What better time to celebrate your best friends than on Galentine’s Day? Yes, that’s right, I said GALentine’s Day. If you’ve not heard of it yet, it’s simply putting a name to what we’ve all being doing for years; celebrating our friends. I’ve seen so many more Galentine’s-related treats being shared on Pinterest this year; in fact, I’ve hardly paid any attention to Valentine’s Day at all. Whether or not your pal is loved-up or single, I’m sure you have a wonderful friend who deserves a bit of extra love this February. I certainly welcome the chance to celebrate my girl friends and thank them for all the support they give me throughout the year. And what better way to show them you care, than by throwing a cute Galentine’s party? Today I wanted to share my ideas for a cosy hot chocolate party; a night in with your pals, scoffing all the naughty treats you usually resist during the rest of the year. I know I waffle on about eating healthily, but enjoying a little of what you fancy every now and again is just as important as eating the good-for-you things. Your Galentine’s Day get-together is the ideal time to indulge and provide some tasty treats for your favourite peeps. So here’s a couple of new hot chocolate flavours that I’m adding to my Galentine’s menu:
Salted caramel: Make up a steaming mug of hot chocolate and add a splash of caramel syrup. I had a set of 5 small syrups that I was given as a birthday gift a while ago, but you can buy a similar set at Amazon (such as these Monin Syrups for Coffee). Add one crunch of sea salt (don’t go crazy with the salt otherwise you’ll end up with a savoury hot chocolate). Next is the fun part; stir in chunks of caramel chocolate bar and let them melt for a really indulgent treat. Top with whipped cream, marshmallows and crumbled up flake. Mmm.
Cherry bakewell: There are two options for this hot chocolate flavour – saintly or boozy! Add a splash of vanilla syrup to a mug of hot chocolate and then decide whether you add a splash of amaretto-flavoured syrup or a shot of Disaronno! Stir it into the hot chocolate to get that really cherry-marzipan flavour before topping with cream, chocolate and cherries. If you have a bakewell tart hanging around you could crumble some of the cake onto the cream too. Yum!
How cute are these smiley mugs? I got them from Zazzle and they reflect the personalities of my friends really well; giggly, happy, shy and a little sleepy! You can personalise the designs with any colour inside the mug, or even choose a different style of mug or a contrasting coloured handle. Very cool. I love this little set and they are the perfect mugs to serve up my Galentine’s Day hot chocolate in.
While I was shopping for cards on the Zazzle website I searched for the term “Galentine” and actually found that they make a range of Galentine’s cards! I snapped them up, along with some inspirational postcards (only 80p!) for my friends with pretty designs and motivational quotes. Okay, it may all sound a little cheesy, but no more so than all the Valentine’s gumph out there! Plus I know that they will really appreciate receiving a little something in the post in the run up to Valentine’s Day. I love reminding my friends how much I care for them so I’m thrilled to have found some treats for them online. What do you think of this new ‘tradition’? Will Galentine’s Day catch on? What will you be doing with your friends to celebrate the ‘big day’?? Let me know what you think by leaving me a comment below and if you like these cheeky hot chocolate recipes please share using the options below or by pinning a photo onto your Pinterest boards.
Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience 🙂