Love is such a beautiful and important aspect of our lives, and Valentine’s Day gives us a chance to celebrate it. That said, it goes without saying that romantic love is not the only form of love worth celebrating on Valentine’s Day. As a matter of fact, no matter what your relationship status is, we should all be celebrating friendship and self-love on Valentine’s Day. Because honestly, it’s the honoring of all types of love that makes Valentine’s Day so wonderful. Including the love between friends, family members, and even the love we have for ourselves. As a matter of fact, self-love and friendship honestly deserve more emphasis than they’re often given on Valentine’s Day.
Because honestly, self-love lays the foundation for the rest of our relationships, both romantic and platonic. And our friends are often our chosen family, who are our greatest support system through all of life’s ups and downs. Honestly, friendships are so underrated and deserve to be nurtured in adulthood. And Valentine’s Day is honestly the perfect opportunity to celebrate and honor the connection that you have with your closest friends. While also being a day to set aside time to love and nurture yourself, and build yourself up. It doesn’t matter if you’re single or in a relationship, Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate all of the connections that bring you joy in your life.
Honestly? Friendship and self-love are actually the most fun aspects of love to celebrate on Valentine’s Day. Along with being extremely empowering and uplifting. Both for you, and for the friends and loved ones you’re celebrating with. It actually makes Valentine’s Day, or Galentine’s Day, something to look forward to as much as Halloween, Christmas, and New Year’s. While taking the societal pressure out of the holiday of love.
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Celebrating Friendship With Your Galentines — or Palentines
Friendship is such a deep and genuine form of love that holds such a meaningful place in our lives. Oftentimes, our friends are our chosen family, and among the first people we want to share the best moments of our lives with. Along with being our greatest support system when struggles, heartache, or hardships hit. And that love goes both ways in a deep and connected friendship. We even imagine what our senior years may look like with our closest friends, and the adventures we’d love to have with our best friends in our elder years.
And honestly, you don’t have to live in the same zipcode to be deeply connected with your friends. Heck, you might even live on entirely different continents. Maybe your best friend does live right down the street, or maybe you even share an address. Your best friend might even be your sibling, cousin, or another family member. Or maybe you met your best friend in that niche online community you’re in. Whatever the case, all friendships deserve to be honored and celebrated on Valentine’s Day. Because honestly, why wouldn’t we celebrate some of the most important people in our lives? Those friends we choose because we trust them and enjoy their company the most.
Let’s celebrate our Galentines on Valentine’s Day. Heck, in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, let’s even ask our best friends to be our Galentine. Or our Palentine, since friendship most certainly doesn’t have to be gender specific. As I said before, all of our deepest connections deserve to be honored on Valentine’s Day.
1. Make Galentine’s Day Cards and Write Heartfelt Letters
There’s something so fun and delightful about making personalized cards for your friends and loved ones. Especially when you make them yourself using fun holiday ephemera or digital assets. Heck, you can even make a design in Canva to print off, then add additional design elements by hand. While also customizing the message in the card to say whatever you want, and making it more meaningful than the generic printed message on the card. That said, if you’re not the artsy type, you can still use blank Valentine’s Day cards to write your own heartfelt message. Or use a themed Canva template as a base for your digital card or letter.
2. Intentionally Have Deep Conversations
Certainly, our lives can be busy in adulthood. But having a busy life does not mean that we can not find moments to have deeply focused and connected conversations with those we’re close to. Really, we should all be striving to have more deep conversations with our friends than we often do. Whether it be in person, over FaceTime, or even by text. Because honestly, even as an introvert, I cherish having truly deep conversations with those I care about. And holidays like Valentine’s Day make for the perfect opportunities to find time to connect with friends. Whether you meet up or simply have an extended text conversation back and forth all day.
3. Put Together Self-Care and Self-Love Gifts
There is something so fun and creative about putting together fun gift bags for your friends and loved ones. Especially when you’re putting together a gift that they can practically use to practice self-love for Valentine’s Day. Or to encourage them to live a little more intentionally and bring more softness into their lives. I also must say, there are endless ways that you can get creative with putting together self-love Valentine’s Day gifts for your friends. You can even make the gift bag itself practical by perhaps filling up a makeup bag or even a lovely cup with little treats, self-care items, and thoughtful little gifts.
4. Enjoy Coffee or A Meal Out Together
Even if you can not spend the entire day together, it can be absolutely wonderful to go out for coffee or lunch with your closest friends on Valentine’s Day. Honestly, going out for coffee together is such a wonderful way to spend some quality time with your best friends and have some deep discussions as you enjoy a latte together. The same goes for going out for lunch together, or even going on a friend date with your best friends for dinner. It always makes for a wonderful time to sit and talk while you wait for your food to arrive. And to enjoy a great meal as you’re surrounded by your chosen family.
5. Attend A Hobby or Fitness Class Together
Honestly, diving into hobbies and moving your body is such a wonderful way to enrich your life, even on your own. But bringing some friends along to a class that you’re all interested in makes the experience even more delightful. Because not only are you enjoying the atmosphere and the learning experience of the class itself, but you’re also surrounded by great company in the process. And it can even be a way to bond without having to exchange words the entire time. Honestly, if you share a common interest with all of your friends, finding a fitness or hobby class around Valentine’s Day makes for the perfect low-pressure Galentine’s Day date.
I also must say, attending a fitness or hobby class that one of your friends has, that you might not have tried yet, is also a wonderful way to show them you care about their interests. Even when those interests may be different from your own.
6. Host A Small Galentine’s Day Gathering
Honestly, some of the best gatherings we have with our friends are smaller and more private. Which is why it can be so wonderful to host a little Galentine’s Day party at your home. Especially since hosting a gathering at home allows you to decide what’s on the agenda for your Galentine’s Day party. You can make it a potluck for everyone to bring their own Valentine’s Day treats for the group. Your Galentine’s Day party could easily be a movie night, game night, or spa afternoon. You can even encourage everyone to wear their favorite set of pajamas. And honestly, it gives everyone in the group a chance to celebrate their friendship on Valentine’s Day by adding something that resonates with them.
7. Enjoy A Movie Night Together
Watching empowering and funny movies with your friends is such a wonderful way to enjoy each other’s company without requiring a bunch of words. Heck, some movies even make for a wonderful way to actually theme your entire get-together. You can truly make a whole Galentine’s Day event around watching Mean Girls, The Barbie Movie, or just about any other funny or empowering movie together. Heck, Mean Girls is so popular that it even has a tarot deck [affiliate link] if you’d like to include tarot readings in your Galentine’s Day movie night. And there are also so many fun ways to have fun with themes from The Barbie Movie, Legally Blonde, Bridesmaids, Wicked, and so many others.
Of course, you can also have a movie marathon going in the background. Or even just make it a collection of everyone’s personal and empowering favorites. There’s really no right or wrong way to enjoy a movie night. Just make it fun, and don’t forget the snacks.
8. Pamper Your Besties In A Spa Afternoon
Enjoying a spa afternoon is the epitome of self-care. And honestly, we could all use a little extra pampering, both from ourselves and from those we trust. So why not host a little spa afternoon so that you and your closest friends can pamper each other, and help each other relax and glam up a little? It can be as simple as painting each other’s nails or even doing some nail art. Or perhaps, doing some sheet and under-eye masks together, or styling each other’s hair. Honestly, embracing that slumber party energy can be a lot of fun for everyone’s inner child. Even if life doesn’t quite allow for you to actually have an overnight slumber party as adults.
9. Play Funny Valentine’s Day Themed Games
Let’s be honest, Valentine’s Day does have a reputation for being quite a high-pressure holiday. It can certainly bring up some difficult feelings for those who are struggling romantically. Even when they try to refocus their Valentine’s Day celebration on friendship and self-love. Heck, Valentine’s Day can even put unnecessary pressure on couples to plan the perfect date. And honestly, one of the best ways to deal with any frustrations you may have around Valentine’s Day is with humor. So why not invite your friends to play some humorous anti-Valentine’s Day games with you?
You can get quite creative with this. From poking fun at exes to poking fun at the holiday itself. Perhaps, you could even play a version of “truth or dare” that involves deleting old messages and photos that anyone in the group may still be holding onto of their exes. Or even blocking that persistent ex that’s trying to slip back into one of your friends’ messages. Honestly, use your creativity with this one. As long as it doesn’t escalate to contact with an ex, and it’s all in good fun, let yourself have some laughs.
10. Share Your Gratitude With Each Other
At the end of the day, Valentine’s Day is all about showing our gratitude to those we love. Certainly, it can be a lot of fun to prepare gifts for your friends, make Galentine’s Day cards, and do fun things together. But really, the main focus for honoring your friendship should all come back to gratitude. So why not make a point of it to share your gratitude for your friends with each other directly? Sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone is to acknowledge how important they truly are to us. So go out of your way to tell your best friends how much they mean to you, and how much you cherish your friendship.
Honoring Self-Love On Valentine’s Day
Self-love is undeniably the most important type of love. No matter what your relationship status is, how many friends you have, or how close your family is, your relationship with yourself is the most important of all of them. And while I do disagree with the notion that you can’t love others without self-love, I will say that loving yourself first actually helps all of your relationships. After all, when we’re confident and we respect ourselves, we have stronger boundaries and only nurture bonds with people who genuinely love and respect us. A strong sense of self-love attracts people who see the best in us as we are, while also encouraging our growth.
Honestly, the way we relate to ourselves affects how we relate to others in so many ways. From being more trusting of those who genuinely love us, to being more discerning of who we get close to. I also must say, confident people who genuinely love themselves are also a light in this world. They absolutely radiate positivity, and they brighten the world of everyone around them without even trying. Their cup is so overflowing that they can’t help but bring more joy into the lives of others. Including those they love. And because they truly love themselves, they won’t let their own cup go empty.
Self-love is not selfish in any way, my lovely. Nor is taking a moment to fill your cup and show yourself some love. Heck, building up your self-love is one of the most selfless things that you can do. So no matter what your relationship status may be, take a moment on Valentine’s Day to honor and build up your self-love. And you know what? If you have a partner, encourage them to do the same for themself.
11. Practice Loving Self-Talk
One thing we all need to stop doing is speaking so negatively to ourselves. We know it’s not helpful for us in any way to speak to ourselves in such a disrespectful way. So let’s make Valentine’s Day a day to intentionally do the opposite and speak to ourselves in a kind and loving way. Certainly, we should be saying our affirmations and speaking to ourselves lovingly every day. But Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to be intentional about it and turn the positive and loving self-talk up to 100. So make it a day to relentlessly bombard yourself with loving affirmations, empowering words, and encouragement.
12. Self-Love Journaling
There is something so cozy about sitting down with a warm drink and writing out your thoughts in a journal. It’s one of my personal favorite ways to unwind, reflect, and even manifest. You can also get quite creative with journaling if you’re into scrapbook-style journaling or if you enjoy creating art in your journal. But honestly, another great aspect of journaling is solidifying your thoughts into something you can actually look back on later on. And the great thing about self-love journaling is giving yourself something to read when you feel you need it the most. Sometimes, we need some love from ourselves, after all.
There is no right or wrong way to go about self-love journaling. You can simply write out what you love the most about yourself as a self-love journaling prompt. You can also write a loving letter to yourself, whether to your past, present, or future self. There are so many directions that you can go with this, and make self-love journaling a wonderful part of your Valentine’s Day celebration.
13. Curate An Empowering Self-Love Playlist
Music is such a fun and powerful tool for emotional release, healing, and empowerment. And honestly, it can be so empowering to create a playlist that meets you where you are in the current season you’re in for Valentine’s Day. Really, there’s no harm in acknowledging where you’re at romantically in your playlist. Whether you’re happily taken, single and loving it, hoping for new love, or you’re dealing with heartbreak. But don’t forget to also add some self-love and self-empowerment to your playlist as well. Because remember, self-love is always important, regardless of your relationship status.
Seriously, curate a playlist with songs that pump you up and make you feel unapologetically confident. Add some songs that you wish to be on your soundtrack as you manifest your desires. Let the music acknowledge the tender parts of yourself, while also having some that feel empowering. Let this playlist be your go-to playlist for this season of your life. And your go-to when you need to feel your emotions, while also picking yourself back up when you need it.
14. Glam Up — Just Because You Can
When you look good, you feel good. There’s something so empowering about putting a little extra effort into your appearance and fully expressing your personal style, just because you can. And you know what? You don’t need a special occasion to glam up and be extra about your style. But I must say, Valentine’s Day makes for the perfect excuse to put on your favorite dress, go full glam on your makeup, and put extra effort into your hair. It doesn’t matter if you’re just going to work, to the grocery store, or even staying at home. You don’t need a special occasion to get dressed up. Life is the special occasion, and you can glam up whenever the heck you feel like it, just because it’s an act of self-love.
15. Take Yourself On A Date
My lovely, if there’s a place that you really want to do, you don’t need to wait for anyone else to take you on a date there. Seriously, you don’t need a partner to take you to that lovely bistro that you want to go to. Nor do you need to even wait for your best friend to be available to go to that tea house. You don’t need to have a date to go see a movie that you really want to see. Seriously, you don’t need anyone else to take you anywhere. So why not make Valentine’s Day the day you finally make a date with yourself to go out for tea and macarons? Or to go to that fancy restaurant for dinner on your own?
Heck, you may even enjoy yourself even more. As you fully get to enjoy the experience without anyone else’s commentary, and it gives you quality time with yourself. With no pressure to be chatty or perform for anyone else.
16. Buy Yourself Flowers, Chocolates, and Gifts
Let’s be honest, no one knows what we like and what we want better than we do. We know exactly what kind of flowers we love seeing in our space, what chocolates we enjoy the best, and what is on our wishlist. So really, it only makes sense for us to buy ourselves flowers for Valentine’s Day. Or to buy our own chocolates and Valentine’s Day gifts. We don’t need someone else to buy us the jewelry, the self-care products, or that gift we really want. We can buy it for ourselves. Heck, it doesn’t even necessarily have to be a traditional gift for Valentine’s Day. You can totally buy yourself the AirPods or the vlogging camera.
And you know what? Valentine’s Day is the perfect holiday for treating yourself to a big gift.
17. Decorate Your Space For Sweetness
While Valentine’s Day decor may not be as elaborate as Halloween or Christmas decor, it’s still quite fun to display in February. Heck, I personally find most Valentine’s Day decor to be versatile for year-round decor, as it actually matches my usual decor style. February is actually the optimal time to find pink and feminine decor for your space. Much of which can stay out year-round, depending on your personal decor style. Besides, reds and pinks are so fun and sweet to work with, and they add something special to your space. Especially in February. While it may be a small touch, it truly adds something fun to your space to freshen it up.
18. Prepare and Enjoy Some Valentine’s Day Sweet Treats
Even if you have a strong loathing for Valentine’s Day, it’s hard to deny that the sweet treats aren’t absolutely delightful. And you know what? You don’t need a partner to enjoy those same sweet treats. You can always enjoy those heart-shaped cakes, Valentine’s Day chocolates, and seasonal candies as a moment of shameless indulgence for Valentine’s Day. Chocolate-covered strawberries are a wonderful indulgence for combining fresh fruit with indulgent chocolate. And you can even take it upon yourself to make some Valentine’s Day treats on your own, and get creative in the kitchen.
Heck, you can even turn them into anti-Valentine’s Day treats, so you can still enjoy them while maintaining a bit of spite.
19. Have A Home Self-Pampering Session
One of my personal favorite ways to practice self-care is to have a home spa night and let myself enjoy a cozy moment to myself. But honestly, home spa nights, movie nights, and cozy gaming sessions are the epitome of what we think of when we think of self-care. And honestly? We all need to allow ourselves to have these moments regularly. I’d say we should be making intentional leisure time at least a planned weekly occurrence. Even if it’s as simple as taking a relaxing bath or watching a movie. But you know what? Valentine’s Day is the perfect day to go all-out for your self-pampering session and make a day out of it. Even if you have to make it a post-work self-pampering session.
Make your favorite meal. Apply a sheet mask. Take a relaxing bath. Watch your favorite movie. Play your favorite cozy game. Whatever you want to do, make a plan to do it for Valentine’s Day. Give your soul exactly what it needs. It doesn’t have to be productive; it just has to bring you joy. You’re a human being, and you deserve to do what makes you happy. Whether it be taking a nap with undereye patches on while your favorite show plays. Or sipping on a mocha latte as you play Animal Crossing, before you open that interesting book that’s at your side.
20. Manifest Your Dream Life
A part of true self-love is knowing exactly what you deserve and going for it. And quite honestly, self-love and manifestation go hand-in-hand. A strong and loving self-concept makes manifestation so much easier, knowing the universe reflects what you are back to you. And of course, you are worthy of living the life that you desire. You just have to get your subconscious on board with knowing that you deserve to live your dream life. If not a better one. So why not sit down on Valentine’s Day and tap into the Law of Attraction to manifest exactly what you deserve? Have some fun exploring different manifestation techniques to attract whatever it is that you want.
Certainly, you can use this opportunity to attract a partner. But don’t stop at manifesting love. Think about what you want in the bigger picture, and manifest wealth, success, confidence, joy, and all different forms of abundance. And don’t you dare settle for anything less than you deserve in any aspect of your life. While also keeping an open mind and an open heart for the universe to give you something even better.
Conclusion
Valentine’s Day has so much potential to be a genuinely fun holiday to get excited about. Especially when you allow Valentine’s Day to become a holiday to celebrate friendship and self-love. Certainly, this doesn’t mean that you have to ignore romantic love if you’re in a relationship. All types of love are worth celebrating on Valentine’s Day. Whether it be the love you share with your partner, your family, or your friends. And let’s not forget to also nurture the most important relationship of all, the relationship you have with yourself. Make it fun, while also making it deep and meaningful. Let Valentine’s Day be a day of connection and showing gratitude. While also allowing for a few laughs.
What are some of your favorite ways to celebrate self-love and self-love on Valentine’s Day? Do you have any special traditions of your own for celebrating self-love and friendship for Valentine’s Day? Are there any special plans that you’d like to make this February 14th to honor self-love and friendship? Or perhaps traditions you’d like to start to make Valentine’s Day feel a little less romance-focused and high-pressure? I’d love to hear from you!
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