The phrase first entered pop culture consciousness back in 2010 when Amy Poehler’s character from Parks & Rec (Leslie Knope) proclaimed it as “only the best day of the year” where “my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies.”

Marked on February 13th, Galentine’s Day is a time to celebrate all that is magical and sweetly fierce about you and your girl gang.

The day can involve whatever makes you and your besties feel special: exchanging gifts, spa or brunches - champagne is a must. Women around the world are jumping on this, according to Google Trends. Data from Pinterest reveals that searches for "Galentine's Day Ideas" have seen a whopping 1780 per cent year-on-year increase.

So we got you. Designer Monique Yee Shui has planned out the most amazing Galentine’s soiree and she's sharing it with us.

“Galentine’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the bonds we have with our girlfriends. As your friendships grow with the years, you truly get to see the value of your girlfriends in your life.
I couldn’t survive without my girls. They are like sisters and we’ve gone through so much together,” says Yee Shui.

"It only makes sense to celebrate our friendship and our love for eachother. One of my favourite ways to celebrate time with the girls is to just kick back at the house having food and great conversation. For our Galentine’s celebration, I wanted to make it special and have the girls dress up and enjoy the evening! Here are my tips on hosting your own Galentine’s celebration!

Table setting

Nothing gets a conversation with the gals started like beautifully set table. You don’t have to break your bank either to get it done. The key is to use what you already have and add little accents here and there. For example, I used our gold Christmas tablecloth along with our everyday items (table runner, cutlery, glasses, plates, cups) to set the table. I found some cute pink and gold dessert plates and napkins at Homesense to tie in the colour theme and when setting the table I placed a gift for each girl (adorable “XO”donuts by Cakestries) at their place setting to add that extra touch!

Decorations

I’m here for any occasion where I get a chance to throw up some pretty decorations! This again is not something that you need to go over the top with. For our set up, I used pink party decorations from my daughter’s birthday party last year along with some of our gold Christmas garlands and fairy lights. A really easy way to dress up a party is to blow up some balloons and hang them in clusters in various places and scatter them on the ground and on your table.

Food

I tend to go for the party favourites like pizza or tacos as food options for girls nights. If having a brunch gathering, I go with bacon & eggs, French toast, quiche, Mac n cheese etc. It’s also helpful if you turn the gathering into potluck style were each friend brings a dish. That way everyone can contribute, and the burden of preparing the food for everyone isn’t placed on one person!

Dessert

A Galantine’s celebration isn’t complete without having some sweets and baked goodies!! For all the party’s baked goodies, I turned to my go to bake shop Cakestries! They can make virtually any idea come to life in food form! They made the donuts I gifted to my girls as well as these amazingly beautiful lollipops!

Aren’t they gorge? They were soooo delicious!!

Drinks

Make your Galentine’s party special by having a signature drink! My party go to’s are typically Moscato, Mango Mojito or refreshing Sangria. You can opt for alcoholic or non alcoholic as well and to add a nice touch to your party, get some fun straws and add a slice a fruit to the glass!

Entertainment

Break out the Girls movies, TV shows and music and let ‘em play! Re-enact scenes, have a Karaoke session or even dance along with music videos – you’re guaranteed fun and laughs all night long!

Okay, now you’re all set to celebrate Galentine’s Day in style. Share your event pics with us in the comments!

Or if you need some extra help, get in touch with Monique Yee Shui and Cakestries.