It’s time for another one of my favorite things ever! Let’s take a current cultural trend and make it Catholic! *applause*
Some of you may be familiar with the term “Galentine's Day”. For those of you who are not, this annual event and term was created by the character Leslie Knope of the popular TV series Parks and Recreation. The idea behind Galentines' Day is to get together with your favorite gal pals the day before Valentine's Day and celebrate one another. Leslie puts emphasis on the importance of friendship, community, and empowerment among all the ladies in her life. Sounds like Leslie would love Blessed Is She, right?!
Even if you have no idea who or what I’m talking about, the idea is simple: Galentine's Day is a wonderful way to gather the women in your life who inspire and lift you up. Use this day to celebrate how God created you all so beautifully and uniquely, each bringing your own gifts before the Lord.
How to Celebrate Galantine's Day Catholic-Style
Here are a handful of ways for you to celebrate your own Galentines Day with a Catholic twist!
Invite your friends with women saints.
Make your own holy cards or pick some at your local Catholic gift shop. Make a simple invitation for your Galentine's Day event and stick the holy card inside. It's a little something to remind your gal pals of their great call to holiness and the all the wonderful examples they have to look to.
Start the event with either Mass or adoration.
Depending on what time you have the get together, invite your friends to meet you for Mass first. Or if your parish has adoration time scheduled, plan to go visit with Jesus together before you begin the festivities!
Do a service project together.
Typically, a Galentine's Day gathering is at a friend's house or a restaurant for brunch (or happy hour!). Instead of going out, find a service project that you and all your girlfriends would enjoy doing together.
In honor of the Little Flower (St. Therese), do a flower exchange.
Have all your guests bring a small bouquet of flowers to the gathering. Then everyone switches flowers with someone else!
Do you have religious sisters in your community? Invite them!
Religious sisters basically celebrate Galentine's Day every day, so why not include them?
Create a Galentine's Day prayer box.
Fashion this after an old-school Valentine's box from elementary school. At the gathering, have all the girls slip a piece of paper in the box with a prayer request that they have on their hearts at that time. From there, create a schedule where each one of you takes a turn with the box for a month or so. While that person has the box, they are praying for all the intentions contained within it.
Write a Galentine's prayer.
A few days before your party, let all the girls know approximately how many ladies will be attending. Invite your gal pals to write a “Galentine's prayer” to pass out to all those coming. Something short and loving! For example:
Heavenly Father, I ask that You pour out all Your grace and love upon my sister this day. Amen.
Then all the ladies at the gathering walk away with a handful full of prayers from her sisters. Invite them to hang them up in places they will see them often (mirror, closet door, planner, etc.) so that they can constantly be reminded of the love and support they have in this Blessed Is She sisterhood.
Keep it simple and fun.
As mentioned above, your Galentine's gathering can take place pretty much anywhere! You can meet for coffee, go out to brunch, or meet for dinner. Since Galentine's Day is generally celebrated on February 13th, it falls on Fat Tuesday this year. So you could really go all out with this party for your favorite gal pals, or just keep it simple and sweet. The possibilities are endless!
If you have a Galentine's Day get together, be sure to use the hashtag #bisgalentinesday.
Galentine's Day for Catholic Gals #BISblog //Click to tweet
Susana Starbuck is wife of a youth minister and mother to four littles five and under. She lives in Phoenix, AZ and enjoys reading a good book, posting her highlight reel on Instagram, and drinking wine. You can connect with her here.
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