Mamamia hosts a Cancer Council Girls' Night In.

Women have never needed an excuse to get together, but if ever there was one it’s this. Hosting a Girls’ Night In during October is a great way to get your favourite ladies together and raise vital funds to help Cancer Council beat women’s cancers at the same time.

Here at Mamamia we smelled opportunity for a Cancer Council Girls’ Night In a mile away: The Bachelor finale. With our night firmly locked in, and a free Girls’ Night In Host Kit packed with ideas, advice and resources which we received after registering to host on the Girls’ Night In website, we got to planning.

If you weren’t jumping out of your seat with inspiration just yet, here’s how our Cancer Council Girls’ Night In went down:

The nibbles.

These platters were love at first sight. You know, the classic tale of girl meets goats’ cheese and falls head over heels. That old shtick.

Cards on the table, as much fun as they were to eat (and eat and eat and eat), we also enjoyed slicing, dicing and plating – even if we needed to sneak cheeky bites ahead of schedule, for sustenance of course.

Love at first sight. Image: Mamamia.

The nails.

A pamper night is always a good choice. No exceptions. We chose a mini manicure with a come-to-your-workplace nail company, but you can opt for the DIY version or try a hair or face masque. Lord knows we’ve taken plenty of screenshots and pinned enough of them.

If you’re breaking out the polish why not take the opportunity to get creative and experiment with nail-art designs? You’d be surprised how much you can achieve with bobby pins and tooth picks.

"A pamper night is always a good choice." Image: Mamamia.

The entertainment.

A reality TV finale night or movie marathon make for a great Cancer Council Girls’ Night In.

As we’re a bit partial to TV drama here at Mamamia, we chose The Bachelor finale and kept things peppy with Bachie Bingo, re-enactments – “You peasant!” – and topped our viewing off with a solidarity sob as Nikki took the solo ride home.

Bonus points if you can colour-match to your chosen entertainment. We went for rose red.

"Bonus points if you can colour-match to your chosen entertainment." Image: Mamamia.

The main event.

Understanding the importance of a well-balanced meal, we ordered fresh Vietnamese. Highlights included the Atlantic salmon vermicelli noodle salad, tofu and shimeji mushroom rice paper rolls and using the leftovers to re-enact the Scottish jig from episode ten of Bachie (it can’t be unseen).

Delicious and nutritious. Image: Mamamia.

The fundraising.

In order to raise much-needed funds for Cancer Council to support cancer research, prevention programs and support services, we employed a few fundraising mechanisms - the most popular of which was Bachie Bingo. A simple $2 donation was asked of participants with the winner earning herself an armful of red roses by the nights’ end.

We also had a collection box near the door – thanks to our free Girls’ Night In Host Kit – to collect any loose change which would clang delightfully upon donation.

Our complimentary Cancer Council Girls' Night In Host Kit.

The all-too-important chats.

Between nibbles and nails we passed our free Cancer Council Girls’ Night In Host Kit around to prompt important conversations about breast and gynaecological cancers. It’s an aspect that’s often missed, but talking with your closest girlfriends and sharing information about detecting and preventing women’s cancers is imperative. No ifs or buts about it.

Via our Cancer Council Girls’ Night In Host Kit, we learned that 46 per cent of women eligible for breast screening (aged 50 – 74) aren’t attending these important appointments, a number which, for us, represents our mothers, aunts and treasured matriarchs. Even more concerning is that 4 in 10 eligible Australian women aren’t rocking up for their biannual pap smears.

With eyes wide open we made a vow. What happens at Cancer Council Girls’ Night In, does not stay at Girls’ Night In. Most of us called our GPs for a much needed check-up the next day and those who were reticent or admitted to being lax made accountable with a next-day text.

Needless to say, we had a ball at our Girls’ Night In and we left feeling even better knowing that we’d contributed to a good cause. Cancer Council’s  Girls’ Night In is the perfect excuse to get the gang together for a fun night to raise much needed funds to help Cancer Council support thousands of Australian women affected by a breast or gynaecological cancer. Whether it’s a pamper night, clothes swap, or movie marathon, once you’ve got your finest friends together, you’re set.

So, celebrate your tribe, squad, girl-gang or whichever hashtag is trending these days and register now to host a Cancer Council Girls’ Night In during October, and help beat women’s cancers.

How will your host your Girls' Night In?