Boyfriend Who? This Year, It's All About Your Gal Pals On Galentine's Day

This year, kick off Valentine’s with Galentine’s Day: Will a boyfriend ever lose sleep over the smallest of your problems? Could he deliberate for hours with you about which heels to pair that new dress with? Is he the one you can call in the dead of night to laugh over a lost memory you just remembered you shared with him? All these are manifestations of love, the kind only your girlfriends have the capacity to fulfil and that no boyfriend can replace.

That relationship with our gal pals deserves a cheer that’s louder than the buzz of Valentine’s week combined. Galentine’s Day, marked on the calendar prior to the big V-day on February 13, is the day to bring in some sisterhood celebration. (Although we’d all agree your girls deserve more than a single-day shoutout, isn’t it?) 

Galentine’s Day: How Did It Originate?

The origins of G-Day are as extraordinary as the festival itself. It first found notable mention in the second season of sitcom Parks and Recreation, where in the sixteenth episode Galentine's Day, Leslie Knope gets a gathering of girls going for brunch. "Ladies celebrating ladies," she proclaims. 

And who better than Amy Poehler in Knope's shoes to inaugurate Galentine's Day on our planners? Poehler, with industry colleagues-cum-BFFs Tina Fey and Maya Rudolph, symbolises the holy trinity of female friendship in Hollywood. Head here for more on this girl gang. 

Rudolph, Fey, Poehler at Oscars 2019

Boyfriends and beaus may get our hearts thumping and butterflies fluttering. But we all need our girls as antidotes to calm us (and those damn butterflies) down. And when/if the waterworks come calling, our girls are there beside us with shoulders to soak in our tears and soundboards to absorb all the fury we hurl at that "bad boy." 

Bring in the cheer with your girls on Galentine's 

Being companions to our sisters from other misters isn't an easy job. And yet, everyone who does it wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world because it's also the best! Single or taken, sisterhoods remain regardless of relationship status. 

So get your Rachels and Monicas and Phoebes for a day of doing nothing and everything. Here are some ideas for your perfect Galentine's Day: 

1. Pop that bubbly! 

A fancy dinner with your latest dating app match or an old, old partner isn't the only perfect time for popping the cork. Through the good times and bad, your girls are always there to sip (or chug) some bubbly with you. So pick some up, throw fruits and junk into a picnic basket, pull down your shades, pull up your masks, and head out into a garden for a nice, sunny Galentine's Day afternoon with your best girls. (With COVID-19 guidelines in mind and place, of course.) Don't forget to capture some snap-worthy moments to reminisce later. 

2. Fond letters of memories 

Gone are the days of handwritten love notes and quaint letters. In the age of texts and DMs, no one takes the effort to do that for lovers anymore (except maybe George Clooney), leave aside friends. But why not revive that tradition this Galentine's Day? If not through a physical paper letter, drop surprise emails to your girls. Recollect some long-forgotten memories or cringe-worthy pictures from when you all were little, or just say you love them. It's small things like these that say the most. 

3. Flip on a cheesy flick 

You may be miles away from your best friends, and then some more, given the pandemic. But that shouldn't throw a wrench in your Galentine's Day plans. If there's an annual tradition between you girls of flipping on a movie together and watching (or not really watching) it, then you can keep it up with online watch parties afforded by platforms like Netflix. There are options to simultaneously chat on the side, so you and your girlfriends can swoon collectively when that hunk comes on screen. 

4. Knock knock! You've got mail 

Why not send in a surprise mail to your top girls? We often feel the pressure to spend a bomb for our partners around Valentine's, what with every product on the shelf marketed as the 'ultimate sign of true love.' But is it reaaallyy special if you already know gifts have to be exchanged on February 14? Now it sure would be something extraordinarily special if you pop a gift to your gal pals off-schedule on Galentine's for an unfiltered and genuine surprise. 

5. A day-long Zoom party 

Dare a virus come between a rock-solid friendship? Love will always find a way around it. As it has been for most of the pandemic year, Zoom can come to the rescue of your gang on Galentine's. A stable internet connection and a fully charged device are all you need to get a socially-distanced party started from the comfort of your homes. Talk, chatter, banter to your hearts' content all day. Better yet, even bring in Valentine's with them when the clock strikes 12.  

Views expressed are the author's own.