Galentine’s Day Event

Planning my first Galentine’s on a budget

This year I hosted my very first Galentine’s day event. I usually just celebrate Valentine’s day with my husband but this year I wanted to make time for the ladies in my life and host something girly and fun. Let’s get into some of my hot takes about planning a Galentine’s day event and how to keep the budget as low as possible while having a ton of fun.

DIY Invitation, Guest List and Theme

• Get creative and set the theme of your party! Use Canva to make a quick and easy invitation to send to your guest. Use the Canva search bar to find a template that you love and will set the tone for your party. Feel free to make as many or as little edits as you want. But make sure to have the correct date and address of your event. I like to customize my invitations because that’s what I enjoy, but if I am throwing something together quickly I will usually grab a template they have and adjust the date, time, and location. 

• Be sure to also mention if there is a dress code! I personally love a themed event. For example, I requested that my guests wear their favorite pajamas and come ready for brunch. The theme of my invitation was Pancakes and Pajamas. Having a dress code and theme sets the tone of what the guests should expect and removes the curiosity of what to expect or what to wear. As a female, attire is always my question. Should I dress cozy, casual, elegant, I just like to know!

Host at home

• Invite your guests over to your place. Don’t worry about covering the cost of a venue or making reservations at a restaurant. Inviting your guests over to your house removes unnecessary costs or headaches. Hosting at home you have control of the time, menu, and decoration.

Casual Brunch

• If this is your first time hosting, I recommend something easy. The easiest, and cheapest in my opinion, is brunch or breakfast. Keep the menu simple and buffet style. Something like scrambled eggs, waffles or pancakes, bacon or sausage, and muffins or donuts. You can always make the menu fancier and more grandiose but start simple! If you know you have some dietary restrictions, add some alternatives like turkey bacon or gluten free pancakes. Offer juices like orange juice, grapefruit juice, teas, coffee, and if your group enjoys some mimosas be sure to have a bottle of champagne just in case. 

• Brunch is understood to be more casual and relaxed whereas for dinner you may want to do a plated dinner menu with wine.

Plan Decor

• Galentine’s is meant to be fun! Play up to the theme of the day with pinks and reds and something shiny. Tap into your inner child and have fun with the decor. You do not need to spend a lot of money on the decorations, in fact, the decor I bought specifically for this event cost me a grand total of $23. Here is a list of items I purchased.
  • 12 foil heart balloons
  • 1 red door fringe
  • 1 heart door fringe
  • 2 pink door fringe
  • 1 tablecloth
  • 2 sets of paper plates
  • 1 set of napkins
  • 2 sets of cups
  • 1 set of coffee cups
  • 2 sets of utensils
  • A box of heart design wax paper
• I purchased most of these decorations on Shein. The paper plates and cups at Dollar Tree and the coffee cups and utensils at Hobby Lobby. At the time it was easier for me to make my purchases on Shein because I didn’t have time to drive around and it was a good bang for my buck. 
• Having big decor items like the heart shaped foil balloons will fill up the blank wall and can be the focal point of your decoration. The door fringes can either be used on a door frame or cut into smaller pieces to stick to the ceiling and hang down, or around a light fixture or even stuck to the wall and a backdrop, the options are truly endless. 

Photo wall

• The only decoration I would highly recommend is a photo wall. Most girls love a photo opp, ESPECIALLY with social media! When you are planning your decorations try to plan a space where you can gather in front of to take pictures. Even if you make some fun DIY photo props, get creative with your space. I have a full length mirror that I incorporated in my decoration and used some lipstick to draw on hearts and kisses so we can take some cute selfies!

Goodie bags

• Since this is my first time hosting an all girls event, I really wanted to do a little goodie bag for the girls to take home. Something inexpensive but they could use and remember the fun time we had. I wanted to keep the bags simple that everyone can use and give them cozy vibes at home. I found these really cute fuzzy socks that have a heart embroidered on them that were perfect. It came in a pack of 10 for $11 in different colors which was truly a steal! I also found pink under eye masks to add to the goodie bag. I also wanted to add something that could be encouraging and pretty. I ended up finding  these really cute pink stickers that had Bible verses and fun phrases. I am a Christian woman and most of the females coming are also Christian. Do what feels right for your group of women, I found that the stickers were received well and considered them thoughtful. Each goodie bag cost me about $2.

Here is a breakdown of what was in goodie bag and price (all items were purchased on Shein): 

• 20 clear heart bags for 1.25
• 60 pink Jesus stickers for $1.50
• 10 fuzzy socks for $11 
• 20 pack of eye masks for $7
• Coffee Cup (this was not included inside the goodie bag but offered to each lady as a cup for their coffee or tea.)

Entertainment

• Most of the ladies that were invited to my valentines event do not know each other well if not at all. I predicted that most ladies would be in their own cliques, so a conversation game would be ideal for some laughs and deeper understanding of each other without getting into any raunchy discussions. You know your guests best, so think about dynamics and what will encourage some fun conversation. If raunchy questions and a never have I ever game is what will get your gals excited go for it! You want your guests to feel comfortable and have fun! 

Below are some entertainment options to consider, just think about your theme and your price point:

• Cake Decorating
• Conversation games
• Board games
• Movie night
• Favorite TV show marathon
• Painting
• Candle Making

All in all, have fun! Spend time with the ladies you love and make the most of the budget you are working with. Based on only the things I purchased for this event alone, I spent $42 for decorations and goodie bags and a little under $70 for our brunch menu. Let me know if any of these tips helped you!