Last night, I hosted a little Galentine’s Party. Fun fact about me, I LOVE throwing parties. I love hosting, decorating, planning activities, all of it. I’ve actually decided to start throwing quarterly parties, and this was the kick-off party for the year.
Another fact, I go allll out. I mean, I go crazy. I study Pinterest for weeks in advance gathering ideas, tips and tricks, and inspiration. From there, I put my own little spin on it and get to work.
Since my sister and her husband finally moved into the house in front of me, I was able to use their enclosed back porch for the party. My awesome brother-in-law even power washed it for me so that spiders wouldn’t come in and wreak havoc on the lovely evening. Spiders aren’t very Galentine’s-y.
The location was booked, so it was time to create the guest list and invitations. When I say I go all out, I mean it…all the way down to hand painted invitations. Did they take weeks to finish? Yes. Did I have to do them in a series of stages? Definitely. Were tears involved? That’s irrelevant. But, I pushed through the pain and finished them. I swore I’d never do it again, but….cmon. I’m definitely going to paint the next ones.
So. Location is booked and invites have been sent. What’s next?
It’s time to pick a menu. I thought about asking everyone to bring something, but that can be really hard to coordinate and I also really enjoy cooking for people, so I decided to provide most of the food. That’s a big love language of mine. I decided to make homemade bolognese sauce to serve over gluten free pasta noodles. The bolognese recipe I use has become one of my favorite things to serve at a dinner gatherings. It’s authentic, pretty easy, and it also has to simmer for 3 hours, leaving me plenty of time in between to decorate for the party!
I also decided to make chocolate cupcakes infused with espresso, topped with a strawberry buttercream. Let me tell you….these are a game changer. They are gluten and dairy free, and somehow they are better than any gluten and dairy packed cupcake I’ve ever had.
We also asked everyone to bring a little something to share. Madelynn had the best idea for this. “Have your relationships left you Sweet or Salty? Bring something that best represents your answer.” This was brilliant. I mean, how cute is that??
And, just to be a little extra, I even supplied some cute girlie drinks. My amazing neighbor, founder of The Wanderlust Cocktail Co. provided the MOST delicious cocktail mix. I decided to go with the Pomegranate Paloma and it was amazinggggg. We ended up using it as a mock-tail mix and just topped it off with Topo Chico. It was a huge hit.
Alrighty. We’ve got location, guest list, invites, and food/drinks/dessert. It’s time to pick an activity!
It might be a little predictable, but I went with painting. I found the cutest heart shaped canvases that had magnets on the back so people could take them home and put them on their fridge! I bought some acrylic paint, grabbed some brushes and made sure everyone had their own little painting tray. The setup was TOO CUTE.
Now…..finally, it’s time to decorate. Like I said before, I had been studying Pinterest for weeks. I made a whole board dedicated to the party, nailed down a few details I knew I wanted to include, and headed to the thrift store.
Listen people, when it comes to party planning, the thrift store is your best friend. I always start at the thrift. It’s cheap, fun to see what you can find, and I feel like your party will come out feeling more personal because you worked for it and found stuff no one else has.
A little tip: If you see something you like, but don’t really know what to do with it, run through a mental list of ways you could use it. For example, I found four red/white plaid linens that were so cute, but I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to use them. I thought I might use them as a table runner, but I ended up cutting them into strips, tying them together, and using them as streamers to hang over the table! It was a huge hit. I’ll include pictures at the end!
I also found a pink/white plaid fitted sheet that I washed, cut the corners off of, and turned it into the cutest table runner to go over a white tablecloth! While I was at the thrift, I picked up a few cheap glass vases and I scored by finding the CUTEST target brand “XOXO” valentines streamers for $5!
Another tip, try to use stuff you already have! I knew I wanted candlestick holders, but I only had two small gold ones I had thrifted a while back. I ended up using some empty wine bottles I had and stuck the candles inside. They worked perfectly! My sister contributed antique plates and cloth napkins, and I grabbed a few super cute drinking glasses from an antique store.
When planning a party, it’s all about the little details. Think outside the box! To add to the vibe of the evening, I hung vintage art all over the porch to bring it all together. I also made sure to tie little bows on the stems of the drinking glasses. You’d be surprised by how much the little details help! I was lucky to score a ton of inexpensive flowers, so you know I had them alllll over the place. I also made sure to make three flower bouquets that our guests were able to take home, along with their paintings!
Oh, and don’t forget to set a schedule! Plan out the day in advance, make sure you have everything you need, and figure out how you need to organize your day! Bake the cupcakes first so they can cool, clean and decorate a little bit, and if you decide to make a slow cooking meal like I did, remember that you can decorate everything while that is cooking! Multitasking is a must.
Anyways, the party was a huge hit. I am so blessed to have some amazing friends in my life who love all the same things I do. I love everything girly when it comes to parties. Bows, flowers, cute drinks, romcoms, all of it. It was a night to remember…completely perfect. I have no idea how I’m supposed to throw the next one, because I’m pretty sure I used all of my brain power on this one.
Honestly, I’d love to be a party planner. I love getting to use my creative side and spoiling my friends…it’s so fulfilling. But, at the same time. I’m so glad I’m throwing these parties every quarter and not every month….because it took 10 hours to throw that party together yesterday. I started at 8:30 with last minute supplies, grocery shopping, and then got to work cleaning, decorating, and cooking. Needless to say, I was exhausted….but it was so worth it.
Check out some of the pictures!!
I’m obsessed!! I can’t wait to throw the next one.
Well, hopefully I was able to offer some tips and tricks in case anyone decides to throw a party.
See y’all next week :)