Galentine's Party Idea

My daughters (ages 10 and 9) asked if they could host some girlfriends over for a Galentines Party.  God continues to use my children to stretch me into new places of influence as I allow the Gospel to overflow from my relationship with Christ to others.  I said “yes,” but hoped we could think of something beyond hearts and kisses to decorate with and talk about.

Two friends deserve all the credit for bringing my daughters’ Galentine party to fruition.  One introduced me to the children’s book “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch.” She has used this book for women’s gatherings in her own neighborhood. The other friend encouraged me to have my daughters seek God themselves and ask him how to bless their friends as we planned this neighborhood girls’ gathering.  

When I asked my girls if they wanted to spend time in their room praying and asking God to plant ideas for how to use this party to show his love to their friends, I had pretty low expectations (there I go doubting God again).  They came out of that time and blew me away.  One wanted to make sure we shared the true meaning of Valentine’s Day by sharing the stories of the possible candidates for St. Valentine (so easy to find information on the internet–there are actually 3 possible candidates for St. Valentine). The other wanted us to read the “Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch” book and do crafts.

If you’ve not read this precious book, it’s about a man who is very lonely and feels unloved.  He goes about his days in a ho-hum way until one day he receives an anonymous valentine.  It changes everything for him as he considers that somebody loves him.  The end has a little twist, but the moral is that knowing we are loved MATTERS! During the evening of our party, I read the book and had each girl think about a “Mr. Hatch” in their own lives…someone who might be lonely or acting out or simply sad.  Then they took time to write an anonymous note to that person to express love and care.  They made a bookmark to add to the envelope. The fifth graders took special care in this task.  

We ate a heart-shaped cookie cake and shared stories of the men named Valentinus who might have inspired this holiday and a few scriptures declaring God’s great love for us that can overflow from us as we experience it.  They ended their evening with popcorn and a movie and one sweet little girl presented me with a bookmark to let me know she loved me.  I let her know God must have directed her to do that since I’ve collected bookmarks since early childhood! 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“For here is the way God loved the world–He gave His only, unique son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in Him will never perish but experience everlasting life.” John 3:16

Galentine Sample Party Schedule

6:30 Arrive and take photos (as simple as a red plastic tablecloth backdrop and some heart glasses)

6:45 Eat something simple like pizza with pink lemonade or strawberry Italian cream sodas

7:15 Read “Somebody Loves you, Mr. Hatch” and introduce the idea of sending an anonymous note and possibly a chocolate or handmade craft (we used ribbon and glued felt hearts to make bookmarks). Give the participants a blank notecard and time to write a note to the person they want to feel loved like Mr. Hatch

8:00 Serve some kind of valentine dessert and share the stories of St. Valentine candidates as well as scriptures about God’s great love for us.

Do you have any creative ideas to reach your neighbors at Valentine's? We would love to hear about them.