Galentines & Football!

This past Sunday, my friend hosted a Galentines and Super Bowl party where we celebrated new friendships, watched the Big Game, and ate way too many delicious snacks.

When I pulled up to Ellen’s house, I was greeted right away by her adorable front door decor which housed a Valentine’s Day-themed wreath. Right when I walked in, I was greeted by three of my favorite things: the smell of a Volcano candle burning, the scent of something I know will be truly delicious coming from the kitchen, and I think my personal favorite, lots of love from Ellen’s sweet pup, Louise.

Ellen’s roommate just got a new puppy named Dolly and she was all too excited to greet me and my cooler with wine, a small hostess gift, veggies, chips, and what we soon learned to be Dolly’s favorite, Buffalo Chicken dip! Dolly’s excitement kept us laughing which almost helped the dreadful introduction phase of the party go more smoothly.

Soon, the six of us settled around the kitchen and family room with a fun-themed cocktail in hand and lots of gameday and Galentines themed foods laid out for everyone to enjoy.

Ellen made this delicious cocktail for the evening. Muddled basil, prosecco, and grapefruit juice – served in a cute wine glass of course. It was the perfect refreshment and complemented just about everything on the table.

We snacked on a fabulous charcuterie board with raspberries, blueberries, brie, whipped feta, cucumbers, celery, nuts, crackers, crostini with goat cheese, and an apricot jam topped with thinly sliced prosciutto. Ellen made little ham and cheese sliders with spicy mustard and her roommate made the most adorable tartlets too – it was easily becoming one of the most fabulous Super Bowl parties that I have ever attended!

While I am always a fan of watching just about any sporting event – sorry NASCAR, this was the first time that I didn’t really find myself peeking over to see what was going on in the game. Nor did I really pay much attention to the commercials which as an IMC professional, almost felt like a sin.

Rather I found myself enjoying the conversations and the people around me that I didn’t even mind that I wasn’t glued to the tv screen. Of course, we watched the halftime show… well about half of it because we didn’t even realize it was on – oops!

Soon, it was 9 p.m. and the evening started to wind down. We all had school and/or work in the morning so I stayed and helped Ellen and her roommate clean up. Of course, the actual cleaning process took all of five minutes, but we kept chatting away, like we never wanted the night to end.

On the car ride home, I remember thinking of how this event was unlike any other Galentines and more importantly unlike any other Super Bowl party I had been to. In the past, I was usually the one who hosted the parties.

I guess I take after my mother when it comes to events. I plan my menu out a week in advance, I get what non-perishable items I can as early as possible (because nothing's worse than the store not having the one item you need for your recipe), I slowly clean the days leading up to the event, and I always plan on having more food than what one might plan for because I always say “the more the merrier” and end up meeting friends of friends in my family room.

But for this specific night, I learned something valuable from both Ellen and her roommate. When I got there, they were still finishing off things in the oven, and Ellen was mixing up the pitcher with her delicious cocktail, and nobody cared that they were still in their aprons, finishing the final details.

Over the years, I have learned almost the science of hosting my own parties. At first, I would be so stressed and even overwhelmed at the idea of everything needing to be perfect. I would feel frazzled if someone arrived and I still had a dip finishing in the oven, or if my veggies still had cellophane on them from when I prepped them earlier that day. But it was not until I was standing in Ellen’s kitchen, chatting with my new friends, that I realized that the stress I put on myself wasn’t necessary. No one cared that my Buffalo Chicken dip had slid around in the pan a little in the car ride over. It didn’t look as pretty as when I took it out of the oven 20 minutes before, but it still tasted the same.

It was like I was seeing event planning in a whole new light and I absolutely loved it!