We’re at that time of year again! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, which means that, more importantly, Galentine’s Day is right around the corner. If you’re like me, you have some pretty special pals in your life that you cherish and want to do something special with. Not sure what to do? No problem! Keeping in mind that we’re all college students with tight budgets, here are 5 activities that range from free to minimal expense.
1. Ice skating or Roller Blading
This winter has been wonky, but if you can find an ice skating rink that hasn’t melted away (climate change, amirite?) then grab your friends and go! If everything’s defrosted, find your nearest roller blading rink. It may not sound very fun at first, but getting out there and laughing your buns off while simultaneously falling on them is a blast. Not to mention there are some cute pics that may come out of it.
(Not a fan of balancing on thin platforms? Try a bowling alley.)
2. Go to a Museum
As college kiddos, we’ve got a few connections in Pittsburgh that we should utilize more often. This Galentine’s Day, try heading to one of the Carnegie Museums. Personally I love the art museum. The building is as beautiful as the work in it and almost as beautiful as you and your buddies. Feel free to use that last comment on your friends; I won’t tell.
3. Bake Something Tasty
Ingredients needed: Pinterest or food based Facebook page, your friends, and the love in your heart.
Scroll through Pinterest to find some tasty recipes like heart shaped red velvet cupcakes. If you don’t want to buy a bunch of ingredients, there’s no shame in whipping up something from a box of cake mix. You can make cupcakes, cookies, brownies, cobblers and more. I’ll let you in on a secret: my famous peach cobbler that people have loved so much is a couple of cans of peaches with a box of generic yellow cake mix dumped on top and butter on top of that. No joke, it’s that easy.
4. Share a Meal
Being in college can mean getting caught up in your own life and not being able to see your friends as much as possible. Use Galentine’s Day as an excuse to have a moment of work free fun. Get off campus and hop on the bus to somewhere, even if it’s Chipotle. If you’re looking to save cash money, take a to-go box from the dining hall and have a picnic somewhere. You don’t have to spend to have a solid experience.
5. Just Hanging Out and Watching (Preferably Bad) Movies
The theme of all of these tips is to find a way to spend a few hours with the ones you care about. If that’s all you want to do too, have everyone grab themselves a snack and pull up the Bee Movie on someone’s laptop. If you don’t like the Bee Movie, try Shrek. If you want to get off campus, I’d highly recommend seeing Hidden Figures as many times as humanly possible.