Opinion: Five fabulous ways to celebrate Galentine’s Day

By Taylor Hamilton, Opinion Editor

February 13, 2025

As John Paul Young sings, “Love is in the air,” but not for your significant other or the frat boy you just can’t get rid of; it’s for your gals.

Galentine’s Day is the perfect day to share your appreciation for your best girlfriends and uplift each other right before y’all cry your eyes out over not having a Valentine tomorrow.

So, here’s the top five best things to do to celebrate Galentine’s Day with your favorite girls.

Watch the Galentine’s Day episode of “Parks and Recreation”

The only reason that Galentine’s Day exists is because of the television series, “Parks and Recreation.” Not to spoil the episode, but the holiday was created by the main character of the show, Leslie Knope, who makes it her mission to ditch the men for the day and celebrate her and all of the other women in her life. So, today, of all days, it just makes sense to go back to the beginning of it all and watch season two, episode 16 of “Parks and Recreation” on Peacock.

Make fun mocktails

Whether you make Shirley Temples, virgin Pina Coladas or a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri, there’s nothing better than a good old mocktail to cheer the night away with. Plus, they’re so simple and inexpensive, and let’s face it, it’s much better to spend money on new clothes or shoes than alcohol. So, let’s create some fun and juicy mocktails this Galentine’s Day.

Dress up and take cute photos

If there’s anything that us gals love to do, it’s to dress up in cute outfits and take photos in them with our besties acting as our paparazzi. Whether you want to keep it casual in some jeans and a top or dress up in a maxi dress, dressing up can boost a girl’s confidence, especially when you’re with your girlfriends. If your friends are “girls girls,” then they will easily compliment you no matter what you wear. So, ladies, let’s get together and flatter each other up because we’re all beautiful and deserve to feel like it on such a special day.

Take a picnic somewhere

Some girls love the beach, and others love any cute neighborhood park, so it’s time to take that love and buy a picnic basket. For this, you’ll need some cute champagne classes and your favorite type of bubbly, i.e. sparkling cider or champagne, a cute cake (perhaps with bows on it) and a charcuterie board. Sure, it seems like a lot to any average male, but all of the Pinterest girlies out there get it. So, celebrate the day with your girls in your desired location with a beautiful picnic, and perhaps you’ll even get some sunset pictures.

Watch your favorite rom-com (or any other movie, for that matter)

From personal experience, I know that many of my friends and I have loved watching romantic comedies together throughout the years. We’ve swooned over every attractive guy and been drawn to almost every word that came out of his mouth. However, if you and your friends don’t enjoy romantic comedies, that’s fine; just find a movie you can all agree on. It’s always a good time to watch a movie with your girls and talk during the majority of the movie and have to rewind constantly. It might sound annoying, but it makes the experience for a wonderful movie night.

No matter what you occupy your time with, I hope you have a fabulous Galentine’s Day with your girls. Girl friendships are the best kind, so celebrate and nurture them today.

Taylor Hamilton is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Tallahassee, Fla.

About the Contributor

Taylor Hamilton, Opinion Editor

Why did you join the Reveille?

In high school, I was a part of my school’s newspaper and absolutely loved my time there. Once I heard about the Reveille, I knew that I wanted to continue my “journalistic career” in college. Writing is one of my greatest passions, and being able to express myself on a larger platform was a dream of mine.

What positions have you held at the Reveille?

I have held the position of opinion columnist twice, and now I’m the opinion editor.

What's your favorite thing about working at the Reveille?

Prior to becoming an editor, my favorite thing was writing. Since high school, I’ve loved being able to express myself through writing in ways that I could never do verbally. Now as an editor, I would say that my favorite thing is working with my columnists and fellow editors. We have a wonderful group of people at the newspaper, and I have loved getting to know all of them better.

What's your favorite story that you've written so far?

Honestly, it's a tough question because I have a lot of personal favorites. However, I would say that my favorite story (as of right now) is the piece that I wrote about the Feminists in Action’s annual event, Take Back the Night. The piece focused on my own personal story with sexual assault, and advocated for survivors and allies to attend the event to bring awareness to this ongoing issue. It’s so important to bring attention to people’s stories, and that’s what I tried to highlight in this column. It was an excruciating piece to write, but I’m so glad that I did.

What do you hope to do after graduation?

After graduation, I hope to enter the publishing industry. My heart has always lay with books, and I can't wait to help bring authors’ stories to life someday.