Best Ways to Celebrate Galentine's Day With Your Favorite Lady Friends
Before the couples spread the love on Valentine's Day, women near and far will get a moment to celebrate their most coveted relationships with their lady friends on Galentine's Day. The unofficial holiday, which was introduced on the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, will be observed on Thursday.
Amy Poehler's character Leslie Knope was the mastermind behind Galentine's Day, which was first celebrated on a 2010 episode of Parks and Recreation. "Every February 13, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast style," Leslie said on the Season 2 episode.
She added: "Ladies celebrating ladies. It's like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas."
Although it's not a national holiday like Leslie suggested when she celebrated during a Season 4's episode, women all across the country have since made a habit out of recognizing Galentine's Day with their girlfriends.
Leslie liked to spend Galentine's Day drinking mimosas at brunch and giving her friends intricate gifts like hand-stitched pillows, but there are no real rules to how the made-up holiday should be celebrated. What is most important is that the day is spent among friends.
Read on for a few ideas on how to enjoy Galentine's Day below.
Host a brunch
Take a cue from Leslie and enjoy a nice hearty brunch with your women friends and co-workers. Invite your mom so she can tell "the most romantic story ever" just like Leslie's mom, Marlene Griggs-Knope (Pamela Reed), did on the first "Galentine's Day" episode on Parks and Recreation. Whether you're ordering waffles at a restaurant or cooking up a batch in your own kitchen, there should certainly be some mimosas present.
Enjoy a movie night
Spend Galentine's Day cozied up on the couch with your favorite buddies. Pop some corn, queue up Netflix and binge-watch the many rom-coms currently available on the streaming network like The Notebook, Fools Rush In, Dear John and To All the Boys I Loved Before: P.S. I Still Love You. And don't forget the tissues!
Wine-down after work
Who says you have to be a sommelier to host a wine tasting? Invite your best friends over for sips and share your favorite varietals. Don't want to break the bank on bottles? Gérard Bertrand's Cote des Roses collection includes a refreshing Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah blend rosé as well as a beautiful golden Chardonnay that's radiating with mineral opulence. Meanwhile, the Pinot Noir is classically French with a velvety texture and elegant ripeness. You can get all three bottles delivered on Wine.com for just $14.99 each.
Workout together
They say friends that sweat together stay together. Get your endorphins up and running by taking a group fitness class with your gal pals. Dance away the stress of a workday together at Zumba, align your chakras at candlelight yoga or get active on the bags at kickboxing class.
Gift exchange
On Parks and Recreation, Leslie often showered her friends with creative gifts like bouquets of hand-crocheted flower pens, mosaic portraits made from crushed soda bottles and personalized 5,000-word essays on why each friend was so awesome. Gifts don't have to be nearly as time-consuming and specific as Leslie's, but a simple token of appreciation will go a long way in showing just how much you care about your gal pals.
