Whether I’m single or dating, I still love to use all the hype of Valentine’s Day as an excuse to get together with my girlfriends and go all out. Honestly, I’ll take any excuse some for some time with my girls, as everyone is so freaking busy these days. It’s a cheesy holiday (IMO), but at the end of the day, it’s celebrating love – which I’m down with. I just use it as a time to hang with my girls and catch up! So, if you’re hanging with your friend this year, I put together a bunch of cute ideas to do together if you’re stuck on what to actually do. I think all of these sound so fun slash cute, don’t y’all?! And I promise if you do something like this each year, you’ll start to really look forward to the holiday – single or taken.

1. Binge Watch + Have a Sleepover

If you’re lucky and can set aside a weekend with one of your BFFs (or multiple), and if y’all are in need of some serious chill time, why not bring it old school and have a sleepover?! We rarely get to have a whole night AND morning with friends, so I love this idea for serious catching up. Pick a fun show and do some major binge-watching that night (whether it’s The Real Housewives or something on Netflix). If you do binge, I’ll be majorly jealous. I’ll admit, TV is one of my favorite things to do from time to time as a little reward and just to RESET. I can’t do it for long, but it’s nice while it lasts. I did this for both seasons of Stranger Things and wow.

2. Karaoke

I mean, have you ever actually done it?! It’s pretty freaking fun(ny). Whether you want to get a group of girls together to go to a karaoke bar or rent a machine and host a karaoke party at your house, this is the type of event that is just plain fun (esp if a glass or two of wine is involved #truth). I mean, what’s better than getting your best girls and making a fool of yourself, on purpose?! A few hours of pure silliness does the soul some good and lets you focus on something other than your mile-long to-do list. Just agree on no Instagram stories HA!

3. Have an Ice-Cream Party (or Baking Party)

Valentine’s Day is all about the sweets, let’s be honest. As you can tell from these photos, I clearly love the sweets (I blame it on my mama). And y’all don’t need a boyfriend to be able to have treats on Vday, let me tell you that. Buy all the things; sprinkles, chocolate, toppings, cupcake mix and make your best friend come binge with you. If you want to feel a little better than just stuffing your face from the box (no judgements), do something cute like a ice cream sunday bar or bake something. Again, it’s like being a kid again and that’s just fun.

4. Mani-Pedi Date

Sometimes you don’t have time to plan out a whole event and want to keep things simple. If you only have a couple hours or just don’t have the brain power to plan something more than that, ain’t nothing wrong with a little pampering. Find a friend that might also need a polish change and set aside some time to catch up. You’re being time efficient and still getting that little bit of “me time” with your girl.

5. Throw a Galentine’s Day Brunch

Send out evites, plan the menu and have everyone attending bring a bottle of champagne – and PJs only. Not only does this give you a reason to bust out those super cute pajamas you don’t actually ever wear but it gives you an excuse to buy all the cute red and pink party supplies. (Helloooo Target, have you seen their decor lately?!)

6. Host a Potluck

A dinner party is the best reason to get dressed up for “no reason” with your group of friends. Or at least I like to think so! Plus when you split up the responsibility of providing food, you take away the stress of cooking for a huge group or making sure that everyone has something to enjoy. Ask people to bring the dish they love most – no matter what it is – to stick to the theme of love. Cheesy but cute OK?! No need for a serious menu here and it’s kinda fun seeing what everyone brings to share.

7. Plan a Gift Exchange

This is the perfect way to make sure the girls in your life are getting treats no matter what their relationship status is. Invite all your gal pals to sign up in a group and assign each girl a person to shop for.. Almost (exactly) like secret Santa. Set a budget (make it cheap, keep it easy), make brunch reservations at your favorite post and spend the day focusing on your friendships.

8. Treat Someone

I love treating others as much as I love getting treated – it’s something my dad always instilled in me. So how cute would it be to take a friend or even your mama or sister to a meal? Don’t let them know you’re doing it, but slip the waiter your card when you’re “going pee”. It’s such a cute treat for someone, and I promise you it feels better than getting a present.

OK, don’t y’all kinda like the holiday now? If you didn’t already? I’m actually pretty excited about it and am looking forward to a few things on this list.