After a full and happy holiday season, the month of January is a welcome reprieve from entertaining in my home. However, usually around the end of January, I start to feel the itch to celebrate! Thankfully, Valentine’s Day is around the corner. There are so many fun things to celebrate when it comes to the holiday of love. While I of course love to celebrate with my husband, Valentine’s Day for me has always been a fun opportunity to celebrate ALL the people I hold dear. This year I wanted to celebrate some lady friends with a ‘Favorite Things’ Valentine’s Day Party. Or, if you are a fan of Parks and Rec, a Galentine’s Day Party!
This post is created in partnership with Oriental Trading. All opinions are my own. I’ve been a customer of Oriental Trading for years! It is one of my go-to resources for party goods. The party color scheme was inspired by Oriental Trading plates. Scroll below for links to each of the products that I used within this party, or gather even more inspiration from Oriental Trading’s Galentine’s Day Party Supplies. This post contains affiliate links (marked at each link) which help provide income for this blog with each purchase at no cost to my readers.
I knew right off the bat that I wanted to celebrate with a Favorite Things party this year. Have you ever been to a Favorite Things party? They are GREAT! Everyone leaves the party knowing more about the other attendees and with a great parting gift!
Favorite Thing Galentine’s Day Party
I’ve done Favorite Things parties in three different ways. With each party every guest is asked to bring some of their “favorite things” to exchange. Here are three ways to host a Favorite Things Galentine’s Day Party:
Multiple Favorite Things Gifts- One for Each Guest
If you are having a smaller party of friends then this would be a fun option for a Favorite Things Party. Each guest would bring one small item for each of the other guests. Usually, the items are inexpensive, but still special to the person. For a party of six, the guest would be asked to bring six of their favorite things to share with the guests. Items like fingernail polish, pens, candles, and bath salts would be great to give away at this type of party. Encourage guests to stay within a budget of a couple dollars per item so that no one feels like they overspent. Don’t forget to have guests share why they chose what they brought!
Mini-multiple Favorite Things Gifts- Three for Each Guest
I think this might be the most popular version of this gift exchange because it allows everyone to go home with a few favorite things, but doesn’t require buying one for EVERY guest. Each guest brings three gifts. Then at the exchange, each person puts their name into a bowl three times. Each guest has a turn at handing out their three gifts to the three names that they draw from the bowl.
Single Favorite Things Gift – One to be Drawn by Each Guest
Sometimes it is easier to think of a single gift than getting multiples of a favorite item. If you are having a larger party this might be the way to go. Each guest is encouraged to bring one gift within a budget (I typically set a $15 budget) that includes one or more of their favorite things. Each gift is numbered and set out and then everyone draws a number. As guests get their gift it is fun to hear why each person picked the gift that they brought. This is the type of party I hosted and I brought some favorite stationary items such as pens, sticky notes, and some office artwork. (The flamingo is just a regular fixture in my home!)
Don’t forget to get some fun bags for the guests to bring home their new goodies in! I ordered these great Galatine’s Day tote bags (affiliate link) to act as party favors for guests.
Pink and Red Valentine’s Day Decor
As I said above, I was inspired by the Heart of Gold plates (affiliate link) with pink, red, and gold stripes. My living room is filled with bright colors, so I wanted to take advantage of the overall color scheme (keeping things pretty simple), but still highlight the theme with a bold red and pink wall.
Some of my favorite decor details from this Galentine’s Day party include:
- The LOVE trays (affiliate link) filled with pink and red candies. This was an absolute hit! It took approximately 1 bag of candy to fill each letter (the O took just over a bag) and I am thrilled with how they looked on my coffee table. What’s great is now that they are empty I’m able to actually use them as decor in my living room! The heart confetti (affiliate link) sprinkled on the table helped set the letters apart from my white table.
- I’ve recently become obsessed with balloon arrangements. I’ve created them in everything from huge garlands to tiny arrangements. (Look forward to a tutorial on these soon!) They are easy to make and such a fun element. I used 5-inch balloons (affiliate link) to create these arrangements and filled in the gaps with fresh flowers.
- The DIY backdrop wall was seriously SO simple to make and was stunning to look at. (See my easy party backdrop tutorial.) I utilized painters tape, red plates (affiliate link), and pink plates (affiliate link) in order to create this wall.
- What can I say? I love it when there are decent looking paper products for a party. While I am a big fan of utilizing reusable items, sometimes it just makes more sense for time/space/effort to use paper goods. The napkins and golden plasticware (affiliate link) helped just as much with the decor as it did with the food!
Like this party?
Tell me… what is the best Valentine’s Day party you’ve ever been to?
