In the words of Leslie Knope, “It’s only the best day of the year!” Galentine’s day has quickly become one of Hallmark’s newest holidays, and personally I’m all about it.
This fictional holiday was created on the show Parks and Rec and while I do not recommend this show to our youth students in anyway, I do strongly support for Leslie’s day of “ladies celebrating ladies.”
As February rolls around, our teens and preteens are hit with feelings of loneliness and worthlessness. Our students spend hours scrolling through pictures of friends and influencers posting about their “perfect” relationships. Social media teaches them that they are only half of a person and they need someone else to make them complete.
Our girls are hit extra hard by this season of love and often confide in me that they dread Valentines Day.
But they love Galentine’s Day.
Every February, I host all of our Junior High and Senior High ladies in our tiny apartment for a fun morning of girl time. We drink coffee, eat waffles, play games, give a short devotional on Godly dating and always end with the leaders telling stories about their most embarrassing dating moments.
Some of my sweetest memories in youth ministry have happened on the floor of my living room giggling with 7th graders about their latest crush or praying over a senior who just had her heart broken by the guy she thought was “the one”. It’s a time when our girls let down their walls and let us enter in as girlfriends for a few hours.
Here are my 5 tips for how to throw the best Galentine’s Day party for your youth group!
1. Host the Party in Your Home
There’s something about being invited into someone’s home that creates an automatic level of intimacy. The first year I hosted Galentine’s Day at my apartment I sat at my kitchen table with about 6 girls. Fast forward five years and we have girls sitting at the table, on the couch, on the windowsill and all over the floor. The size of your apartment or home doesn’t matter, it’s the invitation into your life that the girls will see and in return invite you into theirs.
2. Get Crafty
The worst part of any party is that first 20 minutes of awkwardness- people are still arriving, the party hasn’t quite started yet and no one really knows what to do. Avoid the cringy small talk and put together a table with craft supplies for guests to make their own valentines! This takes the pressure off you as the host and gives guests a task to complete upon arrival. Make this activity extra sweet and give these homemade Valentines to your elderly ministry or outreach group!
3. Embrace Girl Talk
Take advantage of this time you have with just your girls! Some games we like to play to get everyone talking are “2 Truths and a Lie” and “Speed Relating.” While you have probably heard of “2 Truths and a Lie”, “Speed Relating” is something we created one summer at camp. This activity is basically “Speed Dating” but the goal is to learn more about others and make new friends. Split the guests into two groups and ask group 1 to sit in a large circle. Next, ask group 2 to find someone in the circle and sit in front of them. Everyone should be facing a partner. The host will read a question and start a timer for 2 minutes. The partners will talk and answer the question given. When the timer goes off, the outside circle rotates by one person. The game continues until the girls find their way back to their original partner.
4. Open Up
Take a few minutes at the end of the party to talk with the girls and point them back to God’s character and His word. Ask your leaders in advanced if they want to give a short testimony or devotional to the group. Ask them to also come up with a few small group questions to get conversations started in smaller groups after the message.
5. Make Waffles
Starting holiday traditions with your youth team can be as easy as having the same food every year. My girls know that Galentine’s Day at Erin’s house will always consist of lots of coffee and lots of waffles. It’s just something sweet (pun intended) that they can count on and look forward to year after year. I would also advise making the waffles in advance or just using frozen waffles because it’s no fun spending the whole party in the kitchen waiting for your waffle iron to pump out a measly one waffle every ten minutes. ( PS- Also don’t underestimate the number of waffles teenage girls can eat!)
My heart hurts for all the girls in our youth groups who are feeling lonely or unloved this February. Let’s invite them into our homes and show them God’s love over hot coffee and waffles this Galentine’s Day!
Here are a few products to help you start planning your Galentine’s Day Brunch!
Espresso Machine https://amzn.to/3AZ5d2k
Heart Shaped Waffle Iron https://amzn.to/32TIYOG
Balloon Arch https://amzn.to/3LdBuYa
Photo: https://www.tablespoon.com/holidays-parties/valentines-day/galentines-day-party-ideas