I’m 43 years old and this was my very first Galentine’s party ever! If you’ve ever considered a get-together with your gal pals around Valentine’s Day, definitely do it! The set-up, food prep, and activity for this retro Galentine’s party was minimal and super easy. There are a few things to consider when hosting a retro Galentine’s party, but since the idea is to eat and have fun, it’s a lot easier to plan and coordinate than other parties. I hope this retro Galentine’s party inspires you to host a party of your own – it was so much fun!

The first step on my party planning checklist was to determine if I wanted a theme beyond a typical Valentine’s Day affair. After binge watching Escape to the Chateau (on the Peacock TV app), I was completely inspired by designer, Angel Strawbridge. She dresses in gorgeous vintage pieces, wears her spectacular red updo with a 1940’s flair, and almost always wears cherry red lipstick. I love the show and find Angel absolutely delightful and inspiring. And I’ve always wondered if I was born in the wrong era, I just love the great things from the 50’s! So, a retro Galentine’s party was the theme for me, I mean, who doesn’t like to get all dolled up once in a while? The retro Galentine’s party theme didn’t dictate much, but it was fun to add a few touches here and there.

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I created retro inspired invitations using my favorite free program, Canva.com. And to make it more fun, I combined the invitation with the party favor. OK, party favors aren’t necessary, but they are so much fun, and I love making them. If designing and creating party favors for custom parties was a job, sign me up, I’m your gal. Anyway, I used black and white polka dot paper bags to hold the printed invite, some chocolates, a box of candy cigarettes, and most importantly, pioneer red lipstick (that stays on overnight and then some unless you use makeup remover!). I was hoping my guests would want to dress up for the party (though completely optional), so the lipstick was a helpful gesture. And I was pretty sure most of my guests didn’t already have cherry red lipstick in their makeup bags (except for Natalie who rocks red lips). PSA: As you know, smoking is very bad for your health and can be highly addictive and deadly. The photo below is all in fun, and not meant to offend. Unfortunately, these candy cigs taste nothing like what I remember as a kid, but they brought back some fun memories.

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The next step was deciding on the food and drink (literally the worst decision-making part for me). When I dread doing something, I keep it simple and just get it done so that it’s not as stressful. So, for the food, I arranged simple charcuterie boxes for my guests – no cooking necessary. These food-safe bowls are quite inexpensive at Hobby Lobby. I washed and dried all the produce the night before so that it was ready to be cut fresh right before the party started. I used cheese that was already cut, and I assembled the salami and pearl mozzarella onto skewers the night before. I also tasted each type of the of crackers ahead of time to make sure I wasn’t serving anything like cardboard, and I did leave out one of the cracker types. To drink, I whipped up a quick punch using pink lemonade and 7Up with a dollop of raspberry sherbet. For dessert, I let the theme guide me and I made hot fudge ice cream sundaes. For the sundaes, I made some brownies and used a heart-shaped cookie cutter to then add a cute little brownie on top of the hot fudge sundae. And I will use the leftover ingredients to serve my family sundaes for our valentine’s day dessert (minus the brownies, they’ll be long gone by V-day). Pretty simple, easy prep, and minimal planning once I decided what to place in the charcuterie boxes.

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The final decision was what to do for the activity. Well, in my case the activity was decided on first. We made a unique wooden Valentine’s Day card using our own photos. You can learn more about this fun and easy DIY here. I really like that the wood transfer technique is fairly unique, meaning most people haven’t tried it yet, but it’s very simple to do. Then everyone embellished an envelope using my craft stash. If you’re crafty, you probably have ‘stuff’ around for getting crafty, and when it’s all grouped together you can have a pretty good of it. Not every craft is for everyone but making one card is pretty doable for most people and I think we can all find one person to give a valentine to. I completely enjoy getting together with friends and being creative – there’s something very special about enjoying each other’s company while making something.

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As far as decorating for this retro Galentine’s party goes, I kept it minimal and easy. I printed some retro valentine’s, cut them out, and tied them to a string to make a festive bunting. I found this cute valentine plastic tablecloth at Walmart, and then bought six heart balloons from the Dollar Store. That’s it! And now my seven-year-old daughter can play with the balloons until they sink to the floor. I reused my paper mache letters from a few years ago – I still do love the ‘LOVE’ letters and then I hung some older family photos on the wall because they are my loves and why I celebrate valentine’s day. I set up the crafting table with my supplies and some glue guns but left some space for our charcuterie boxes and drinks – otherwise it was minimal set up.

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Aren’t my friends gorgeous and so much fun! It was a blast to dress up, enjoy a snack, and craft with my gals. I hope this little party inspires you and I want to encourage anyone who wants to host but is maybe feeling overwhelmed. You can do it, ask for some help if you need it, good friends love helping, and it doesn’t take much effort just a little planning – all you need is food, drink, an activity, and some friends to share it all with. Happy Valentine’s Day, friends!

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