probably now on their way to whatever the Canadian equivalent of Bondi is... The winner was a fish called Nemo, but I don't fancy his chances of being found!

Dinner was great with a rather handsome-looking pig, and we stayed until about midnight until we eventually had to excuse ourselves because Alex was babysitting himself for the night. It was a lot of fun though so thanks Aaron and Kristina for inviting us along! Now we know what a Stag & Doe is!