By now you’ve probably heard of Galentine’s Day, the female friend focused holiday on February 13th created by Parks and Rec. The main character, Leslie Knope, believes in celebrating with brunch, fizzy drinks, and personalized heartfelt gifts. While all those things are fun bonuses, the heart and soul of Galentine’s day is expressing love and appreciation for female friends. You don’t need to throw a whole party or write a 5000-word essay for each of your favorite ladies like Leslie Knope to show your friends that you love them.
The easiest way to express your love for your friends is to simply tell them. I’ve personally found that words (verbal or written) work best for me, but even an interpretive dance works as long as you get the point across. I like to send texts to my friends to tell them something I love about them or a good memory I have of us. Sometimes I send photos of things that remind me of my buddies so that they know I’m thinking about them. When you’re deciding what to say, try to focus on what makes your friends unique and lovable. For Galentine’s Day, it might be worth the effort to write something nice on a piece of paper. I know that when I receive nice notes, I save them and look back on them way more than I do my texts.
Another way to show love is to do something nice for your friends. Think of things that seem to always be an annoyance to your friends and find some way to alleviate this. Conveying love through action is a great way to have a true impact on your friend’s day. If you also want to give a physical gift, you could give them something they’re always losing, forgetting, or wanting. For example, if your friend is always losing her lip balms, you could get her one for her car and one for her backpack. It’s all about showing your girls that you notice and appreciate them.
Lastly, a very meaningful way to communicate how much you love the women in your life is to spend time with them. It can be so easy to get caught up in daily life that we can forget to make time for the people we love. Taking the time to do something your friends love will really show them you care. Another thing to note is spending time listening to them. Sometimes people just want to feel heard and Galentine’s is the perfect time to commit to listening better.
In the words of Leslie Knope, “you’re a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox” and I’m sure your friends are too. Go out and make it the best Galentine’s ever!