How to Have the Best Galentine’s Day Ever

Flying solo this Valentine’s Day? Don’t worry, because Her Campus has you covered with a full day of guy-proof Galentine’s Day activities! February 13 is a day to celebrate your girls, because, as Leslie Knope from Parks and Rec says, “ovaries before brovaries.” Get all your girls together and celebrate!

All you need are your favorite girlfriends and just a bit of sarcasm to survive the day before the day many collegiettes just want to skip. We rounded up a few ideas for what to do to have the best Galentine’s Day ever!

Have a Spa Night

Treat yo’ self! February 13 is the night to go all out – that means mani/pedis, facials, foot baths, lip scrubs, hair masques or maybe some crazy neon highlights. Just have some fun with your girlfriends, followed almost immediately by chocolate. For the 21-and-older ladies, why not share a bottle of wine over some juicy gossip? Place some bets on which couples will break up before the clock strikes 12 on V-day in between sips. Be sure to pour a glass for the friend whose hands are too busy applying this coconut oil masque!

Coconut Oil Hair Strengthening Masque

There are endless benefits to coconut oil, from clean cooking to deep conditioning to soothing dry skin. Here’s a recipe for our favorite restoring hair masque with all-natural ingredients!

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, so microwave a tablespoon or two in a bowl to bring it to a liquid form.
Add one raw egg to the bowl. Eggs are packed with protein that your hair will drink up instantly.
Add a tablespoon of honey, which will help tame any frizz while drying. Mix it all up until smooth.
Apply the mixture all over the length of your hair and massage it gently into the roots, which will help promote growth.
Leave it on for 30 minutes, an hour, overnight—however long you please! Rinse it out with a shampoo with sulfates or lighter chemicals to get the egg and oil completely out.
Your hair will feel smooth, silky and strong after this masque, so do it once a week for the best results.

If you have a friend who doesn’t care much for a little (okay, a lot) of pampering, have her try out some tips to make it look like you’re not wearing makeup.

Take Each Other Out on a Girl Date

Catch a Matinée

Grab your BFF, go see the worst movie you can think of and spend the whole two hours laughing at how terrible it is. Split a soda (the small is about the size of your head anyway) and some junk food—calories don’t count if you share!

Go Power Shopping

You’ve been shopping for your own clothes for quite a while now, so we’re sure you can handle it, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask your girlfriends what they think of a potential new outfit. Never skip a chance to practice your supermodel walk! Take turns picking things out for each other and trying out some new styles from the girls you trust; you never know what you might like. Not in the mood to go home after you’re done shopping? Try out that new bubble tea bar that just opened at the mall!

Have a Picnic

Okay, we know “go outside” sounds like something your mom would say, but it’s true. Don’t stay inside and sit on Facebook looking at all the Instagrams of flowers your friends got from their boyfriends; it’s only going to bring you down.

Skip the flowers-chocolate-dinner option with a man, and have a picnic with your girls in the quad instead! Pack a few PB&Js, some fresh fruit salad, iPod speakers (because you know you’ll be blasting Beyoncé) and a blanket and you’re golden. Take a Polaroid camera with you and take as many candid pictures as you can. When the day is over, make copies of the photos and put them all on a memory board for each of your friends.

Not feeling up for a picnic? We’re sure there are restaurants you’ve been hearing about since freshman year but have never been to, like a family-owned place that’s been there longer than the university.

Have a DIY Galentine’s Day Gift Exchange

Make girly, homemade gifts for your best gal pals to show them how much you care and have a gift exchange party. We’re sure you’ll love making your friends’ presents as much as they’ll like receiving them! If you need a gift idea, try this DIY hot chocolate gift. There’s nothing wrong with packaged hot chocolate, but you need to try this homemade recipe out. Get some mason jars, cute ribbon, measuring cups and embellishments (rhinestones, pearls, beads, etc.) to personalize the gifts.

Personalize the jars with the embellishments before you begin the next step.
Layer the ingredients in the mason jar, beginning with ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ cup of white sugar and ½ cup of chocolate chips.
Tie a tag with your friend’s name on it around the mouth of the jar and cover with the lid.
Dress it up for the party or leave it as is, because we’re sure these won’t last ‘til morning!

Host a Movie Marathon

You may not have found the right guy in time this year, but there’s always one man who would never leave you hanging: Ryan Gosling. Particularly when he’s shirtless and telling us how beautiful you are. The Notebook is a classic but heavy on the drama, so maybe try out Crazy, Stupid, Love. for a bit of a laugh. We should all just make Ryan Gosling our boyfriend for the night. If he’s not your cup of tea (if that could ever happen), there’s plenty more to choose from: