I'll be the first to tell you I traditionally hate Valentine's Day. With the fiery passion of a thousand suns. But its redeeming quality to me is the extra excuse to celebrate your pals and the friendships you cherish!

I'm still exploring the QC but I've celebrated many a Galentine's Day in the past. The cool thing about Galentine's is that you can still celebrate without spending money. You have a lot of options. You don't have to go to a restaurant and pay for cocktails, you can stay in and binge-watch Netflix with your pals. One of my friends has the hostess gene so she likes to cook and be extra for events.

My fave Galentine's Day celebrations include brunches, nights in (not 21 anymore, tbh), or day trips. We have our friends, maybe our squads, who are there for us in thick or thin, who have advice we can always rely on. Or even the ones who send us memes from the toilet. We need those BFF's too.

For me, some of my Galentine's celebrations are virtual since we're scattered around the country but a Zoom happy hour will work. According to the American Survey Center, 43% of women 18-29 and 40% of women 30-49 lost touch with a few friends over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have a shortlist of friends that I talk to often, wherever any of us are, because they're my girls. And Galentine's Day is for the girls.

Here are a few ways I would celebrate Galentine's in the QC.

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