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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Stony Brook chapter.

Who cares about Valentine’s Day when there’s Galentine’s Day? Not sure, what Galentine’s Day is? Let Parks and Recreation’s Leslie Knope fill you in!

Galentine’s Day is a day for ladies to celebrate ladies. You get together with your best friends and just have a good time. It’s an easy way to gather all of your girls together and forget all about Valentine’s Day, even if you do have a significant other. Galentine’s Day is a day to forget about any stress you might have and just chill out with your girls. Which makes it the best unofficial day of the year! And if you don’t have a bae, you can sail through the next day by drawing on your supply of love and support that was given to you from your girls. Galentine’s Day is for all women to enjoy.

Celebrating it for the first time? That’s not a problem! Having a Galentine’s Day party is easy. All you need are pink decorations, some snacks, and your gal pals. Wine isn’t a necessity, but a bottle of rosé never hurt anybody. After that, it’s all up to you. Galentine’s Day activities can be anything from Netflix binging to spending the whole day in the city. Maybe you want to lounge in your matching pj’s and chill out. Or dress all in pink and make heart shaped cookies. What you do is totally up to you— which is the best part!

There are a lot of ways to celebrate female friendship. Leslie’s classic tradition is a brunch with “tons of whipped cream” and bonding.

 

Exchange handmade gifts or buy personal presents as tokens of appreciation. Instead of Secret Santa, try a “Secret Cupid” gift exchange and draw names in advance. Some of Leslie’s gift ideas are crocheted flower pens, mosaic portraits made from crushed bottles of each friend’s favorite diet soda, personalized essays on why each friend is so awesome, gift certificates for facials, and needlepoint pillows depicting their faces and headlines from the day they were born. While everyone is together, catch up on their latest news and talk about your favorite memories with each other. 

Hosting your own party instead of going to brunch is a fun alternative with lots of options. You and the gals could hang out and watch your favorite classic movies while baking heart-shaped lava cakes or Pillsbury Ready to Bake cookies. Regardless of artistic ability, make Valentine-themed crafts, friendship bracelets, or cards with clever sayings to share and laugh about. Put on rejuvenating sheet masks and paint each other’s nails with feminist nail art for a more relaxing, at-home DIY vibe. Try learning something new together, like embroidering empowering phrases onto fabric!

So, get your friends together and celebrate Galentine’s Day this year. Head over to Toast to eat all of the pancakes you can handle then get back to your dorm and celebrate with some rosé. This year Galentine’s Day falls on a Tuesday, but don’t let that stop you from celebrating! The weekend is there for a reason.

 

Gifs courtesy of Giphy

 

Julie Truncali

Stony Brook '21

Stony Brook University Class of 2021 Civil Engineering Major New York Farm Girl
Journalism, Stony Brook University Sophmore, Long Island
Her Campus Stony Brook Founder and Campus Correspondent Stony Brook University Senior Minnesotan turned New Yorker English Major, Journalism Minor