Your Ultimate Guide for Hosting an Amazing Galentine’s Day Party | Greetings Island (2024)

If you want to spread the love to all of your lady friends this Valentine’s Day season, you should throw a Galentine’s Day party. Read our guide to learn how you can plan the best all-girls party.

What is Galentine’s Day exactly? For many women, it’s the happiest day of the year because it’s a celebration dedicated to spending time with all of the lovely ladies in their lives.

Leslie Knope from Parks and Recreation is the mastermind behind this unofficial holiday that’s becoming more and more popular each year. She describes her Galentine’s Day parties as a leisurely brunch the day before Valentine’s Day, but you have the freedom to plan any type of party you and your friends will adore.

One of the best parts about Galentine’s Day is that all of the single ladies can feel appreciated. Since Valentine’s Day can be a sad holiday for anyone who doesn’t have a special someone, Galentine’s Day gives us the chance to remind our friends that they’re great enough to be loved by a whole crew of special someones. Whether your friends are single, in a relationship, or married, everyone will have a blast at your party.

Are you ready to start planning your Galentine’s Day party? Keep reading to learn 10 helpful tips that will ensure your gathering is a smash.

1. Consider a Theme

Although themes aren’t necessary, having one can make preparing for your Galentine’s Day festivities easier. You could stay true to Leslie Knope’s vision by hosting a brunch or you combine all of the things you and your friends love. A sleepover, pizza night, champagne and chocolate, 80s night, or even anti-Valentine’s Day are just a few of the many themes you can pick.

If you’re not sure which theme is the best for your friend group, creating a poll can be a fun way to get your friends involved in the planning process and get them excited for the big day.

2. Send Your Invitations

Once you have a theme, you can start thinking about the smaller details like the date, time, and location. Galentine’s Day is traditionally celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day, but if the date falls on a busy weekday, you can move your party to the weekend before or after to accommodate your friends’ schedules.

The coziest Galentine’s Day parties take place at home, but going to a different location can give you more activity options. A bowling alley, a paint and sip studio, a rooftop bar, or a spa are some other venues that can help you throw an unforgettable party. If you decide to host your party somewhere else, make sure you contact the venue beforehand to see if you need any reservations. If you’re lucky, you may be able to score a group discount or other cool perks.

Now that you have a sense of when and where your party will take place, you can design cute invitations to send to your friends. Don’t forget to include your theme on the Galentine Day invitation so your guests can come prepared. For example, if you’re hosting a sleepover, make sure your friends bring their pajamas so you can take the best group photos.

3. Start Shopping for Fun Decorations

Nothing sets the tone of the party more than fun decorations. Since Galentine’s Day is all about showing your friends some love, your party can mimic classic Valentine’s Day party decorations. Red, white, pink, and gold are 4 must-have colors in your decoration pallette.

Balloons, streamers, and banners can add tons of cheer to your party space. Since balloons come in all kinds of shapes and sizes now, you can get heart-shaped balloons or spell out “Galentine’s” or “#GALS.”

If you plan on having a sit-down meal, you should also set up your dining area. A colorful tablecloth, pink roses, and candles that come in fashionable holders can help you create a stunning spread.

4. Build the Ultimate Bar

No party would be complete without a nice selection of boozy beverages. You can keep things simple by displaying gorgeous bottles of pink rosé and red wine or you can make your own tasty concoctions. Sangrias are one of the best Galentine’s Day party drinks because they’re red, refreshing, and they can be made in advance to make planning easier.

Strawberries and chocolate are other classic Valentine’s Day flavors you can experiment with. These Galentine’s Day co*cktail recipes can teach you how to make unbelievable combinations like strawberry-basil co*cktails, chocolate martinis, and sparkling peach bellinis. As you sip on these heavenly drinks, you and your gals can feel like the true goddesses you are!

If you want to take your drinks to the next level, you can serve them on a bar cart. Bar carts are great to use during parties because they can serve as decorations and they’re portable. If you decide to hang out on the couch, you can move the bar cart there so you can relax with your drinks.

5. Create a Menu Full of Heart-Shaped Treats

People eat with their eyes first, so you should make your friends fall in love with your menu by serving plenty of heart-shaped foods. If you’re throwing a traditional Galentine’s Day brunch party, some heart-shaped food ideas are pancakes, eggs in the basket, bacon, and a red fruit platter. If you’re having a casual get-together later in the day, you can never go wrong with heart-shaped pizza or using pepperonis, bell peppers, or another red topping to create a heart on top.

Once you figure out the main dishes you’ll serve, you can have fun getting creative with party snacks. Cookies are always a crowd-pleaser and you even have the option to set up a cookie decorating station as one of your party activities.

Strawberries are a classic Valentine’s Day food. If you want to wow your friends, you can learn how to cut strawberry hearts for a beautiful presentation. To add an extra layer of decadence, try partially dipping your strawberry hearts in chocolate.

Although heart-shaped foods add a lot of personality to your spread, feel free to serve other foods that give off Galentine’s Day vibes in different ways. For example, candy may not be heart-shaped, but you can buy specialty Valentine M&M’s that come in red, pink, and white colors.

6. Set Up a Craft Corner to Make Galentine’s Day Cards

Do you remember going to school on Valentine’s Day as a kid? Many teachers let the students spend time making Valentine’s Day cards and delivering them to everyone’s desk. Now that you’re adults, your crafting skills are probably a lot more impressive, which means you can create beautiful cards.

Aside from letting everyone get in touch with their creativity, making Galentine’s Day cards is a sweet opportunity to write heart-felt messages to all of your friends. It may seem silly at first, but your friends will feel loved once they have the chance to read how much they’re valued. If you want to make the crafting time more engaging, you could multitask by playing a rom-com in the background, listening to music, drinking and snacking, and chatting.

7. A DIY Photo Booth Will Help You Take the Best Pictures

If you and your girls are dressing up for Galentine’s Day, make sure you take plenty of Instagrammable pictures to celebrate your beauty, confidence, and friendship. The good news is that setting up a glamorous photo booth area in your house is a lot easier than it looks.

The first step is to find some blank wall space that’s big enough to fit your group of friends. Once you know where you’ll be taking pictures, you can start decorating the space. Using some of the streamers, balloons, and banners that you bought for the rest of your house decorations in your photo booth is a simple way to brighten your space.

Another way you can jazz up your DIY photo booth is to have different props on hand. Big kissy lips, hearts, and a “Be My Galentine?” sign can make posing even sillier. After you’re done setting up your decorations and props, take a few test photos to make sure the lighting is perfect.

8. Plan Plenty of Games and Activities

Spending lots of quality time with your girls is entertaining enough, but you should also prepare plenty of games and activities everyone can do to keep the party energy high.

One of the best Galentine’s Day party activities is to watch goofy rom-com movies while playing a drinking game. This rom-com drinking game will have everyone taking shots every time someone dramatically runs through an airport, says they’re not ready for a relationship, or gets a makeover. You and your friends will be laughing throughout the entire movie and will get tipsy in no time.

Another great game idea is to have everyone write down their worst first date experience and put it in a hat. Then everyone can take turns reading the stories aloud and trying to guess who wrote it. Although it’s not necessary, giving a hilarious gag gift to the person who’s able to guess the most stories correctly is the perfect way to finish the game on a high note.

If you want to treat your friends, you can also buy plenty of beauty products so everyone can enjoy a DIY spa day. Once everyone has a colorful face mask on, make sure to take plenty of goofy pictures together.

One last cute Galentine’s Day party idea is to make friendship bracelets. This nostalgic activity is a nice way to enjoy some downtime with your friends while chatting. The best part about this craft is that everyone can take their bracelets home as a keepsake.

9. Make a Playlist Full of Girl Power

Since women have been creating hits for decades, your playlist can pay homage to all of the successful ladies throughout history who’ve been inspiring other girls to be their best selves. Although there are too many catchy songs to list, here are a few that can get your party started:

• “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé
• “That’s My Girl” by Fifth Harmony
• “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper
• “Woman” by Kesha
• “God Is A Woman” by Ariana Grande
• “Confident” by Demi Lovato
• “Wannabe” by Spice Girls
• “Enjoy Your Life” by MARINA
• “Soulmate” by Lizzo
• “Miss Independent” by Kelly Clarkson

If you don’t want to spend time curating your own list, streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube have hundreds of different playlists you can choose from that were made by other users. If you don’t have a membership to any streaming platforms, claiming a free trial before your party can prevent ads from intruding on your fun.

10. Don’t Forget Cute Party Favors and Thank You Cards

One final sweet gesture you can do to conclude your party is send your guests home with a party favor. Not only are party favors a thoughtful way to show your friends how much you love them but they can also cherish their goodies and always be reminded of how much fun your party was.

Some pretty and practical Galentine’s Day party favors could include personalized champagne flutes, necklaces with heart beads, photo frames, and matching t-shirts. If you’re hosting a casual Galentine’s Day party, you can also slip a chic thank you card into their goodie bag. If you want to wait until after your party is over to send more formal thank you cards, you can design yours using pictures from the party and write personal notes to your guests.

Are You Ready to Spread the Love This Galentine’s Day?

If you follow these 10 tips, you’ll be able to throw a Galentine’s Day party that makes all of the incredible ladies in your life feel special. Even if you and your friends are in relationships, this is a tradition all of you will want to continue for years to come.

Now that you know how to host the best Galentine’s Day bash, you can start planning. If you’re ready to send out your invitations, Greetings Island can help you design gorgeous, personalized invites. Check out our free party invitations so you can get started.