Move over Valentine’s: Here are 10 activities for Palentine’s and Galentine’s at KCL

If there’s one thing I am an expert in, it’s how to thrive and flourish being a single girl in London. The secret is to be able to comfortably do things on your own, however you should also be able to lean back on your friends. Valentine’s Day is the most perfect day to do this.

It’s a celebration of love, and not just romantic love. So extend this love to those you adore the most and embrace February 14th. To help you do this, here are a carefully curated collection of ten activities to do with all of your most treasured pals and gals this V Day in London.

1. Have a Galentine’s (or rather, a Palentine’s)

If you’ve never done so before you need to host your very own “Galentine’s”. The Valentine’s collection in Flying Tiger totally inspired this – the mugs and tealights were too cute for me to bear. You must make sure to add in the coquette cups for an essential pink ribbon. M&S and Lidl also have plenty of love themed food, like heart shaped pizzas and chicken nuggets.

Put all this together, tell your friends to bring something of their own each and, just like that, you have a wholesome evening. I had glowing reviews at my “Galentine’s”, and in true Beauty and the Beast fashion, sent them all home with a single rose each.

2. Movie Night

Valentine’s Day is the ultimate day to binge watch all the greatest romcoms and romance films ever made. You can laugh at the corniness and all the cringe and be glad that you do not have to worry about what silly gift you should buy for your significant other this year.

A personal essential to a collection of V Day films is Valentine’s Day the film. Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner? Unreal.

3. Canvas Painting

Paint a pretty picture. Again, another wholesome activity that is super simple yet incredibly effective. You can buy little canvases and oil paints in most places. Flying Tiger, Hobby Craft, or order on Amazon. They’re not very expensive and it’s a nice little Valentine’s memento.

4. Brunch

Who doesn’t love a brunch? The best time to combine Valentine’s and pancake day too. Apple Butter in Covent Garden serve the most magnificent pancakes you have ever seen in your life and they change their toppings most weeks.

Be prepared as they’ve got a Valentine’s edition and everyone is queuing fast outside their doors.

5. Hot girl walk

Obviously a hot girl/ hot guy walk is a reliable, inexpensive but enjoyable V Day activity. You can venture to any park in London you like or even get on the Metropolitan line and go all the way to the end in Chesham. There’s a popular route that takes you through the countryside to Chorleywood – then you can hop back on the train and back to London.

6. Puppy Yoga

Aka, the best thing ever. The Puppy Yoga London studio in Angel was the most wholesome and healing experience.

The puppies are there just for a few hours in the day for their socialisation before they go to their forever home when they are old enough. The session begins with about 30 minutes of beginner’s yoga and then another 30 minutes of puppy playtime. The yoga instructor and the staff are so lovely and you can see they really care about the welfare of the four-legged babies.

7. Cooking Class

As students, we could probably all do with brushing up on our chef skills, because student meals look more like a Kitchen Nightmare than anything cooked up by Carmy in The Bear. With a glass of prosecco in hand, you can make your very own fresh pasta at Eataly. Sounds divine to me.

8. Social Pottery

Social Pottery in Kentish Town is another creative activity with a stellar tone for this Valentine’s Day. You can make and paint animals at the cheapest price of £20, mugs for £22 and then as big as plant pots for £45. Any opportunity to paint pots sounds like a therapeutic and relaxing event to do with your pals.

9. Bring your own board

Similar to the galantines, but a bit more of a group effort where, as the name of it suggests, you each bring a board of something, whether that be cocktails or cheeses. Feel like some guys could really nail this for one another, or just fill cups with the most disgusting combinations of alcohol. Either way, it’s a entertaining evening. TikTok is just the gift that keeps on giving.

10. Happy Hour

Plenty of bars around London are offering up a Valentine’s Day happy hour. Take advantage of the discounts and go and drink all that your single heart desires (no drowning of singledom sorrows allowed).

Hopefully some of these ideas persuaded you to make the most of Valentine’s Day, no matter your relationship status. V Day is just a day of love – no matter what kind of love that is.

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• The stars have spoken: the essential King’s College Horoscope
• Here are five Valentine’s date ideas for every type of couple in London
• King’s College London graduate to become Blue Peter’s 43rd presenter