Valentine’s Day is over: Galentine’s Day is the superior holiday and here’s why

It’s time to celebrate a different kind of love in lockdown


For single people living in the modern world, Valentine’s Day is often nothing more than a painful reminder that you are in fact, single. It might feel like you’ll never be loved and will end up dying alone from the assault of Instagram posts and soppy Facebook updates. But rather than using Valentine’s as an excuse to crawl into bed and drown your single sorrows in cheap wine and chocolate, I have another suggestion: enter Galentine’s Day.

It can be easy to jump to the conclusion that if you’re single on Valentine’s Day, you’re completely and utterly unloved, but it’s important to remember this isn’t the case! We often take for granted the love we receive from our friends and family who will often be in our lives for longer than any relationship.

Boyfriends, girlfriends or partners may come and go, but it’s our best friends who stick around. In many cases it’s our pals who are there to pick up the pieces when our relationships do fall apart. It’s our friends who listen to us whine about guys not texting us back, who help us prepare for our first dates and laugh with us when they go terribly.

We don’t give enough credit to the people who stay with us through it all, through all the terrible relationships and questionable hookups. In the end, it’s the love we get from our friendships that really shapes who we are as people. It’s often said that you become a combination of the people who you spend the most time with, and for a lot of us, it’s our mates who have the biggest impact.

Rather than wallowing in self pity, why not spend this February 14th celebrating the greatest loves of your life?  You might not have a significant other to shower you with gifts, but sending your best mate a bunch of flowers can let them know just how much they mean to you. It’s possible to have soulmates that aren’t romantic. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to find special people in our life who transcend romantic love, and thats certainly something worth celebrating!

Celebrating self-love

Given the state of the world at the moment (ahem, lockdown) a lot of us won’t actually be able to spend Valentine’s with our friends, let alone with a romantic partner. But do not despair – there’s another way to celebrate the love that you have in your life without breaking the law: celebrating yourself!

In her book What a Time to Be Alone,  Chidera Eggerue talks about the importance of loving yourself. The relationship we’re all going to be in the longest is the one we have with ourselves, whether we like it or not. Taking time to appreciate yourself, just as you would a friend or a significant other is important in order to develop a healthy relationship with yourself. To quote Rupaul: “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell are you going to love somebody else?”

So, if you’re finding yourself alone this Valentine’s Day, why not take time to appreciate yourself? Rather than feeling sorry for yourself because you aren’t getting love from someone else, give it to yourself.

How to celebrate in lockdown

Now that you’re all converted to the joys of celebrating Galentine’s day, whether that be for the love of your best friends or yourself, here are our tips for having the best Galentine’s possible in lockdown.

Step 1: Baking

Every celebration needs cake, even if it’s only you and your flatmates spending the night in. Do yourself a favour and get baking, decorate to your hearts content. There is nothing quite like the joy that baking yourself something delicious inspires, so cracking open the box mix is the perfect start to the Galentine’s festivities.

Step 2: Get fancy

If you would do it for a date, you should do it for yourself this Galentine’s. Show yourself the love you deserve, throw on a fancy dress and spend way too long doing an impossibly elaborate eyeshadow look. You might be confined to the living room this year, but taking time to make yourself all fancy can be a very fun way to remind yourself just how fantastic you are. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to get really dressed up?

Step 3: Games night

Because the options for partying are somewhat limited at the moment, our flat has passed many an evening playing card games, board games and Just Dance alike. It might not compare to real life clubbing, but there is a certain rush you get when you get a set in Go Fish, or when you get an “excellent” dancing to the Rasputin song. It’s almost as good as the real thing.

Step 4 (optional): drinking!

While it may not be for everyone, for most people, a party isn’t complete without a cheeky drink or two. Even if alcohol isn’t your thing, there’s no reason not to get involved with an overly complicated mocktail or any sort of drink you could put an umbrella in. Treat yourself to something a little bit special, with or without champagne.

Step 5: Self care (to deal with the hangover)

Now if you have followed our advice and gone full out with the fruity cocktails, no doubt the accompanying hangover the next day will be brutal. However, there’s nothing quite like a self indulgent bath/face mask combo to make you feel better about life, all in the name of self care of course. Even if you haven’t been drinking, take some time for yourself this Galentine’s: burn a nice smelling candle, watch a tacky movie, and remind yourself that you are worth the time. Allow yourself to be lazy, in the name of self care of course!

To round out the Galentine’s day fun, we have created a collaborative Spotify playlist for you to add to and enjoy so you can all dance the night away, even if only in your home.

Related articles recommended by this writer:

Freshers listen up: Here’s how to pick your new flatmates and not regret it

These are the best daytime tv shows to binge during Lockdown 3

I scrolled back to the first post on celeb Instagrams and boy it was embarrassing