Easy Galentine's Day Party Ideas.

     February might not be my favorite month weather-wise, but it does bring a holiday that I do look forward to! No, it's not Valentine's Day... it's Galentine's Day! In the words of character Leslie Knope from the TV show Parks and Rec, "Oh it's only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast style." The airing of this episode a few years back is when Galentine's Day I think first became a mainstream thing. Anyways, who doesn't love a day to dress up in red and pink, eat sweet treats, and celebrate the special bond of friendship between girlfriends? Sign me up please!!

      I've had a few fun Galentine's Day celebrations over the last few years, but the best part is they were all very low-key. One year my Big in my sorority and I had a movie night, another year one of my best friends from college and I got all dressed up and went out for a fancy dinner "date" in Uptown Charlotte, and last year a few girlfriends and I went out for a Galentine's brunch- which would have been a very Leslie Knope approved activity! This year, Galentine's seemed like the perfect time to finally host a get-together at my apartment. I love entertaining and have been wanting to have a party for awhile since moving to Vermont, and what better time than a girlfriends' get-together for Galentine's?! I was especially excited to celebrate this year since it took me such a long time to meet and make some girlfriends here in Vermont (which you know if you've been following my post-move update posts!). 

    Anyways, I'll be focusing on how I planned the party in today's blog post, in hopes that it might give you inspiration if you'd like to do something similar with your girlfriends for Galentine's Day! Vermont's weather has been so unpredictable this winter, so I planned the party a couple week's before February 13th/14th, so that it could be rescheduled closer to then if needed for weather. Luckily, the weather ended up being great this weekend so no cancellations were needed. 

     When I plan a party, I like there to be two themes. One theme for the occasion, and one for the food. (The rest of it doesn't need to be over-planned- let people have fun and mingle and enjoy what a get together should be. 😊) Obviously the occasion theme for this party was Galentine's, and spending time with girlfriends. Most of the girls that I was inviting didn't know each other, as I don't have one specific friend group here in Vermont. So I was really excited to introduce the wonderful ladies I have finally met to each other. I decided the food theme would be a cookie swap. Each girl could bring a dozen cookies, so that there would be plenty to eat at the party, and also plenty to swap with each other and take home. Easy peasy right? 

     I purchased a few different pink beverages at Trader Joe's (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and set up some easy Valentine's decor on my dining table. I purchased the table cloth, plates and cutlery at my local Dollar Tree, and the fake floral centerpieces pictured below I made from this Pinterest tutorial! Everything for those was purchased at Dollar Tree as well. 

     My Galentine's cookie swap party was a lot of fun, and it might be an annual party tradition that I continue in the years to come! My friend Anna is a very talented cake baker and decorator, and she made the most beautiful pink and white cake that completed the array of sweets. (Anna just started an Instagram page for her amazing cakes- check her out @thegoldencrumb!)

     

     If a cookie swap party isn't your cup of tea, here are some other easy ideas to celebrate Galentine's Day:

•      Go out to brunch (very Leslie Knope approved!)
•      Have a DIY spa party 
•      Have a chick flick movie marathon 
•      Old fashioned slumber party! 
•      Have a crafting day to make handcrafted Valentines cards 
•      Host a fancy tea party, or go out for a high tea if a local hotel offers that!
•      Have a group Skype date with out-of-town friends

     Here's to the love of friendship, and celebrating our best girls! Have you celebrated Galentine's Day before? Are you planning anything fun for this year? You might have seen a little peek at the outfit that I wore for my Galentine's party on my Instagram stories... I'll be doing a full blog post on the outfit coming soon!

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese