Galentine’s Day: A Leslie Knope gift guide
Galentine’s Day started as a Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation) holiday and has turned into a phenomenon across the country. It’s so fun to get together with other girls and celebrate each other. As Leslie Knope puts it, “Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it breakfast-style. Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst, plus frittatas.” Now, Leslie Knope is the queen of gift giving. She is known for being incredibly thoughtful. Also, trying to match her creativity can be a little much. Let’s face it, we can’t all be Leslie Knope! In this article, we will give you some realistic ideas based off of her Galentine’s Day gifts that you can give to your lady friends! First, let’s see what Leslie gave her friends.
“Galentine’s Day” Season 2, Episode 16
This is the episode where we are first introduced to Galentine’s Day. Leslie showers her friends with homemade, personalized gifts. Her friends receive crocheted flower pens, mosaic portraits made out of soda bottle pieces, and a five thousand word essay on why they are so wonderful. The mosaic portrait is clearly the most out of this world gift of these few, but those cute crocheted pens are totally doable. I’m not saying make them for ALL of your girlfriends. However, for those of you who can crochet, you could make these for two or three of your gal pals. If you’re like me and can’t crochet, then Etsy is the place to look!
“Operation Ann” Season 4, Episode 14
The episode “Operation Ann” is all about Leslie wanting to find a boyfriend for Ann. Ann does have to sit through Galentine’s Day breakfast as the only single one at the table. Poor Ann. This time around, Leslie does give a couple of gifts that are doable for us “normal” gift-givers! She gives out gift certificates for facials, a card with a personalized picture printed onto it, and mugs with cute Valentine’s Day themed goodies inside. Doable, right? Of course, she the has an over-the-top gift. Instead of a mosaic of soda bottles, Leslie has created a needlepoint pillow with her friends’ faces on it and the newspaper headline for the year they were born. I am sure there are those of you who can create something like that! If you can, then please share a picture. For the rest of us, a gift certificate for a facial and a personalized card would make a great gift.
The final Galentine’s Day episode
In the final Galentine’s Day episode in Parks and Rec season 6, Leslie Knope actually does not give out gifts. Since it is an impromptu brunch date, it isn’t about the gifts this time. Granted, Leslie is just trying to find a replacement Ann since Ann moved away. However, they still bond over mimosas and girl talk! I think this is the best way to spend a brunch date: chatting with your friends, getting to know them better. Leslie asks questions to see if their interests line up with hers. This sort of Q&A could actually be a fun game to play at a Galentine’s Day brunch to get to know your friends better.
Galentine’s Day Gift Guide
Looking at how Leslie spoils her friends, we can take a tiny bit of her creativity and make it our own. As mentioned above, gift certificates to a spa are always a great idea. Flower pens are cute and fun as well. A Valentine’s Day mug with some simple goodies inside are a cute gift idea as well as perfect placeholders at the brunch or dinner table. Grab some cute cups at your local dollar store if you’re on a budget, and then fill it with some candy!
Some other non-Leslie Knope gift ideas could be anything pink, red, rose gold, or covered in hearts. Make Galentine’s Day your own! Do it yourself (DIY) gifts are always well recieved. Novelty sunglasses shaped like hearts are easy to find this time of year, and the party store could have them in bulk. Some homemade lip scrub, mason jar cookie mix, essential oil facial scrub, and some mini nail polishes scream “treat yo self!”
Do you celebrate Galentine’s Day? Do you and your gal pals have any Galentine’s Day traditions? Let us know in the comments!
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