LAST week I spent an evening helping my boyfriend make 15 masks of his friend’s face.

They were, of course, for a stag do.

The do in question was a weekend in Blackpool.

Costume changes included matching tee shirts and Mexican outfits.

My boyfriend arrived home on Sunday night exhausted, somewhat poorer and having had a great time.

Clearly this stag do was a success. But I have to admit, the jury is out for me on stag and hen dos.

It used to be that they were strictly a one-night event, probably down a local pub.

Now they’ve expanded into weekends involving activities such as spa trips, paint balling and clay pigeon shooting, as well as meals, bars and nightclubs. In some cases they even involve foreign holidays.

I hate to be a killjoy but I’m not all that comfortable with the ever-expanding expectations and budget for stag and hen dos.

I’ve only been on two hen dos. Neither involved overnight stays and both were well within my budget and great fun.

But I’ve had to turn more lavish ones down because I just couldn’t afford them.

It can be awkward and embarrassing to have to turn down an invitation to a stag or hen do and can create the problem that you’re then excluded from the inner circle of people who went on the trip – and inevitably bonded.

Luckily, when I asked my friends, they shared my thoughts, making me feel a bit less like a grump.

Faith says: “Stag and hen dos are utterly ludicrous. I have spent fortunes on them. If it’s a really good friend/family, you can’t not go – you just have to grit your teeth and cough up the £500 they inevitably cost.“I love a traditional hen do – a night out having fun with a bunch of girls just can’t be beaten.

And I love a bit of tat – pink fluff, L-plates, all that rubbish. But those kind of hen dos are rare now, they’re always superpricey spa weekends or weekends abroad. Every hen has to have the ‘best’ hen do, be it the most classy and elegant, the most original or the most showy – and that inevitably means they cost a fortune.

“Hen/stag weekends or weeks are just wrong. If you’re expecting your friends to come to your wedding and cough up for a new outfit, a present, a hotel room and the overpriced drinks at whatever show-offy venue you choose to get hitched at, why would you further punish them by insisting they fork out hundreds for a weekend in Aya Nappa?”

My friend May adds: “Ideas about how to celebrate stag and hen nights seems to have changed drastically. When I was young (rather a long time ago!) a stag night comprised going to the pub with your mates and having a booze-up. It never extended beyond the extent of one evening, it didn’t involve the wearing of any particular apparel and it certainly did not involve much in the way of forward planning or, for that matter, cost. Blokes simply arrived at the designated drinking establishment, downed several alcoholic beverages and went home paralytic. Hen parties were barely heard of and, when they did take place, were usually very low-key affairs. There has clearly been a cultural shift in expectations for these events and I am not altogether convinced that it is for the better.”

If all your friends are happy with the plans for your stag or hen do – as seems to have been the case with the mask-wearing Mexican extravaganza my boyfriend attended – then fine.

But perhaps if you want to go for a weekend or longer away with your friends you should just do it, rather than going for a stag or hen do and stick to a night out to celebrate your wedding.

That way people won’t feel so uncomfortable if they can’t join you for your holiday but should still be able to help you celebrate getting hitched.

What’s more, you’ll know everyone is having a good time and wishing you well for your wedding – not worrying about the state of their bank balance.