Swan in a Million

Galentine Party

Valentine’s day is traditionally for sweethearts. But in 2010 Galentine’s day was thought up by the creators of Parks and Recreation. And what a great idea it is. Because love is certainly for sweethearts, but it is also for best friends, families and Daddies and their daughters and Mommies and their sons. And the love a best friend can give you is a pretty special kind of love.

So this year, we decided to throw a Galentine’s party for my girls and their friends. The theme was love. . .we wanted everyone to come away from the party feeling loved.

If you haven’t noticed the recurring trend- photo booths are a must around here! The printed photo is such a sweet favor to give to your guests as a thank you.

The girls started out with a little breakfast. I made cinnamon sticky buns, chocolate ganache cups (crostatine), brownies, nutella girelle, cupcakes, pretzel hearts and oreo popcorn (each item is linked, if you want to see the recipe). My favorites were the mini coke cans, chocolate covered strawberries and heart pretzels!

The girls ate their breakfast (except for the cupcakes) and then sat down at the table to create their cookies and cupcakes. They were very creative and their cookie creations turned out colorful, and beautiful.

While I was cleaning up the cookie mess I gave the girls a game to play. First I asked them: What makes you loveable? They were all pretty quiet and uncertain. So I asked their friends to help them out. It was fun because then the friends began to list all the things that make that person loveable. Then I talked about how God loves them all the time no matter what, and not because of what they do or all of the things that they had just listed. In fact, he loved them before they were even born when he formed them and knew them in their mother’s womb (Psalm 139).

Then we had a LOVE WAR- I gave them a giant pack of heart sticky notes and told them that whoever wrote the most love words (things you love about that person- funny, smart, kind, loyal, etc) and stuck them on the other girls would win. They could start as soon as the music started and the goal was to try and not let the others put the notes on you but to put as many as you could on them. They could run in the whole house to get away. And then I turned up the music and cleaned up while they went crazy. It was funny and hilarious. They got really into it and everyone was covered in hearts.

I gave a little prize to the winner and then they started painting their glitter jars. See the linked post for more details. It was a sparkly mess but the girls had a lot of fun and the jars turned out beautifully! The best part was that each jar was unique, just as each of the girls is unique. They taped them off differently and they all turned out beautifully!

Valentines day is such a fun excuse to spread a little extra love. And not just to your sweetheart, but to anyone who needs it. This Galentine party was a great way for my girls to show their friends some love. And even if it isn’t Valentine’s day anymore, these games are fun for any occasion. Even when your kids can’t seem to stop fighting. Have them do a love war. They’ll end up laughing and feeling a little more loved.

Happy love month!