It’s All About Galentine’s Day

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. It’s always felt a bit too contrived and commercial to have any real romantic value. Is it really romance if it’s forced upon you? So when we started watching Parks and Recreation* last year and heard about main character Leslie Knope’s Galentine’s Day, I thought to myself: now, this is something I can get on board with!

What is Galentine’s Day?

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. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.

A day for ladies celebrating ladies! If my friends lived more locally, I’d totally do a Leslie Knope and arrange for us all to have breakfast together on the 13th February. I mean, this year, it’s also PANCAKE DAY so that’s double reason to drop everything and eat some scrumptious food with your besties.

Celebrating the Women in my Life

There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t feel incredibly lucky to have such wonderful women in my life. As much as I like to think I honour their love and friendship by being as good a friend, daughter, grand-daughter, aunt, niece, or sister-in-law as I can – so often I feel like I don’t do these women justice. These women are strong, resilient, compassionate, determined, fierce, intelligent, brave… and yet, I bet most of the time they don’t feel that way about themselves. Because none of us really do, do we?

This year, I’ll be spending as much time as I can on Tuesday 13th February making these beautiful women feel loved, treasured and proud of themselves. And if you’d like to do the same, here are some ways you can join me in sharing the Galentine’s Day sentiment.

Making Plans for a Date

Just as we need regular date nights with our partners, so too should we have date nights with our friends. One on one time is so valuable and crucial, and I love nothing more than sitting down with a cup of tea, a pack of biscuits and an endless flow of conversation.

I had a lovely time with some gorgeous girls at my bestie’s baby shower at the weekend. We spent the afternoon eating scones and sipping tea in a cosy room at the Thomas Oken Tea Rooms in Warwick and it couldn’t have been more perfect. We were enjoying ourselves so much, we didn’t want the afternoon to end, so four of us ended up spontaneously going out for a curry afterwards too (can you tell someone is trying to coax their baby out!?). Oh, I could chat with these girls all day and night long.

If you fancy something a bit more adventurous than a cuppa or a curry, why not try out a new craft or skill by signing up to a workshop or class? My best friend and I had the best morning recently doing a candle making workshop at The Wax Studio, just outside of Leamington. Not only did we have an absolute blast learning about the art of candles (and I hope to write about our experience soon), but we were so proud of the candles we created whilst there! We tried our hand at a beeswax moulded candle, a multicoloured pillar candle, two scented container candles and a hand-dipped candlestick. The only thing is… I’m so pleased with them, I’m not sure I’ll ever want to burn them!

Giving the Gift of Pampering

As we get older, it seems there is less and less time in the day available to allow for a good proper pamper. Long gone are the days where I could spend an hour in the bath, with lit candles and a good book – and I can’t remember the last time I painted my nails. Especially when we become Mothers, sometimes, an excuse in needed to take time for yourself, and after years of thinking ‘pamper gift sets’ were a bit of a cop out present, I’ve come around full circle and now think they’re the best things ever.

If you’re looking for some particularly beautiful sets, it’s worth having a look in the Pampering Gift Sets section of Perfume-Click. I recently placed an order for several of the Spa Botanique sets, and they’re absolutely beautiful. The botanical packaging called to me and my outdoor-loving nature, and I picked up a typical bath products set, a dressing gown set, a hand-wash set and a body set.

I think these would make perfect gifts for any of your girls that have had a tough start to the year, and with the super quick shipping, there’s still time to place an order before 13th February. They also have a more general gift set section with lots of lovely perfume, aftershave and beauty sets (worth a cheeky browse of ahead of Valentine’s, Mother’s Day and Easter!).

A bit of Snail Mail

Getting something in the post that’s not a bill or a takeaway menu is a rare treat these days – and I’m hoping to set aside some time one evening this week to write some little notes to send through to some of my besties.

I don’t know about you, but I keep all the little cards and letters that I’m lucky enough to receive so not only are well-wished words uplifting at the time of giving, they also can be kept as a reminder of how loved we are for years to come too. I’m not sure if there are any specific Galentine’s Day greeting cards in the shops (it may not be part of the zeitgeist enough for that yet!), but Etsy has a great selection and I’m sure some Valentine’s Day cards would do the trick just as nicely too. After all, it’s all about love, isn’t it?

Are you doing Galentine’s this year?

Will you be doing anything special for Galentine’s Day this year? Or will you be sticking to the more traditional Valentine’s Day instead? Or both? If you’ve been inspired to show your lady friends a bit of love this year, definitely let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon Affiliate links (indicated with a *). This doesn’t affect the price you pay, but if you choose to purchase, I receive a small financial referral fee. I was offered a gift voucher for Perfume-Click.co.uk in exchange for featuring the products I bought in a blog post. All opinions and views remain my own, and as always, 100% honest.