February is the month of love. With Valentine’s Day on the 14th, it can be easy to look around at all the romance and feel sad if you’re not experiencing your own love story at the moment. Although Valentine’s Day is typically a holiday to celebrate romantic relationships, we can also celebrate our platonic relationships too. A great way to do that is to gather your friends and host your own Valentine’s Day party. Typically known as “Galentines”, this celebration refers to a Valentine’s day party with a group of friends. This type of celebration is a great way to chase away lonely feelings and focus on the people you love. It’s also important to remember that just because the friendship-focused alternative of this holiday is called Galentines, doesn’t mean only girls can participate. If you’re throwing a party this year, invite any of your friends- guys and girls alike. Throwing a party isn’t the easiest feat, but lucky for you, this article will break it down into a few manageable steps.
Step 1: The Guest List
The size of your guest list depends on where you’re hosting and who you want to invite. Keeping it small is okay, but also keep in mind that combining friend groups or introducing your friends who might not know each other can make for a great experience. Just make sure to consider any potential drama that could arise. We want this to be a carefree and fun time.
Step 2: Theme
Obviously the theme is Valentine’s Day, but you could be more specific. Do you want the party to be during the day or in the evening? If you’re opting for a day-time event, brunch is a fun idea. For the evening, you could plan a movie night filled with fun snacks and your favorite romcom.
Step 3: Send the details
Make sure to contact everyone on the guest list well in advance so they have time to check their schedules. When sending the invite, include the date, time of the party, where it’ll be, and what the guests should wear or bring if necessary. If you have a hard time getting replies, don’t feel bad about sending a follow up text a day or two after the first one. Sometimes people forget and that’s okay!
Step 4: Decorate
The Dollar Store, Target, Walmart, and 5 Below are all great options for buying decorations. Decorations don’t have to be amazing or extravagant, but if you’re someone who’s into making things just a little bit more put together, streamers, lanterns, fake flowers, and fairy lights make a perfect atmosphere. Just blowing up a few balloons will totally do the trick as well. The main focus should be the people you’re spending time with.
Step 5: Food
An easy way to take the burden off of you when it comes to the menu is asking each guest to bring something in a potluck-style event. If you’re hosting a brunch, have someone bring orange juice, fruit, muffins, etc. If it’s a movie night, you can ask everyone to bring their favorite snack. If you’re still looking to do something special as the host, you can never go wrong with a little cake.
Step 6: Music
Everyone knows music makes a party better. There’s nothing wrong with silence, but when the conversation dies down, it’s nice to have something playing in the background. Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube have great pre-made playlists for every event, but if you’re really into music, you could create your own playlist full of your top tracks.
Step 7: The Follow Up
After you’ve successfully hosted your Valentine’s Day party, shoot a quick text to the guests, thanking them for coming and saying you had a great time. If you attend a party this Valentine’s Day, text the host and tell them how much fun their function was.
Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about romance and couples. It’s the perfect excuse to get your best friends together for some quality time, and it’s a great way to show those friends how grateful you are for them. If you decide to host a party this month, good luck! Happy Valentine’s Day!
