Can I take a moment to be honest with you, dear Frolic readers? As much as I love romance novels and rom coms and all kinds of other love stories I’m not particularly into Valentine’s Day. If I had to guess why, I’d say it’s because activities like date night feel less fun when they’re compulsory.
But Galentine’s Day? That’s a whole different story!
I have a history of celebrating Galentine’s Day before it was even A Thing back in high school. I specifically remember having a wonderful dinner at my best friend’s house with all of our closest gal pals. We watched movies, devoured a delicious meal and enjoyed each other’s company! Now that I’m more grown up, I place even more value on cherishing friendships with the ladies in my life.
In honor of my favorite February holiday, here are some essential components that I recommend for a perfect Galentine’s Day!
Many of us might want to watch a romantic comedy or two around this time of year. And that’s fine. But my policy is that February 14 is a day for romantic movies. February 13 is the day when you want to celebrate friendship and girl power.
My ideal movie choice this year? Spy starring Melissa McCarthy! This is my Galentine’s pick because it celebrates dynamic and capable women, subverts romantic expectations and never fails to make me laugh!
There are lots of other great movies that could fill this niche, though. Whether you choose Spy or Spice World, the important thing is that you pick a movie that celebrates women, their perspectives and their friendships!
Galentine’s Day was created by Queen of All That She Surveys Leslie Knope. And in a Leslie Knope world there’s only one way to bask in the glory of one’s gal pals: with breakfast food!
Of course, Leslie Knope is a big fan of friends, waffles and work. So a Galentine’s Breakfast, Brunch or Brinner seems to be in order!
Want to kick it up a notch? Why not use a cute heart-shaped waffle maker to prepare festive funfetti waffles?
And as if you needed another reason to craft a celebratory breakfast-themed meal, might I remind you that a mimosa bar for the 21-and-older crowd would be a great way to get your gals into party mode?
Any of my truest Galentines would readily tell you that I am the kind of person who seems like she’s good at crafts but is actually pretty downright terrible at crafts.
The only exception? Silly homemade booklets of hotties just for my best friend.
Way back at that first high school get-together I described, I gifted my best gal with a homemade construction paper booklet filled with hot guys of all kinds.
Did I accidentally put in a picture of Josh Hartnett with the caption “I’ll take you on A Walk To Remember” when I actually should have put in a picture of Shane West? Yes.
Did that become a recurring joke that showed up in booklets of hotties that were made and gifted in the future? Also yes.
My personal favorite pages from the last book that my best friend made for me include photos of Mads Mikkelsen as Hannibal with the caption “I’ll Give You My Heart If You Give Me Your Liver” and a picture of the Beast from the Disney cartoon with a caption that read “You will join me for dinner! That’s not a request!” and an extra speech bubble that said “I love you, Erin!”
There are lots of ways to tweak this activity. You could create a collage of your friends’ favorite book boyfriends or girlfriends. You could put in someone silly just for the laugh (once, my best friend Kristi included a picture of the Quaker Oats man! I did indeed crack up!). No matter which way you choose to go, I hope you have SUCH a good time assembling something that is handmade for your besties with glitter, weird captions and a finely curated collection of the people who are likely to make her smile.
One beautiful and remarkable thing about those of us in romancelandia and bookstagram is that many of our Galentines may be close to our hearts but not to our homes. If you can’t make an in-person celebratory brunch happen, maybe you can at least reach out online in a special effort to say, “Hey! I appreciate you!”
I want to make it my mission to reach out to authors who inspire me and podcasters who make my day better. Whether you’re thanking them for contributing to feminist discourse in romance or letting them know you appreciate every time they hit the like icon on your latest Instagram post, I think it’s important to let our favorite ladies on the internet know that we see them, we appreciate them and we support them.
And what better day to do this than Galentine’s Day?!
No matter how elaborately you choose to celebrate, I hope February13 reminds you how special you and your Galentines are.
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