By Julia Train
Gather your gal pals! Galentine’s Day, the best day of the year, is almost here!
No, that’s not a typo. It’s a real holiday…kind of.
What’s Galentine’s Day?
The unofficial holiday, celebrated on Feb. 13, wasn’t created by a greeting card company. It was actually created by a fictional character.
Galentine’s Day dates back over a decade to a 2010 episode of “Parks and Recreation”, titled “Galentine’s Day,” where Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope gathers all her gal pals to celebrate their friendship and each other over waffles.
“It’s only the best day of the year! Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and boyfriends at home and we just come and kick it – breakfast style. Ladies celebrating ladies,” she explains in the episode.
The best part of the holiday is that you don’t need to be in a relationship to celebrate it, even though you don’t need to be in one for Feb. 14, either.
How to celebrate the holiday
The holiday is the perfect time to celebrate your love for your friends and yourself. Stuck on what to do? Here’s a list of 10 ways to spend Galentine’s Day:
- Hold a book exchange
Round up your girlies and tell them to bring their favorite book and a treat.
- Have a self-care night
You can do this either alone or with your girls. Make a list of all the relaxing self-care you wish to do, like a hair mask, everything shower, face masks and mani-pedis. Pop open your favorite wine or make a festive cocktail while performing your at-home spa night. Finish it off with a good movie or book.
- Host a game night
You can either get all your girls to bring their favorite game or buy them specially for the night. Get some refreshments and let loose! Some game ideas are Monopoly, Just Dance, Rock Band, Cards Against Humanity and my personal favorite game to play with the girls: For The Girls.
- Celebrate with wine and “The Bachelor” (or rom-com)
This is another idea that can be spun for a solo night or one with your friends. Put on the TV show “The Bachelor” or a romantic comedy for a fun night in.
- Go to brunch
Mimosas! Need I say more? Go to Romanelli’s Garden Cafe on a Sunday and you’ll get your refills for $1 until 2 p.m.
- Plan a Girl’s Night Out
There’s always the classic GNO: dinner, drinks and dancing in Atlantic City!
- Throw a themed party
Message the ladies and come up with some ideas for what you guys would want to be the theme. Some theme ideas include pajama party, Y2K, or even a show that you’re all obsessed with.
For example, you could pretend you’re the main characters in “Gilmore Girls” and act like them. In the show, Rory and Lorelai would get all the junk food and takeout they could think of and watch classic movies all night with Luke’s coffee.
- Have a coffee date
Want a more low-key way to celebrate with your girls? Pick a coffee shop and meet up!
- Host a wine tasting
Gather your friends together and ask each of them to bring their favorite wine and a snack that pairs well. When everyone is gathered, have a wine tasting!
- Attend fitness classes
Want to do something more active? Try a fitness class together, like yoga, Pilates or cycling!
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what you do to celebrate the holiday. Galentine’s Day was created to celebrate women and friendship. So, as long as you’re letting your friends (and yourself) know they’re loved, it’ll be a special day anyway.
Julia is a student at Rider University, majoring in multiplatform journalism with a minor in social media strategies. At school, she writes and is news editor for The Rider News and is the News Director for the radio station, producing news updates. She’ll be graduating in the spring. Connect with her on Instagram @juliatrain
