If you are looking to throw an amazing party for your girl squad then follow along! This post is an in-depth guide on “how to host a fun Galentine’s Day party” that is affordable and easy. Make yourself some coffee, sit back and enjoy this post where I am sharing interesting theme ideas, decor, food recipes, games, activities, and more!
What is Galentine’s Day?
Yeah, baby Galentine’s day is for real!! Just like Valentine’s Day, Galentine’s day is celebrated to express love. But this day is exclusive to show your love for your girlfriends. Sorry, no boys allowed! This day gives you an opportunity to spend time with your BFFs, have fun, share laughter and create memories. It is celebrated on the 13th of February, i.e is a day before Valentine’s Day.
My favorite ways to celebrate Galentine’s Day!
- Host an epic party at home for your girlfriends.
- Meet outdoors for brunch.
- Pick up an activity like painting or pottery together. Believe me, it is a lot of fun! Picnic at a park.
- Let loose and party non-stop at a lounge.
- Spa time or some mani-pedi together.
Here is a short video on my Instagram account giving you glimpses of our party!
Host a budget-friendly Galentine’s Party like this!
If you are like me and love hosting, then this post is the ultimate guide for you. I am sharing step-by-step easy ideas, inspirations, and tips to make your Galentines party a success. This makes a great Kitty Party theme as well. So let’s get started.
Decide a Party Theme.
First and foremost, you will have to decide what theme to go for. I know it is overwhelming when you have to choose one from the many ideas that you think or browse.
Having a theme is not mandatory but it will give you ideas to chalk out the decor, food, and games in a cohesive manner. A theme can be as basic as just a color code or as fancy as a beach party or poker.
Things to consider before shortlisting the theme
- The time of the day, indoor or outdoor matters.
- How much are you ready to spend for the entire party. A rough estimate while brainstorming the theme.
- The preference of your girlfriends in general.
- Their energy level and interest to follow the theme. If the theme calls for a lot of preparation at their end, then you may have less participation or cancellation.
What was my Galentine’s party theme?
I went for a “simple heart theme” with just a color code “Shades of Pink and glitter”. So, my décor, food, games, and the dress code were revolving around the theme. I made sure my friends were comfortable with it and that the dress code was doable for everyone without spending much.
Other Theme suggestions for Galentines Party
- My other favorite Galentine’s themes are English tea party, Bollywood/Hollywood Red Carpet, Poker and drinks, Disco party, Bake-off.
- Maybe you are good at dancing or cooking or fitness or make-up. Use this as a theme for your party and have a fun session with your friends.
- You can show them a hack or chalk a fun activity around your talent! This can be a fun theme and experience for all. Just keep it simple for you as well as your friends.
Places to look for ideas and inspirations.
If you still find it difficult to come up with a theme then browse Pinterest and Instagram for more ideas.
Send out Beautiful Invites.
Once your theme, time, and date are decided send an appealing invitation to your friends. You can always send them a physical one, but a digital invite is easier to make and can be sent in seconds at no cost. I like to use free apps like Canva to make a decent-looking invite in minutes.
Don’t miss the décor.
You like it or not, the fact is the ambiance and vibe of a party play an important role to get it rolling. I am not telling you to invest $$$ on the décor. Simple ones are effective too.
What décor did I have at the party?
I bought these heart-shaped metallic balloons in the shade of pink from Amazon. It was not only the part of my décor but also served as an amazing backdrop for photos. I got some heart theme decorations from the Dollar Tree store that just cost me $1 each.
Suggestions for décor ideas!
- Before you want to splurge on the décor, look around in your home. You will definitely have something to uplift the mood of the party.
- Maybe fresh or artificial flowers, a lovely table runner, candles!!! You can even use your dainty holiday lights if you are having a party in the evening and indoors or in your backyard.
Budget-friendly places to buy Galentine décor.
Look for a Dollar Tree store near you. It carries wonderful valentine décor, from walls to centerpieces. You will find many hidden gems here for a cheap price. My other go-to option for décor is Party City, Target $ isle, home goods, and Daiso Japan. You will find lovely Galentine’s appropriate décor, cutlery, serve ware, table essentials at these stores.
Dress code ideas!
You may skip this part but if you are keeping a theme then the outfit will automatically depend on it. A dress code also increases your chance to produce good photos, the instagrammable ones! You know what I mean 😉
What did I do?
The dress code was the theme color code that I previously mentioned. I kept it as “shades of pink with glitter”. All my friends were amazingly dressed and looking so gorgeous!
My suggestions.
- If you are keeping a theme, then it will translate into theme-appropriate outfits. For example, if it is a retro theme, girls will dress retro style. If it is party animals, they can wear animal prints.
- No theme, no problem. You can set dress code as florals, dresses only, specific colors, animal prints, cuteness overload, the list goes on! It could be outfits or any relevant accessories too.
- Let your friends know that you are going to be a special gift for the best dressed. This way they will be encouraged to follow the code.
Decide on the favors and prizes.
Who doesn’t like gifts!!!! The favors highly depend on your budget. You can easily find cute thoughtful gifts from $1-$5. Don’t forget to buy appropriate gifts for the game winners as well.
What favors did I keep for the party?
- I bought these cute earrings from Shein as favors. They are of good quality and were very reasonable.
- For the games, I had assorted gifts under $5 like nail paint, hand cream, candles, photo frames, necklaces, set of espresso cups. For bingo, we all chipped in $5 and then distributed equally to the winners.
My suggestions
Buy something related to the theme or give something dainty and sweet. It could be earrings, bracelets, headbands, chocolates, truffle boxes, candles, scarves, nail paint, small fragrant creams, lip balm, or a Starbucks gift card.
Places to buy good quality affordable favors.
If you have time on hand, then websites like Shein and Wish have a very budget-friendly collection of fashion accessories. Please check the shipping dates on these sites. For in-store purchases check the dollar store, Daiso Japan, TJ Max, Target $ section, Amazon, and Bath & Body Works.
A fun photo booth!
You do not have to invest a lot in a photo backdrop or a booth. Your décor can become a good backdrop. Just make sure wherever you intend to click photos have plenty of light and the area is free from extra clutter.
Click photos with a variety of poses and at different corners of your house or backyard. It could be as simple as sitting and enjoying drinks on the couch or posing with balloons or flowers. For my party, I bought these cute handheld props for photos. You can buy them on Amazon here.
Keep them entertained!
Games and some fun activities will definitely keep your BFFs entertained. Chalking out these highly depends on the theme you are going for and the duration of the party. Next, I will share with you a few ideas that do not need any preparation as well as ideas that need some easy supplies pre-prep. Everything that I am sharing is very budget-friendly and doable. So let us get started.
Games/ activities that you can have regardless of theme.
- Non-stop music and dance
Music is therapy. Everyone loves to groove at a party. So, make your favorite playlist and let it run at the party. You don’t even need any other games or activities.
- Bingo/Tambola/Housie.
This is yet another no-brainer when it comes to hosting an event. I love this game as it can engage a small or a big crowd equally. You may play the classic version without any second thought. But if you want something unique, you can make your own bingo cards related to the theme by using this free bingo maker. There are many such websites available online that will create custom bingo cards and prompts for you.
- Musical chairs.
This game never fades off. It is fun at any party regardless of the theme. Yet another classic and a crowd favorite.
- Making short reels for Instagram/Tik Tok
Ok, welcome to the new era of activities. As you know that making fun of reels is trending all over social media. Pick up a song or a dialogue and make a fun reel will your friends. It is a super activity filled with fun and laughter. The bonus is that these videos will make precious memories for the future!
- What is there in your bag?
Make a list of usual and unusual things that can be found in a lady’s purse. Read it aloud. Examples – Keys, family photo, mask, sanitizer, penny, tampon, lipstick, grocery receipt, gift card, etc. Who wins? The participant with the most things in her bag wins.
What games did we play at the party?
- Taste and tell
You will need – A recipe with a lot of ingredients, some unique. Homemade or store-bought.
As I am a food blogger, my friends were eager to eat what I made. So, I thought why not play this fun food game with them. I call it “Guess the ingredients”.
How to play it?
Basically, you will decide on a dish to cook that will be served at the party with a lot of ingredients and unique flavors. Each of your friends/guests at the party has to taste that dish and guess one ingredient taking turns. It could be as basic as salt, water, oil, etc. Everyone gets a chance to guess and if someone guessed it wrong, they are out.
If the first one starts with oil, the next one says salt, the third one says milk and if it is not the ingredient in the dish, she is out. I had made this amazing masala corn dip, with Indian American fusion flavors and my friends had to guess the ingredients one by one. It was a lot of fun. Who wins? The guessing continues multiple times until you have just one person left who will be the winner.
- Don’t break my heart
You will need – Heart balloons and a pen for each participant.
Supplies bought from – The dollar store.
How to play? Everyone gets one heart balloon to blow in one minute and make as many smiley faces, with eyes nose, and smile intact in the face, all this without looking. Why is it fun? Most of the balloons pop in the process of blowing or the participant cannot make a clear smiley face. Who wins? The one who has the biggest balloon and full clean smiley faces.
- Count your Galentine.
You will need – Pen and paper for each participant.
How to play? You will ask every friend to write HAPPY GALENTINES DAY spacing apart. Now start the timer for 1 minute and they have to write a relevant number below each alphabet as if they were on the number scale.
Example A stands for 1, B-2, C-3, D-4, and so on. So For HAPPY, it will be 8 for H 1 for A, and so on. They cannot peek into another person’s sheet. They can make a number scale or count mentally.
Why is it fun? Duh, they have to rack their brains hard and finish as many in a minute. Definitely a fun sight! Who wins? The person who has guessed the maximum correct numbers wins.
- Viral dance reel
Oh, this activity was so much. I picked up a song that was trending on Instagram. I made sure the steps were easy enough for everyone to follow. Then with the invite, I sent the reel to my friends to practice.
So when they came over on the day of the party, we just had to practice a few times before we shot the final reel. You can check out the final reel on my Instagram handle.
- Bollywood Bingo.
Instead of the regular bingo, I decided to keep it a bit different. This version of Bingo was suggested and made by my very talented friend Krupa. It was a custom-made bingo game that I printed online.
It had movie names instead of numbers on the card. The prompts were famous dialogues from that movie that my friend took from here. See the prompts and then add the movie names in the bingo maker to get randomized cards using a free bingo card generator. You as a host have to read the dialogues aloud and the players have to guess which movie and mark it if they have it on their card.
My suggestions.
- Keep quick-moving games, mostly 1-minute ones.
- Offer variety like one writing game, one on the move, one thinking one and a group activity. Having three-four games is enough.
- Give away prizes to appreciate the winner!
Galentine’s Day Food Ideas.
Like it or not, food is the star of any party. Just like the games, food can depend on the theme you are having but not at all necessary. All you want is to keep good and plenty of food for everyone to enjoy. In our busy lives, making everything at home is next to impossible or even difficult for many of us due to time constraints.
Do not stress out!! I am listing a combination of homemade and store-bought food ideas that is doable and not hard on your pocket. At the end of the day, you want a budget-friendly food spread that is easy to put up as well.
My suggestions
- Host a brunch or a high tea. Chalk out a menu with a mix of some homemade and store-bought stuff.
- Buy theme related disposables and serveware!
- Keep your friend’s preferences, allergies in mind.
- Choose finger foods over heavy meals.
- Assorted appetizers work well.
- Depending on the number of friends coming over, have a good variety of food but don’t go overboard! 4-6 variety of food is enough!
- Don’t forget the welcome drink. It can be as simple as a store-bought OJ, a lemonade, or an easy mojito put together. Keep a combination of cocktails, mocktails, wines, and champagne if you desire.
- Always have a crowd-friendly dip at the party. It is easy to put up and quite filling when eaten with chips and baguettes.
What food spread did I have at the party?
I had hosted the party post-lunch at 3-6pm. So the menu was not that heavy. It was mostly finger food and drink.
For the drinks part.
- I made this amazing Lychee Rose Fizz. Used store-bought Maaza lychee drink, few tablespoons of rose syrup. Add ice followed by water, lemon juice, and seltzer water.
- After the activities and games, I served masala chai, my friends love it.
For the food part.
- I made mini aloo tikki burger sliders. These burgers are so good and you can make the patties days ahead of time. It is quiet filling dish and crowd -friendly. The easy way out is to use store-bought patties and assemble as shown.
- Next up was Schezwan Paneer Phyllo Cups. These cups are such a delight to put up at a party. They look impressive without much effort. I combined two of my recipes, the filling was this paneer cigar, and the instructions on how to make the cups are on my deconstructed spring roll post.
- I made this amazing cheese masala corn dip which was my unique recipe and the dish for the “guess the ingredients” game.
- Parmesan truffle potato wedges (store-bought) ones paired with a quick homemade beet aioli.
Don’t miss the dessert!
I made these fusion Indian flavor cupcakes. Let me tell you these are so easy to put up and look very fancy. If you do not want to make them at home, store-bought works as well. Just fill in the pipettes with your desired flavor and top the frosting with some cardamom and nuts to give it a gourmet feel. Do check out my baking recipe section for more inspiration!
Chocolate Fondue station!
I can’t stress how easy it is to put this up and always a crowd-pleaser. You can literally get away with just putting this for dessert. I made chocolate ganache on the stovetop and placed it in the fondue pot to set warm.
On the topping front, I kept strawberries. Some marshmallows, Lotus Biscoff, crackers, homemade banana coffee crumb cake to dip in the chocolate. An easy way out for you will be to get pound cake from the store, cut it into pieces and serve.
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Additional easy to make recipes that can save you $$
For dips
Easy Mexican 7 Layer Party Dip
Appetizers
Asparagus Strawberries Goat Cheese Crostini
Cucumber Cream Cheese Crackers
Easy Dessert Ideas
No-bake mixed berries cheesecake
Baileys Chocolate Pudding Trifle
No-Bake Ferrero Rocher Mousse Cake
Final thought!
Hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful. If you ever host a Galentine’s Party, I want to know all about it. Do write to me in the comment section. Have fun!!!
comments and suggestions are welcome