Sure, Galentine’s Day is a made-up holiday. Still, thanks to the fictional character, Leslie Knopes, from the series Parks and Recreation, it’s become a very popular day for women to get together with their girlfriends. As Leslie said, it’s a day of “ladies celebrating ladies.”

For Leslie and her girlfriends, Galentine’s Day is celebrated on February 13th, and with that date quickly approaching, it’s time for you to plan a Galentine’s Day celebration with your besties. Here’s your checklist for creating a great day with your girlfriends.

• Invite Your Girlfriends: The first thing you need to do is to invite your girlfriends. There’s no need to send out paper invitations, but maybe take the time to make it a bit more special than a text. Use Evite or even just an email – but make it pretty and give them all of the specifics.
• Decorate for the Occasion: To make this a special celebration with your girlfriends, why not get some decorations? You can go with pink and red and hearts and flowers since it’s so close to Valentine’s Day or choose a completely different theme. Perhaps polka dots? Or something sparkly? Just select something your friends will like – and don’t make it overly complicated.
• Plan the Food and Drink: No good get-together is complete without some fantastic food and drinks! Leslie Knopes’ Galentine’s Day was all about breakfast and brunch – so why not go with that idea when it comes to food? Even if you’re holding an evening get-together! After all, who doesn’t love brunch food? Here are some recipes to get you started:
  • Maple-Bacon Waffles
  • Cornmeal Buttermilk Pancakes
  • French Toast Casserole
  • Quiche Lorraine
  • Maple and Black Pepper Bacon
  • Hashbrown Egg Bake
  • My Favorite Blueberry Scones
  • Zesty Cobb Salad
  • Simple Strawberry Smoothie
  • Cranberry Mimosa
  • Irish Coffee
  • Cherry Cheesecake
• Pamper Yourselves: Galentine’s Day is the perfect time to pamper yourselves. You could plan on doing facials, manicures, pedicures, or even massages. You could always see if there is someone who could come to your home to do these services or just plan on doing the pampering yourselves. 
• Do Some Activities: You might plan some other activities on this night with your friends. How about showing a movie? Or is there a craft you’ve all been wanting to try from Pinterest? Game night? An in-home wine tasting? It doesn’t need to be complicated to be fun!
• Get the Chocolate: An all-girls gathering certainly needs some chocolate! Pick up some of your favorite chocolate treats at the grocery store or make some of the ones below if you love to bake:
  • Fudgy Dark Chocolate Brownies
  • Molten Chocolate Cakes
  • Homemade Chocolate Truffles
  • Chocolate Lasagna
  • Chocolate Covered Oreos
  • 3-Ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake
  • Death by Chocolate Cookies
• Give Favors to Take Home: As one final way to show your friends how much you love and appreciate them, send them home with a Galentine’s Day favor. You could get your friend t-shirts, cute bracelets, or specially labeled wine bottles. Whatever you choose to give your friends, they’re sure to love. 

This year are you planning a Galentine’s Day celebration with your best friends? What do you have planned? No matter what you have planned, just be sure to enjoy the time spent together.