Galentine’s Day: Not Just for Gals (and How This Can Look During the Pandemic)

Galentine’s Day is a recent trend in America, where friends get together on February 13^th (the day before Valentine’s Day) to celebrate friendship and the importance their relationships with one another has. It is really a great way to emphasize how important friendship is and how fulfilling platonic love can be in our lives.

Originally, this day started off as a fictional event by Amy Poehler’s character in the hit show Parks and Recreation, but it soon became something that women started pursuing in the real world after they realized how fun it could be. Though coined Galentine’s Day, it can be an important day to celebrate any friendship in someone’s life and would work just as well for men. Taking the time out of one’s schedule to form a fun, friend-centered day where the relationship between friends is celebrated is a great way to grow closer and really cherish what life has to give.

While Galentine’s was originally shown as a nice day out to brunch and giving gifts, this may not seem as possible during a pandemic and while trying to properly social distance. Some ways that Galentine’s could look by following current guidelines would be by picking out the same recipe to bake and doing it together on a zoom call or making the same breakfast and having brunch over FaceTime. Games like Yahtzee or Farkle (which are both played with dice and scores can be kept easily on paper) are also accessible over these video calling platforms. Additionally, you could watch a movie together with the program Scener, which allows users to video chat and stream videos to each other at the same time.

If you participate in Galentine’s this year, make sure to highlight what you love about your friends, they could probably use a confidence boost after this challenging past year! Talk about the fun times you’ve had together and compliment them on their strengths. Let them know that they are loved and make it a day to remember. Everyone could use a reminder that they are loved and that there are positive things that life has to give, it’s a great mental boost for 2021!

Written by Emma, Undergrad Intern 2021

If you would like to speak to a professional counselor or psychologist about your life and are in the Chicago area, please feel free to contact Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc. at 708-633-8000. We are located at 6819 West 167^th Street in Tinley Park, Illinois 60477.