How to Celebrate Galentine’s Day
by Emily Sievert
Another Valentine’s Day looms. Will you be spending it alone with bitter Facebook scrolling? Will you be frantically trying to plan “the perfect date?” Fear not, for whatever excitement, ennui or dread you feel for another Hallmark marketing scheme, this might be the year for something new: Galentine’s Day.
Galentine’s Day is a concept introduced to me by the show Parks and Recreation’s sixteenth episode of season two. Galentine’s Day falls on Feb. 13 and is a day to celebrate wonderful friends (and great food) because men will come and go, but those ladies have seen you ugly cry and your hair when you haven’t washed it for five days and they are sticking around.
Here’s the recipe for a perfect Galentine’s Day:
Decorations and crafts
You can throw out that fat, flying baby for this one. This is a chance for you to break out those DIY projects, your hot glue gun and your strange obsession with glitter. Boyfriend wouldn’t appreciate it anyways. Better yet, you can enlist some of your wonderful friends and make it a group activity. Creating something together is a great way to make memories (and a mess).
Food
Sure, Valentine’s Day is known for the chocolates, but why wait for a disappointing assortment of Russian roulette when you can treat yourself? While brunch is an obvious choice, you could always try out recipes to satisfy your sweet tooth. (Oreo truffles? Homemade donuts? Fruit pizza shaped like hearts?) To quench your thirst, try some festive mocktails or red velvet milkshakes. Or, for those 21 and off campus, some wine-infused gummy bears make a fun treat.
Movies
Start up the chick flick playlist. Watch The Princess Bride on repeat. Find a copy of Mean Girls, Clique, The Notebook. Laugh together, cry together, make fun of the patriarchy, what have you. Throw in a viewing of The Awakening if you’re feeling feisty.
Friends
Now for the most important part, call up those people you really appreciate in life. The ones who took you to the airport at 4 a.m., who helped nurse your cat back to health, who gave you their Old Testament notes when you slept through class, who helped you through that breakup, who helped you through chemistry. Maybe you voice your appreciation for these people often, but it’s never a bad idea to take an opportunity to celebrate how awesome friendship is. College doesn’t last forever, and you will have plenty of time to dote on a spouse or boyfriend, but when May hits and people start to spread out, you’ll be thankful you spent time with those friends when you could.
The day will end and Valentine’s Day will come, but hopefully you will be in a food coma deep enough to handle whatever the day brings. And best of all, you got to celebrate love and those who love you.
(Check Pinterest for more ideas. Oh yeah, I’m not making this up.)
