The Bournemouth Tab’s guide to the ultimate Galentine’s Day

We love your healthy relationship, but if you are single or in a situationship, you still have something to look forward to right before Valentine’s Day—the glorious Galentine’s Day!

Ditch the overpriced dinners and wilting roses, and celebrate the amazing women in your life. Whether you are a group of cosy homebodies or outgoing adventurers, brunch girlies or party extravaganzas, here’s the Bournemouth Tab’s five-step guide to this year’s Galentine’s Day.

1. Determine how you are going to celebrate Galentine’s Day

You’d say, ‘duh!’. I know. However, determining this key aspect will make it quite easy to streamline your day, including budget, food, decor, games, gifts, etc.

Here are some ideas:

• Spending a spa/mani-pedi day together.
• Going on a brunch date and shopping after.
• A simple Galentine’s potluck followed by a ‘Secret Galentine’ exchange (I love the simplicity of this one!).
• Plan a picnic in the Lower Gardens with the girls.

• Spend the evening baking and enjoying a movie marathon.
• For the more adventurous spirits, escape room challenges, karaoke nightouts, or the Rock Reef on Bournemouth Pier are perfect ideas.
• Walking around the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum – analyse the art and make stories like you are an art critic.
• A fun-filled day at the arcade or a movie day out at Odeon sounds amazing too.

Or you could go plain old clubbing or host a theme party. Some ideas right off the bat are ‘Everything Pink’, ‘English Tea Party’, ‘Red Carpet Dress Up’, ‘Retro Glam and Glitter’, and ‘The Sleepover’.

2. D-Holy Trinity: Drinks, Decoration and Dessert

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If ‘love is in the air’, a great idea would be to stick it on our walls, too. You don’t need to spend a lot. Just DIY a heart-cutout paper chain (make some paper confetti with the leftovers), blow up some balloons, and stick a string of lights above your bed.

If you want to splurge a little more, you can buy some flowers, hang some glittery party favours, light some candles, and get new pink cushions.

Heart-shaped food ideas can include pancakes, a red fruit platter, macaroons, and, of course, cookies and cakes.

If you have opted for a simple, cosy evening, you can bake and decorate heart-shaped cookies for your dessert (or just eating the cookie dough is a great idea too).

And as if you need a reason to drink, get yourself a glass of wine, woman! (well, margaritas, sangrias or really any cocktail/mocktail!)

If you want to take it up a notch, have a goofy rom-com movie marathon and play a drinking game. Take a sip every time there’s a loud love declaration, a hesitant nod to ‘not ready for a relationship’, a dramatic makeover or sidelining of a perfectly good and lovable character. You will have so much fun getting slowly tipsy.

3. Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment

If you are not going out, get your home ready for a sweet karaoke. Or just dance (it’s your moment to have a giant blowout party with all the other Barbies with perfectly planned choreography and a bespoke song).

Alternately, you can host a quiz, play truth or dare, make friendship bracelets, or—here’s my favourite —write down your worst dates and put them in a hat where everyone picks a story to read and guesses who wrote them (funny enough, they don’t even have to be real; I once poorly described a movie plot).

Board games, dumb charades, card games, murder mysteries, bingo night, and witchcraft and wizardry are equally fun ideas.

If you dress up for Galentine’s Day, having a photo booth is pretty entertaining, too. Your decor can be the backdrop, and this can be a fun activity to fill your social media feeds, too.

4. Whoever said ‘No Gifts’ was lying

You don’t have to do it for every one of your girlfriends (unless you have the budget). You can treat it as a secret exchange. Create a DrawNames account, set a budget limit, make a wishlist, and have fun buying gifts for each other. Or just get flowers!

If you want to go the extra mile, make a gift box for your bestie (it’s not that expensive). Simple things such as bath bombs, bath salts, candles, face masks, body lotions, perfume, socks, eye masks, headbands, chocolates, flavoured teas, dried fruits and nuts, snacks, notebooks, pens, coffee mugs, books, and accessories can fill up a small basket. Personalizing the gift box will show how much she means to you.

5. Get her a card! Get all of them a card! 

Whether you have an indoor or outdoor plan, write a note to her expressing your appreciation for your friendship. I got us friendship bracelets (same thing!). Stick a little heart on it to be in line with the festivity.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

•These are the top eight places to take your Valentine for a romantic date in Bournemouth

•Would Your Date Survive The Apocalypse?: Boom Battle Bar Edition

•Six ways to celebrate Valentine’s Day if you’re single in Bournemouth