Valentine’s Day celebrates romantic love, but have you heard about Galentine’s Day? Teens may know of it from social media, with tons of TikTok videos showing Galentine’s celebrations. It’s a day where girls celebrate the friends (gals) who show up for you and support you.
What Is Galentine’s Day?
Galentine’s Day is an unofficial holiday for friends to get together and celebrate one another, honoring the impact they make on your life. Anyone can celebrate, whether single or in a relationship, showing how essential platonic relationships are when so much of society only honors romantic relationships. It’s like Valentine’s Day but specifically for friends.
Galentine’s Day started as a day for women to celebrate their friendships. Over the years, as it became more popular, it evolved to celebrating all close friends, no matter the gender.
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When Is Galentine’s Day?
Galentine’s Day is the day before Valentine’s Day, so February 13th. If that day doesn’t work for your friend group, you can plan it for another day. Since it’s a made-up holiday, you can celebrate whenever and however you see fit. If you’re looking to plan a get together, you would probably do it the weekend before Valentine’s day, since people might have work or school during weekdays.
How Did Galentine’s Day Start?
In 2010, on the TV show Parks and Recreation, the character Leslie Knope invented the term “Galentine’s Day” in season 2, episode 16. It was made up, and she described it as “only the best day of the year” when she and her friends “leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it… ladies celebrating ladies.” They celebrated by having brunch and giving gifts. By the following year, the topic was trending on Twitter (X) and being celebrated everywhere.
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How to Throw a Galentine’s Day Party
There are no rules when throwing a Galentine’s Day Party – except the ones your parents set. In the Parks and Recreation episode, Leslie Knope wrote a 5,000-word essay. You can get as dedicated as Leslie, or you can choose other Galentine’s ideas that won’t take as long.
When planning a Galentine’s party, you’ll want to consider themes, outfits, food and drinks, decorations, music, and everything else that goes into party-planning.
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Galentine’s Day Party Ideas
The best Galentine’s party would include everything you and your closest friends love the most, all mixed together.
- Galentine’s Day dance party: Sometimes all you need is to dance with your best friends. Create a playlist with all your favorite songs and plan your party around that.
- Spa party: Paper yourselves while spending much-needed time together – think facemasks, manicures, and pedicures. Light a few candles, play soothing music, and focus on relaxation.
- Galentine’s Day games: Consider Minute to Win It games, trivia, or set up a Galentine’s escape room.
- Self-care night: Take care of yourself while getting cozy with your besties. When planning, consider what self-care activities everyone in your group enjoys, and try to implement them into the party.
- Time capsule party: Find an old shoebox and fill it with letters, inside jokes, photos, letters to your future self, and anything else that reminds you of your friendship and you want to remember forever. Seal it closed and set a date to open it again in the future.
- Themed dress-up night: Choose a clothing theme and go all out dressing up to fit it. You can do 90s, Y2K, all-pink, pajamas – anything goes!
- Movie night: Plan which of your favorite movies to watch, grab movie-themed snacks, and settle in for a celebratory night.
- Craft party: Create crafts for everyone to take home. You can paint bags or canvases, make shirts, scrapbook, make friendship bracelets, vision boards, or whatever else you can think of.
- Gift exchange: Set a price limit and have everyone bring a gift. You can choose a theme for the gift or simply leave it open to guest’s decision. At the party, play a game to exchange gifts.
- Galentine’s Day photoshoot: Set up an area perfect for photos – use a backdrop, a balloon arch, decorations, and more for the best setup.
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Galentine’s Day Food Ideas
There are limitless options for Galentine’s food. You can have everyone bring something to share, mixing up the choices and lightening your load. Or, you can plan and prepare all the food and snacks yourself. Here are some Galentine’s food ideas you may love for your party:
- “Bring a board” party: Everyone brings a charcuterie board. It can be any kind – snacks, meat and cheese, desserts, or anything else they come up with.
- Pizza-making party: Start with heart-shaped dough and have everyone make their own pizza. Have a variety of toppings, including all of your besties’ favorites.
- Galentine’s brunch: The original Galentine’s Day meal in Parks and Recreation was brunch – specifically waffles. You can run with that idea for your own party.
- Galentines’ desserts: Desserts are sometimes the best part of a party. Think chocolate-covered strawberries, cookies, bowls of candy, and cupcakes. A Galentine’s dessert board is a fun way to mix a few ideas in an aesthetic way.
- Decorate your own cupcakes and cookies party: Guests can decorate their own dessert during the party when you set out frosting, sprinkles, and other toppings.
- Pink drinks: If you’re feeling fancy, you can make sparkling pink mocktails for Galentine’s Day, or you could keep it simpler and opt for pink lemonade. Pink hot chocolate is another option – especially if you want to warm up and be cozy.
@raychelnykole my daughters galentines ‘bring a board’ party! #galentines #galentinesday #galentinesparty #boardparty #bringaboard #charcuterie #dessertboard #candyboard #fyp #gno #girlsnight #girlsparty #teen #teenager#teens #valentines ♬ Pink Friday Girls – Nicki Minaj
Conclusion
Celebrating Galentine’s Day is a way to give friendship the recognition it deserves. If you plan a party, make it your own by mixing and matching ideas, adding your own touches, and setting the perfect mood for your closest group of friends.