As you inevitably know, February 14th has long been known as Valentine’s Day, a day to honor your significant other. Try as you might (and many of us do try), this Hallmark holiday is inescapable. However, little seems to be known about February 13th, the day before, and its status as Galentine’s Day.
Galentine’s Day originated from the show Parks and Recreation, where lead character Leslie Knope explains it as a day for “ladies celebrating ladies.” To be more specific, “it’s like Lilith Fair minus the angst… plus frittatas!” So much emphasis is put on having a man in your life, especially around this time of year, that there needs to be a day for you to appreciate and commemorate all of your girlfriends too, regardless of whether you’re single or coupled up. The original clip and a traditional Galentine’s Day celebration, are from the second season of Amy Poehler’s comedy.
Traditionally, as Leslie says, Galentine’s Day is celebrated with crocheted flower bouquets, mosaic portraits, and brunch. Gifts are awesome (some adorable Galentine’s Day gift ideas!) and brunch is awesome too. You cannot go wrong with a Galentine’s Day Brunch. On the downside, however, Galentine’s Day falls on a Thursday this year. Between classes and scheduling conflicts during the day, it might be hard to get all your besties together at the same time to enjoy.
On the upside, however, Galentine’s Day falls on a Thursday this year. Why not Thirsty Thursday it? Get everyone together for a classy night out/in. Think of it as you would a date but with all of your girls. Get dressed up in something fancy, something you’d save for a special occasion, and then get drunk with your best friends.
Keeping with the classy theme of the evening, the best Galentine’s Days are celebrated with a wine tasting. In the spirit of community and friendship, traditionally each guest brings their favorite bottle (or box/jug if we’re on a budget here) to share with the rest.
Serve some swanky appetizer finger foods, or if you can’t afford spinach puffs, just stick frilly tooth picks into whatever you’re serving; frilly toothpicks = automatic elegance.
Decorate however you want, or not at all; there’s no need to stick with the traditional red, pink and white of the season, but there’s really no need to do a complete 180 and throw an I Hate Valentine’s Day party either, a la Jessica Biel.
Small suggestion though: if possible, get some helium balloons up in there. They look adorable, but also as the night progresses, people will get a kick out of inhaling them and say ridiculous things. Yes, it’s not very healthy, and you shouldn’t be doing it all the time, but, just throwing it out there, it will be hilarious.
After that, all there is to do is party, laugh, talk, taste (most likely cheap) wines, watch movies, play games, and celebrate your girls. Galentine’s Day isn’t about boyfriends or husbands, dating or hooking up. It isn’t about feeling bad that you’re single and rashing on couples, and it’s not about reflecting on how great your significant other is (if you have one, save all that for the day after!).
There’s a universal day to celebrate love and romance, which is very great and very important. But there should also be a day to celebrate loving your awesome girlfriends, regardless of if you have a valentine in your life at the moment. Galentine’s Day is perfect because all of us, single or taken, can get a chance to do just that. Embrace it, start a new tradition, and, how ever you do it, celebrate it this year. Happy Galentine’s Day Collegiettes!