How to Have a Virtual Galentine’s Day

If you didn’t know, Galentine’s Day falls on February 13, the eve before Valentine’s Day, where we celebrate our romantic partner. Galentine’s Day first started as a tradition imagined by the beloved character Leslie Knope on the popular TV show Parks and Recreation, to celebrate those equally important in our lives — our girlfriends. And even though this imagined day happened in TV-land back in 2010, it has since become a tradition for many women who want to celebrate each other and the special bonds that you can only have with your female friends.

In the show, the day is celebrated as a booze-infested brunch where ladyfriends just “kick it.” The concept was so simple and filled a need in social norms, making it a quickly adopted occasion among women around the country. The television show made such a lasting impression that many real-life Galentine’s Day events have the girls, the booze, and the waffles that Leslie made certain were part of the day. Sometimes, when real life models fiction, great things can happen and that includes eating waffles while drinking mimosas with your favorite women.

It seems so natural that we should celebrate our closest ladyfriends and there is some psychology behind why. Women thrive on strong relationships with other women. “Such friendships give women an outlet to share their problems, thoughts, feelings, and triumphs with those they feel a close bond with,” Kristen Fuller, M.D., wrote in “The Importance of Female Friendships Among Women” for Psychology Today.

In that same article, Fuller discusses a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that found that women with strong social structures were more likely to survive breast cancer compared to those who didn’t have a lot of close friends. Those close circles of friends help you feel important and are there to nudge you along to be a better version of yourself all the time. Best of all, these relationships can be near or far. I know some of the friends I’ll celebrate on Galentine’s Day live thousands of miles away, but they still mean the world to me.

Now that we have the history and the need for Galentine’s Day covered, let’s talk about the fun stuff: how we’re going to celebrate this year. COVID-19 might put a damper on in-person events, but it shouldn’t stop anyone from enjoying this very special day with their closest friends.

Here’s how to enjoy celebrate Galentine’s Day virtually:

• Shared recipe: Have everyone agree on a recipe and share it among your friends. Let everyone make the dish, and, along with their favorite beverage, enjoy a Zoom celebration together enjoying it.
• Send Galentine’s Day cards: This can be done through snail mail or digitally. Write letters to your closest friends about how much you love them and why. Then send it to them! If you really want to create a love-fest, read them to one another on a Zoom call.
• Tarot Readings: Certainly at least one of your favorite women knows how to read Tarot cards if you don’t. This can be a fun way to gain insights on your friendships, get a little preview of what’s to come, and share a lot of laughs.
• Host a tea party: Send your friends a gift box with your favorite tea and cookies. Get everyone together on a Zoom call to share stories of past and present while enjoying your favorite sweets.
• BFF Trivia: Get each galpal to write out 10 questions about herself with four multiple choice answers for each. Have everyone answer the questions. Raise the stakes by offering a spa day prize for the winner who gets the most BFF trivia questions right.

Whatever you do, it’s about enjoying time with your friends and celebrating what you love about them. Pana Jaffrey, mom of two young girls, couldn’t agree more. “I feel so lucky to have such amazing women in my life. I’m all in for any excuse to celebrate them,” she told Mom.com.

We are lucky to have a tribe of women who lift us up, support us, and console us whenever we need it. Go make this Galentine’s Day memorable and safe.