Here at ELLE we take most of our life lessons from TV show Parks and Recreation.  For example, when Aziz Ansari’s character Tom says :

‘How do you make any event classy on a budget? Red carpet. My entire apartment is red carpet. On top of that, leading into my bedroom, a second red carpet. Oh, what’s this in my shoe? Red carpet insole. Everywhere I go, I’m walking on red carpet.’ 

So when in the 16th episode of the second season (not that we’re counting)  Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) throws her annual Galentine's Day party for her female friends the day before Valentine’s Day, we thought ‘we’ll have that, thank you very much’. And have been celebrating the love we have for our female friends ever since.

We’re not alone: sales figures from Bloom & Wild the online florist suggest that over a quarter of bouquets bought around Valentine’s Day last year were by women sending to their friends.  

ELLE’s Culture Director Lena De Casparis says:

‘I’m far more romantic with my friends than my boyfriend. I only ever light candles when they come round for dinner and on Valentine’s day it’s them that I’ll text heart emojis to in the morning. Being like that with a boyfriend feels really cheesy – but with a friend it’s cooler and more authentic. Plus, my partner and I express our love for each other everyday, my girlfriends need it more.’

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ELLE’s Feature’s Editor Hannah Swerling takes it a step further: ‘I’m going on a date with my friend Laura on Saturday night (our husbands are on holiday together). I’ll definitely be taking her a single red rose (albeit slightly ironically)’.

And in the March issue of ELLE, on newsstands now, novelist Elizabeth Day writes about her platonic crushes on the women in her life, and coins the genius new term ‘Womance’! 

So don’t be basic, buy your gal pals some chocolates, and have a womantic Galentine’s Day this year, whatever your relationship status.