Forget Valentine's Day: celebrate the love for your girlfriends on Galentine’s Day

Gather your girlfriends, open your favorite bottle of wine, and mark a big cross in your calendar for Monday, February 13: there is a new holiday in town. This year we are massively celebrating Galentine’s Day, a day to celebrate the love for your girlfriends. Whether you are (happily) single, happily married, or somewhere in between, taking the day to shine a light on your girlfriends can help give your friendship a well-deserved boost.

The term Galentine’s Day made its debut in the series Parks and Recreation, where a character showers her girlfriends with homemade gifts, embroidered flowers, and letters of five thousand words expressing her love for her friends. Overdoing it is also a craft, because you certainly don’t have to approach this new holiday on such a grand scale.

But what can you actually do if you decide to celebrate this day? Simple: ramp up your favorite activities a bit for the occasion. For example, organize a cozy movie night with your favorite snacks, plan a special dinner, or hit the town with a load of homemade cocktails. If you’re more into traditional celebrations, you can of course exchange cards or small gifts. Anything is possible, nothing is too much, and there is only one rule: you spend the evening with your girlfriends and all partners stay at home.

Besides the fact that it is of course wonderful to pamper your girlfriends a little extra every now and then, boosting your friendship also has other benefits. A strong friendship leads to more self-confidence, reduces stress, and helps you cope with traumas and all the challenges life throws at you. There are also physical benefits: a strong social network can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and depression and even leads to a longer life. Who needs a Valentine with so many advantages? Exactly: no one. Happy Galentine’s Day!

Source: Good Housekeeping