Valentine’s Day may get a lot of attention as the day to celebrate couplehood, but Galentine’s also is an important occasion to mark, as it recognizes the love and friendship among a group of girlfriends.
For a few years now, Galentine’s Day gatherings have been growing in popularity. This day, often celebrated the day before Valentine’s Day, is about celebrating friendship. But this year is different, and as many girlfriends can’t get together in person, this is a perfect excuse to have a virtual celebration.
How you celebrate is up to the interests of your own group of friends. But one popular suggestion is to have a theme, or a common task when getting together. “Split the cost of hiring a professional to teach a private class via video chat, and learn to do anything from baking to mixing and more!” said Casey Martinez, Evite party specialist. Some services Martinez suggests checking out include Fest Cooking and Liquid Lab.
Invitations
Time for cocktails! Send all the girls in the group a collection of cocktail essentials and mixers along with their invitation and make it virtual with one click. “Then mix up a drink and introduce your creation over video chat, complete with a creative name,” said Martinez. No worries if you’re not much of a drinker — just throw some mocktails into the mix! Add a little competition with award prizes for the best presentation.
Have fun with it, and get into the spirit of things. Like perhaps everyone can use matching glasses or even outfits. For example, these amazing pajamas from Pajamas for Peace - all the gals could match in their scattered hearts! And don’t be afraid to get extra cute with it.
“The host of your virtual Galentine’s Day experience can send each girl a small gift basket with assorted makeup as well as a link to a video on how to create the perfect smokey eye,” said Andrea Correale, the founder and president of Elegant Affairs Caterers. The girls can all have themed cocktails and apply their makeup while on the zoom call and at the end everyone votes for the best application and a prize can be sent from the host.
Playlist
Music is important for any celebration. Set the mood and pick a soundtrack that is empowering to the girls, such as “Get It Girl, You Go” by Laura Bell Bundy.
Brunch
Galentine’s can be a daytime or a night time thing (and both is fine, too!). But boozy brunch is always fun. “If I'm going to do a brunch celebration, pay homage to the great originator of this holiday, Leslie Knope of Parks & Recreation, by making waffles!
“I would try to lead my friends in a virtual demo of how to make some great sourdough waffles, and they will all promptly ignore me/make fun of me and grab the Eggos that are in their freezer,” said pastry chef Suzie Lane of Chicago's Aster Hall. But Lane is going to go all out, they will be topping the waffles with butter, maple syrup, fresh strawberries, and lots of whipped cream! And of course our beverage of choice will be mimosas!
Send your friends a list of ingredients and whatever they have to do ahead of time. If you don't have sourdough discard, check with your local bakery and see if they will give you some, since a lot of bakeries have started to sell or give away some of their sourdough starter since the pandemic started. Or you can always send your friends some of your own personal sourdough starter with directions on how to continue to take care of it! “In terms of pre-planning, most sourdough waffle recipes utilize a sponge that will have to be mixed the night before. I would also suggest slicing strawberries the night before and letting them sit in some champagne and sugar overnight,” said Lane. And if they don't have a waffle maker then they can easily just make pancakes!
Don’t forget dessert
As fun and indulgent as the get-together is, it’s always a good idea to end with some sort of special sweet. One adorable idea is sending all the girls in your group a personalized heart-shaped cake from Bake Me A Wish! Each cake can be personalized with the name of your friend to make them feel extra loved!
Secret Santa—but make it Galentine’s!
“I’m doing a secret gift exchange with my girlfriends this year!” shared Nerissa Zhang, CEO of The Bright App, a leading fitness management app. They’ve already used an online gift exchange generator to assign everyone the person they’ll be gifting. “We set a $50 price limit on the gifts and they will all be ordered online and shipped directly to each other’s houses so no one has to leave the house,” said Zhang, who said on her Galentine’s Day zoom, they are even going to see if they can guess who gifted who as an added way to spice up the virtual get together.
Trivia lovers
Have a love-filled, rom com trivia night with your closest gal pals!” suggests Juls Sharpley, founder of Bubbles & Bowties. One great trivia night idea for galentine’s is a service like Bar None Trivia, which has tons of virtual trivia party options - including galentine's-themed live virtual trivia night! They create a trivia shaped for the interests of a group of friends, and then within the trivia game, they’ll even have breakout rooms, so groups of friends break into smaller groups if they want that they work with to collaborate on answers.
Virtual class
Does someone in your group have a specialty item they make that you've all been dying to learn? Have that friend lead a virtual class. “Maybe you have a friend with an amazing recipe, or at home spa treatment,” said Sharpley. If they're willing to share (at least with your group of friends), perhaps they can teach everyone what it is they're making. Then, just send out the recipe (or even ingredients!) beforehand so everyone can participate.
If no one wants to be put on the spot, everyone can take “the class” together and let a meal kit take the lead. For example, this season Blue Apron is doing a Valentine’s-themed recipe kit featuring Seared Scallops & Mushroom Risotto with Chocolate-Pistachio Truffles!
Get sentimental
The best gifts are the ones that are sentimental and from the heart. Have a gift box exchange. “Request each gal send in multiples of one item that has meaning to them, or pays homage to something special in their lives, assemble them into gift boxes and then over a zoom call, everyone opens together and each person tells about their contribution to the gift,” said Sharpley.
The mood will be so sentimental, it’ll be like you are all together - and you will be, in your hearts!
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January 24, 2021 at 12:18AM
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How To Plan An Epic Virtual Galentine’s Day Celebration - Forbes
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