If you’re thinking “What’s Galentine’s Day”, “Did you mean VALENTINE’S Day?” “Can’t you SPELL???”. Let me fill you in on one of the greatest TV shows of all time: Parks & Recreation. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I just don’t think we can be friends.
Anyway, Galentine’s Day is a chance to celebrate your friendships. And as someone who is very happily married, I feel confident in saying that we just need Galentine’s Day sometimes. Like maybe it should be a monthly thing? But technically it is February 13th, the day before Valentine’s Day.
In reality, this holiday can be celebrated by people of any gender and any relationship status. You don’t have to make it a single’s night or anything like that, but if that fits your friend group, that works too!
Today, I’ll be going over how to plan the BEST Galentine’s Day party that your friends will absolutely love and talk about for the rest of forever. You’re welcome.
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Pick a Theme
If you read my blog about Friendsgiving, you may already know that I am super into themes. I believe they set the foundation for any party or event. And this can be shared with your guests or just known in your head. There are SO many great ideas out there for every single small tiny aspect of your event, so sticking to a theme can really help to keep your to-do list in check and keep things cohesive.
Some themes I personally love for Galentine’s are:
Traditional Pink Everything
Just go crazy with the pink decorations and hearts and all that cheesy stuff we know and love. Timeless.
Goth Galentine’s
This can either be in protest of all the pink and red/consumerism of traditional Valentine’s Day or just because you love the dark/black aesthetic
Eras Theme
Again, check my Friendsgiving post – you can either go general TayTay theme or choose your favorite era and build off of that. Red would be an obvious but solid choice.
Alternatively, Renaissance Theme
Silver everything. Sequins, gems, fringe. It’s giving space cowboy but elevated to Bey level.
Barbie Theme
Always relevant, but especially for this!
High Tea
Classy, chic, and perfectly fits celebrating your favorite ladies. Think finger sandwiches, big hats, and whimsical decor.
Invitations
You can either opt for physical or electronic invites but definitely plan to send something official out so your guests are more likely to RSVP. You can also set expectations for the theme, dress code, and whether or not guests need to bring food or drinks.
Etsy has some really great options, depending on your theme. If you’re creative, you can also make one on Canva, or if you’re going the digital route, you can use something like Paperless Post. They have some of the cutest designs ever.
Decor
Again, choosing your theme first really helps to reign in the ideas that might flood into your brain as you’re planning your Galentine’s Day party. If you’re like me, the number of ideas you have is actually a curse.
Choose a theme and incorporate it into your decorations. Think tablescape, buffet/serving area, and entryway. Go big or go small, it’s up to your budget, time, and sanity lol. If you really want to knock it out, hire someone (like me <- shameless self-promotion). But really, there are people out there who can plan the party from start to finish or just handle the decorations.
Another big hit, and a great way to ensure people get pics of this occasion, is to create some sort of photo op. That could be creating a cute lil backdrop with fun fringe and balloons. You could rent a prop or two, depending on your theme and activities (more on activities later). Another shameless plug, but I offer prop rentals in the Oklahoma City area. You could also find others in your area if any of mine inspire you! The champagne wall would be a big hit at a Galentine’s Day brunch, I guarantee!
Food
Food can make or break a party, we all know that. If you’re ambitious enough to consider hosting a Galentine’s Day Party, you probably have at least a handful of crowd-pleasing recipes up your sleeve.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can try making a few new dishes that match the theme of your party. Depending on which vibe you’re going with, you could simply make a signature co*cktail that matches, and stick to your tried-and-true recipes. Or you could go all out. But I highly suggest testing recipes ahead of time, or keeping a plan B on hand (like a frozen pizza lol) just in case.
You could also opt for catering, which isn’t exclusive to fancy restaurants. Most grocery stores will offer catering or large orders (ahead of time, of course) and some can even seem like they did come from a fancy restaurant.
Weirdly enough, the cupcakes from Sam’s Club are truly some of the best cupcakes I’ve had. Check with your local grocery to see what options you have. If you’re in the OKC area, I highly recommend Uptown Grocery.
Another option is a favorite of mine – potluckkkkk *Oprah voice*. Not only is this cost-effective and less stressful for the host, but it is so fun to have all your friends bring their favorite dishes to share. Food is always a conversation topic, especially if each friend gets to bring something they are proud of or want to try.
Signature co*cktails
The easiest thing to take your Galentine’s Day party from brunch with friends to a new annual tradition is to create a signature co*cktail. That could be as simple as throwing together a fun twist on a mimosa or literally just putting a pre-mixed co*cktail into a nice pitcher and serving it in cute coupe glasses with a fun garnish. I once found a pink co*cktail and added pink cotton candy to each glass and when you poured the drink over, the cotton candy melted and it was the TALK OF THE TOWN. Go as simple or as extravagant as you want.
If your group of friends doesn’t drink hard liquor (and OOH another theme idea!) you could do a wine-tasting Galentine’s Day party and ask each guest to bring a wine and food pairing.
Obviously, you can make mocktails if your group doesn’t drink at all, but I promise adding a cute little garnish makes all the difference.
Activities
Unless ALL of your guests know each other, having an activity is not a bad idea in case there are one too many awkward silences or you need to break the ice.
You could go with something classic like Valentine’s Day card-making. You could go crazy and have an expert in some skill come and teach you all something like basket-weaving, soap-making, or calligraphy, IDK.
My fave idea for this particular event: have a build-your-own floral arrangement station. Grab some cut flowers (PS. Trader Joe’s and Sam’s Club have the best and cheapest cut flowers), several pairs of scissors, a variety of vases (buy these at thrift stores!!!), ribbon, whatever else you want to add and set it all out so each guest can build their own with the flowers and supplies they like.
All in all, you want to stick to the purpose of your party which is about (in the immortal words of Leslie Knope) “celebrating lady friends”. Make sure you enjoy yourself!
Happy celebrating!
