Happy Galentine's Day, ladies! Let the party begin

Kate Conroy in Plainfield, New Jersey, is the Galentine's planner among her female friends. This year will be her third brunch. Significant others have started to show up, and there's an after-party.

"At our first one, someone did a toast and when it was my turn to say a few words I started with: 'When I stole this idea from Parks and Rec, I assumed people would mock the idea'," she says.

They didn't. About 20 participated last year.

It's mother Alexandra Jamieson's first Galentine's. She's setting aside Feb 13 to host 12 women for a "bad art party" in her Brooklyn apartment.

"We'll tap into our inner child and just get creative and messy," she says. "I'm not single but my female friendships are so important to me. I believe Galentine's Day should be mandatory for all of us!"

Galentine's Day has been an annual event for Rosie Brown in Campbell, California, since 2015. She and a group of girlfriends made glass terrariums one year and took a cooking lesson the other.

"It's a special way of honoring our friendships and making everyone feel loved," Brown says.

Michelle Peterson is a Galentine's newbie. She's putting a karaoke night on the calendars of a few girlfriends for Feb 11.

"I'm single and all my friends are in relationships, so I wanted to be sure I got some friend time near Valentine's Day," she says.

As for Valentine's Day itself, she'll treat herself to some chocolate, a glass of red wine and a solo ticket to Fifty Shades Darker. That, she says, "seems like the ultimate single-girl thing to do".