It’s almost Galentine’s Day! Here are some last-minute ways to celebrate with your BFFs

I cannot even begin to express how upset I am that Parks and Recreation is ending. Over the years, Leslie Knope and her gang of goofy friends have taught us all some valuable life lessons, like “marry your best friends” and “always make time to treat yo’ self” and “never trust anyone named Tammy.” When Leslie Knope dubbed February 13th “Galentine’s Day,” she taught us all another important lesson: that friends deserve some loving too. Galentine’s Day is a holiday dedicated to celebrating friendship, in all of its forms. While you can always shoot your BFF a text saying “you da best, gurl,” there are plenty of other, more creative ways to show your lady friends your appreciation.

1) Organize a massive brunch.

Take a page from the Leslie Knope Galentine’s Day Guide and celebrate your February 13th with an all-you-can-eat brunch. If you choose to dine in, make one batch of every breakfast food you can think of: you never know when a homefries craving will hit and you want to be prepared so you don’t end up getting hangry. If you choose to dine out, establish a payment plan before you all start ordering. You wouldn’t want to end a perfectly nice celebration with an argument over how many bacon strips you ordered.

2) Host a nail-painting party.

Between working, sleeping, and dying in Zumba classes, us women hardly have any time to paint our nails. Use February 13th to do just that. Pull up a nail art Pinterest page (or our “Nails of the Day” series!) and experiment. You may not be able to paint Ryan Gosling’s face onto your thumbs right away but practice makes perfect.

3) Get makeovers.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to dress up, this is it. Drag your girlfriends to the nearest spa and don’t leave until you feel like Beyonce.

4) Compile a list of empowering female anthems and perform them wildly.

This Galentine’s Day, take “dance like no one’s watching” to the next level. Create a list of “girl power” songs and play them for your friends. (If you’re looking for suggestions, Kelly Clarkson and Christina Aguilera are both good places to start.) If you haven’t invented at least one ridiculous dance move or shouted into a hairbrush-turned-microphone by the end of the night, you’re not doing it right.

5) Recreate a scene from your favorite show.

Someday, we’re all going to have families and work obligations that make hanging out with friends and doing ridiculous things with them quite difficult. Why not make something that will withstand the test of time? Something that can serve as evidence to your future children that you were “cool” at one point in your life. Choose a TV show that you and your friends enjoy, find a video camera, and recreate your favorite scene! It may not be HBO-worthy by the time you’re done with it, but it’ll give you something to remember your glory days by.

6) Have a scrapbooking party.

Scrapbooks are one of those activities that everyone wants to do but never has the time for. Settle down for a night of reminiscing with your friends as you review old baby photos and unfortunate high-school snapshots.

7) Make a Galentine’s Day-themed cake, then eat it.

Eat your worries away and show off your baking skills all at the same time with this Galentine’s Day activity. Make a cake or a batch of cupcakes (or waffles, duh), lather it with frosting and V-Day candy, and devour it before any of your neighbors smell what you’ve done. Or, you can all make a pact to eat the batter and not tell anyone for the rest of time. Nothing brings friends closer than an eternal pact over delicious, sugary goop.

8) Play a really silly game like . . .

If you get tired of playing the True American drinking game (which I find unlikely, but whatever), you can always try this V-Day themed game with your friends. “Drink every time a character in a rom com cries.” “Drink if the thing you baked tastes great!” “Drink anytime you hear the word ‘single.'” I think Leslie Knope would approve of this list but if you’re not a fan (or not of drinking age, you could always play Celebrity.

9) Create personalized Galentines for your friends.

I miss the days when you could go to your school cubby and pull out a dozen Valentines. They always made me feel appreciated, even though I knew all students were required to buy Valentines for everyone in the class, not just their friends, so no one would feel left out. To keep this tradition alive, I propose creating personalized Galentines for your friends, complete with encouraging stickers and comments about how amazing they are. “I love the way you comment on all of my Facebook posts seconds after I upload them.” You know, cheesy stuff like that.

10) Have a wine and cheese and board game night.

Remember, it’s all just a game. Don’t kill each other over who murdered who in the dining room with a candlestick. That’s not what Galentine’s Day is about.

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