13 Affordable Friend Date Ideas To Try For Galentine's Day

girl friends painting and laughing

No one told us that growing up meant we'd have less time than ever to see our friends, and that we actually have to add quality time with them into our schedule. That's a bummer! But when the clock strikes five on Friday and we're free to spend the next 60 hours doing all kinds of fun activities, you better believe we're calling up all our girlfriends!

If you're finally catching up with your childhood gal pals for Valentine's (or in this case, Galentine's) weekend, or you want to get to know your new friends on a deeper level, then these ideas are the perfect answer to "What should we do?"

Each of them can be tweaked to be completely free or as fancy as you want! Whichever activity you pick, you're sure to have a great time with your bestie.

Photo by Marina M / PEXELS

Grab Some Coffee Together at a Local Shop

If you and your girlfriends are latte lovers, plan to meet at your favorite local coffee spot to enjoy a heartwarming drink and pastry, over some good casual conversation. Meeting for coffee is always an easy meeting, and if you're both busy gals, then there's no pressure to stay chatting for hours. Sometimes a quick visit is all you need to feel the most connected!

Throw a Spirited Galentine's Brunch

Toast to the girls with the most by throwing a Galentine's Day brunch, complete with handmande cards, heart-shaped waffles, and all of the bubbly. This is your time to really celebrate your friendship, be it with one girl friend or many! Have each invitee bring their favorite snack to collaborate on a big potluck, and just focus on having fun!

Bake Dozens of Heart-Shaped Cookies Together

What delicious food item screams 'Galentine's Day' more than a heart-shaped sugar cookie? Herald your biggest celebrity crushes together with this super cute cookie recipe that's sure to encourage a full-on fangirling sesh.

Host a Girls-Only Movie Night

Bring out your inner child by making a blanket fort with twinkly lights, blankets, and pillows, and turning on your favorite movie (or movie series — we're looking at you Harry Potter!). We recommend stocking up on popcorn and homemade pizza, and it's even more fun if you make the blanket fort comfortable enough to sleep in over night. It's like one big sleepover! The only difference between sleepovers now and sleepovers from when you were little is that now you can have margaritas.

Photo by Jess Bailey Designs / PEXELS

Work on Some Journal Prompts Together

Whether the V-Day season sparks thoughts about potential relationships, or your own creativity, getting together with a close friend and journaling on your internal processes can provide a safe space for each other to reflect with clarity. Try outlining a few journal prompts to work on independently, then set some time aside to discuss, if that's your thing!

Photo by Karolina Grabowska / PEXELS

Have a Board Game Night

Whether you are an expert at chess or you have the fastest time on Dutch Blitz out of all your friends, a board game night is a super-fun way to spend your evening. It's quality time without a screen, and you can have everyone bring their favorite games for a tournament. Don't forget some sweet treats and pink cocktails or mocktails!

Photo by Anna Shvets / PEXELS

Paint Each Other's Nails

There's always time for an at-home Valentine's manicure with your bestie -- and this activity will throw you all the way back to fun middle school sleepovers.Take your time to be creative and give your friend the cutest mani on the block! Since the girls always have your back, you know you'll be getting the cutest nail art, too.

Photo by Antoni Shkraba / PEXELS

Host a Cocktail Party

Get together with your squad and have everyone make a different festive cocktail to enjoy throughout the night! In between those yummy sips, you can watch a fun movie or show, dance to the one and only T-Swift, or play a new game! No matter what you choose to do, or how fancy you make the night, you know you'll always have fun with the girls.

Photo by George Becker / PEXELS

Watch the Sunrise (or Sunset)

You don't have to be a morning person to appreciate how beautiful the sunrise can be. Well, maybe it's better after you've had some coffee. If you live by the water, you can sit on the sand with a book or some music, or if you're in the mountains, you can do a sunrise hike. Not a fan of early mornings? Watch the sunset fall behind the city skyline instead!

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch / PEXELS

Cook a Delicious Meal Together

Regardless of whether your friends like to cook extravagant meals or they prefer to stick some mac and cheese in the microwave, making dinner together lets you spend quality time together, use your hands, *and* you end up with a delicious meal to enjoy at the end. You can try one of these cozy dinners, or check out some other ideas that sound good to you on our Food + Recipes Pinterest board.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk / PEXELS

Take an Art Class Together

Taking a wine and paint class or ceramics class with your friend is the perfect opportunity to explore a new creative outlet, plus a new experience to get to know each other! You'll both get a fun piece of original art to be proud of, and you'll recall all the memories you made together in the class each time you look at it, which makes it all worth it!

Photo by Julie Aagaard / PEXELS

Venture Out on a Hike

Explore a close National Park or nature preserve near you with a friend! Hiking with a buddy always makes the journey more enjoyable because you have time to chat, plus it can make you feel safer since you don't have to hike alone. Through the duration of the hike, you both can talk about the beautiful natural surroundings, catch up on each other's lives and just have fun!

Photo by Tamara Elnova / PEXELS

Visit a Museum Together

If it's cold where you and your bestie live, visiting a museum is a great way to escape the winter blues and see something new. Museums usually have great, affordable ticket prices, so visiting is made easy. Spend a day perusing the halls of your closest art gallery and pondering the meanings of its artworks together! You might just surprise yourself with how fun it is.

Tag us with your fave best friend date ideas on Instagram, and check out our email newsletter for more Galentine's content!

Last year, some of us celebrated the holidays apart from our families for the first time. COVID has brought with it many changes, some of them arguably positive (like increased flexibility to work from home), some difficult (such as the realization of vastly different political and social views between family and friends), and some horrible (obviously, the health implications of a global pandemic). However, for some of us, celebrating the holidays without family members isn't exclusively due to COVID. In addition to so many of us living in different areas than our families of origin, some of us simply don't have close bonds with the people we grew up around. Sometimes, this can cause loneliness.

If you're not close with your family members, the holidays can be a difficult time. This is doubly true if you don't have a close circle of friends to call upon. But make no mistake, if this sounds like your situation, you're not alone — there are thousands of other people going through the same struggles you are. We sat down with Irad Eichler, founder of Circles, a website that connects people who are sharing similar struggles, like heartbreak, grief, or loneliness. Here are some of Eichler's tips for coping — and even thriving! — during the holiday season when you're not planning on spending it with your family, for one reason or another.

Don't Fall For "Perfect Families" On Social Media

Laura Chouette

The first VERY important step to having a joyous holiday season when you're going it alone is to stop believing the narrative that others' family situations are perfect, Eichler says.

"Remember people only post a moment in time, and only the moments when they look their happiest and best."

In addition to the fact that everything you see on social media is curated for the 'gram, it's also important to remember that by focusing on what others have and you lack, you risk failing to see the great things at play in your own life.

"These holiday periods can become a time of focusing on who and what we don't have, rather than who or what we do, and can cause a negative spiral into depressing and dreadful feelings of inadequacy," says Eichler.

Gratitude is the reason for the season, after all. So instead of only seeing the negative, try some gratitude journal prompts to help you focus on what's actually really wonderful about your life right now.

Make An Effort To Deepen New Connections

Joel Muniz

While it may seem like everyone has friends and family to spend time with during the holiday season, that doesn't mean no one is available for deepening a blossoming relationship or new friendship.

"Make a list of people you can or would like to connect with, and try to reach out to at least one of them," advises Eichler.

Reaching out doesn't have to mean a big plan or an hour-long conversation. Even a quick text letting a friendly coworker know you're thinking about them can go a long way toward deepening the relationship and moving it in the direction of closer friendship.

Don't have an acquaintance in mind? Then it's time to make new acquaintances. What's more in line with the Christmas spirit than attending a Meetup or event full of people eager to make new friends?

"Join groups with similar interests to yours, such as hiking, baking, or games. Push your boundaries and be brave - you might find new people who have much in common with you."

Give Back

Priscilla Du Preez

The holiday season is a great time to focus on giving back to your community, and coincidentally, acts of generosity and kindness are known to reduce loneliness and help people feel happier. One study found that knowing a few of your neighbors and doing small acts of kindness for them — such as cheering them up, listening to them, mowing their lawn, providing advice about local business recommendations and job opportunities, and chatting over the fence — was statistically correlated with feeling less lonely and having a lower risk of depression.

Helping out elderly neighbors can be a particularly gratifying way to give back.

"Notice older lonely people in your neighborhood or community who might have no family at all, and offer to help them," says Eichler. "These can become mutually meaningful connections, and help you 'adopt' a grandparent."

Connect With Others Online

Thought Catalog

Finally, use the Internet for its highest and best purpose: to connect people. Whether you're using Meetup to find in-person events, digital forums for having conversations about special interests, or programs like Circle for getting support from others in your situation, the opportunities to create new connections are practically endless.

"There are many interest groups that can be found digitally, where or any person can connect with others in the same life stage, going through the same challenges, or who would like to explore the same interests," Eichler states. "Meaningful connections can be formed easily in these circumstances. The Internet enables us to find and connect to people all over the world who fit this, and to whom we can become more easily attached, as we are able to find people with the exact interests that energize us."

If you're struggling with loneliness, you're not alone. Connect with our digital community of makers and creatives here at Brit+Co by following us on IG and signing up for our newsletter!

This post has been updated.

Break out your basketball jerseys because the Tree Hill Ravens are coming back! Multiple sources have toldVariety that Netflix will develop a sequel series to the beloved CW drama, which ran from 2003-2012. While the series hasn't officially been greenlit yet, multiple series stars have admitted they'd love to have a One Tree Hill reunion and make another installment of the show.

"I just can't see a world where something won't happen," Chad Michael Murray told E! News. "Something will happen. Whether we get everybody together and do a live reading of the show, or we create a new fictional future episode, I don't know what it will be."

"We’re all on board, we’re all friends, it would be the most fun show anybody has ever been on," Barbara Alyn Woods says in an Entertainment Tonight interview.

Here's everything to know about the One Tree Hillsequel series — including the stars rumored to return!

Who's returning to the One Tree Hill sequel?

Noam Galai/Getty Images for Netflix

One Tree Hill Sequel Cast

According to Variety, Sophia Bush and Hilarie Burton would return as Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer, respectively. Daneel Ackles would also return — and all three would serve as executive producers on the TV show alongside Warner Bros. Television, who was behind the original show.

When asked if he would return as Lucas Scott, Chad Michael Murray simply responded with “No clue." Considering previous reports suggested he had "no plans to return," this is promising news to me! He then added he hopes the sequel series “comes together for the fans.”

“I mean, this fandom that has grown, I mean, literally, I was just in Halifax a week ago and, sure enough, I’m running into 11, 12, 13-year-old kids who are in love with Tree Hill,” he continues. “They’re seeing it on Hulu and they’re going, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ It’s stood the test of time and I think to have some new stories, whatever iteration of the show that’s created, I want it for the fans.”

Will One Tree Hill have a season 10?

Warner Bros. Television

One Tree Hill Sequel Plot

One Tree Hill doesn't have a season 10, and it's unclear what kind of sequel this new One Tree Hill series would be. But it looks like star Hilarie Burton is confident the new series would be told through the female experience. "What has been really cool for [the entire cast and crew], they're all really proud of the work that we did back then too," she told Brit + Co in September. And so to see the public support this little show we made 20 years later, that's so special and it's so rare."

“Being able to work with a team of women and look at these stories [and] these characters through a female lens is something that — whether I was doing a reboot or a brand-new show or a different movie at this phase in my life, female teamwork is something that is so vital to me,” she adds in an interview with People. “It is the core of anything I've done that's successful...So I'm excited to be able to team up with people that I look up to, people that I love dearly.”

After the One Tree Hill finale featured all of our favorite characters' kids, I've always wanted to see a One Tree Hill next generation series that brings the kids into high school, which is something other fans have been wanting too!

One viral TikTok imagines an intro for a fictional Next Gen series starring Dylan O'Brien, Candice King, and Vanessa Marano. "Could you imagine this as a reboot with the kids though," one comment reads. "We can only dream."

Warner Bros. Television

And good news for OTH fans! Jana Kramer, who played Alex during the later seasons of the show, teased she thinks Peyton and Brooke "are coming back as moms."

"I had spoken to Hilarie about it, about Alex making an appearance when I knew about it," she tells People. "We had discussed it before the news broke...I think their intention is to bring back people that make sense. And Hilarie was like, 'I never got to meet Alex, so it'd be fun to have us meet,' and I'm like, 'I would love that. Sign me up.' So, we'll see. TBD."

Brooke having to deal with her kids' TikToks? Peyton thinking about the future of art and AI? Mouth leading the Tree Hill podcast empire? There is so much to dive into here. But all in all, One Tree Hill is one TV show that gives me so much hope, no matter how many times I watch it. And I know that bringing back our favorite found family is the perfect way to bring some of that hope right back into today's TV.

Scott Gries/Getty Images

One Tree Hill also starred Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Austin Nichols, Bethany Joy Lenz, Paul Johansson, Barbara Alyn Woods, Lee Norris, and Antwon Tanner. Check back here for the latest updates on the One Tree Hill reboot cast!

Warner Bros. Television

What do you think about the One Tree Hill sequel?! Stay tuned for the latest news and read up on how This One Moment Proves Brooke Davis Is The Best Character On One Tree Hill.

This post has been updated.

Jennifer Lawrence and Dakota Johnson are two of my favorite people in Hollywood because of the fact they do literally whatever they want, and they don’t care what you think about it. I aspire to be this confident and unbothered!! They've both had pretty big years — Dakota led both Madame Web and Daddio, while Jennifer announced she's pregnant with her second child at the end of October, and when I saw they hung out together, I knew this was one celebrity friendship I'd LOVE.

Are Jennifer Lawrence & Dakota Johnson friends?

Yes, Jennifer Lawrence and Dakota Johnson are friends! The actresses were recently spotted on a stroll in Los Angeles, beverages in hand. Jennifer wore a tee and blue hoodie that showed off her growing baby bump while Dakota kept things chic with a black-on-black coat and v-neck sweater over a white tee shirt. They both looked super cozy! And, let's face it, beverages are basically an accessory at this point, and their drinks of choice prove they love little treats as much as we do!

And this isn't the first moment Jennifer Lawrence BFF moment that's made us fangirl this year! At the Oscars in March, Jennifer introduced Emma Stone, who ended up winning Best Actress for her role as Bella in Poor Things. Emma cried, Jennifer couldn't stop smiling, and it was an adorable moment for girls' girls everywhere.

Did Jennifer Lawrence date Chris Martin?

Not only are they two of Hollywood's "It" girls, but they also share an overlap in their dating history. Jennifer Lawrence (who's now married to Cooke Maroney) dated Dakota Johnson’s current beau Chris Martin between 2014 and 2015. Dakota started dating him just two years later.

Rumors started circulating in August that Dakota and Chris had called it quits, but thankfully, Dakota proved they were just rumors when her rep told Page Sixthe couple is still "happily together." The Social Network actress also told Bustle that when it comes to Chris' kids (whom he shares with ex Gwyneth Paltrow), she loves them "like my life depends on it. With all my heart." I'm simply obsessed.

Stay tuned for all the best Jennifer Lawrence & Dakota Johnson friendship moments, and read up on why Dakota Johnson's Book Club Isn't Your Average Celebrity Reading List.

Outer Banks fans cried saying goodbye to JJ when part 2 dropped on November 7, but I wasn't expecting the Outer Banks cast's goodbye to Rudy Pankow to make me equally emotional. The TV show is a standout because of how electric the cast's chemistry is onscreen — and how close they are offscreen.

But according to some sources, a rift reportedly formed between Rudy Pankow (JJ) and Madison Bailey (Kiara) after fans picked up on their chemistry and started shipping them IRL...like, really intensely. Despite the fact the creators promise this was the plan since season 1, OBX fans are convinced their rumored fallout is the reason Rudy left the show.

Keep reading for the full breakdown on the rumored Outer Banks cast drama between Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow.

  • Outer Banks cast members Madelyn Cline, Chase Stokes, Madison Bailey, Rudy Pankow, Jonathan Daviss, Drew Starkey, and Carlacia Grant are incredibly close offscreen.
  • It seems drama started between Rudy and Madison after fans who shipped their characters started shipping the actors in real life.
  • And a variety of OBX fans think this drama is why Rudy chose to leave the show after season 4.

Why aren't Rudy and Madison friends anymore?

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey were best friends during season 1 (Madison called Rudy her "bestie," and said that in any situation, "he's the first person I'm going to call"). But rumors of a fallout came after the show went viral in 2020. Fans picked up on their onscreen chemistry and started shipping the actors in addition to shipping their characters JJ and Kiara (the internet shipped the fictional couple so hard, in fact, that the relationship was written into the show despite it not being the team's original plan).

"Madison and Kiara, and Rudy and JJ, are two different people," Madison said in a 2020 Entertainment Tonight interview after the relationship started picking up steam. "Let's keep the ships on the show. But as far as the show, I'm all for it."

After publicity for Outer Banks season 2 began, fans noticed Rudy and Madison didn't seem to have the same connection in public, and even appeared to avoid each other on set — a far cry from their adorable interactions during press for season 1.

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Fans started outright blaming Rudy's girlfriend Elaine Seimek, who was originally a PA on the show, for causing a rift between the two actors. Madison herself shut down the rumors with a TikTok promising they all had no problems, while Rudy Pankow took to Instagram to defend his girlfriend.

"To those who are creating such displeasure and opinions about the one I love and my relationship, it’s time to stop," Rudy Pankow said in an August 6, 2021 post. "In this era of social engagement and enlightenment I want to express the importance to spread positivity and needing to know when it is unfair to express your own distaste for something or someone, especially when you can do it behind an anonymous identity. I was always told the best version of yourself is your most humbled self…I make this statement as my most humbled self and would be so grateful if we all would move forward in positivity and respect."

Is there drama between the Outer Banks cast?

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

The Outer Banks cast drama rumors only intensified after a June 2023 dinner, when Madison Bailey and her partner Mariah Linney reportedly unfollowed Elaine on Instagram. Not to mention the fact Rudy Pankow isn't in any of the Outer Banks season 4 cast videos.

After JJ's death rocked the internet, creators Josh and Jonas Pate and Shannon Burke said that it was always the plan to kill JJ. "For a long time we had known that someone was going to die," showrunner Shannon Burke told Teen Vogue. "We thought it was going to be JJ all along."

However, the fact that JJ and Kiara have been dating for almost 2 years at this point, yet barely react to the other heading into danger has fans thinking Rudy asked to leave the show. And rumors that they filmed multiple endings to give Rudy the option to stay only adds fuel to the fire.

When new episodes of the show dropped in November of 2024, fans almost immediately clocked that Rudy and Madison appear to have used body doubles for a cuddling scene — while Madelyn Cline and Chase Stokes (who dated from June 2020 to November 2021) were cozied up across the campfire.

Even though an anonymous source suggested Rudy and Madison aren't friends anymore, and that their chemistry onscreen in season 1 was because they'd fallen for each other IRL, a source told People the actors are not feuding.

When did Madison Bailey and Rudy Pankow meet?

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Rudy and Madison first met after Rudy had booked the role of JJ and Madison was headed to a final audition. Despite the fact they had mutual friends, they didn't meet until they were on the same plane to Charleston. She told Harper's Bazaar in 2020 that she said hello when they crossed paths, then found a DM from him on social media. “He was like, ‘I knew you were Kiara the second I saw you,’" she said. "I was like, "Oh my God, did this guy three seats up really just DM me?’ He went and found our mutuals, found my page, and messaged me.”

Well, during press for Outer Banks season 4, when the cast was asked who would be most likely to fall in love with a stranger on a plane, Carlacia Grant (Cleo) answered with Madison, leading fans to believe she was confirming the romance rumors.

Did Rudy quit OBX?

Jackson Lee Davis/Netflix

Rudy Pankow exited Outer Banks after season 4, and Madison Bailey finally spoke about what JJ means to her in the cast's official goodbye — and got emotional talking about how well Rudy brought the character to life.

"We all read the character on the page," she says. "And we know what you brought to it and you turned it out and really made something of it and paid respect to the depth of the character while bringing a lightheartedness that the show desperately needed."

And during a cast video hyping up JJ's (and Rudy's) best moments from the series, fans were beaming when Rudy and Madison dissected some of the best Jiara moments from season 3. "this video healed me❤️🩹 thank you netflix!" one TikTok user wrote in the comments of Madison talking about JJ and Kiara's first kiss. "I’m so happy [they're] friends bro like fr 🥺🥺," another user said.

Check back here for the latest updates on the Outer Banks cast drama. Read up on why Outer Banks Fans Are Really Not Happy With THAT Death In The OBX Season 4 Ending.

This post has been updated.

All it takes is a few episodes of Nobody Wants This to realize it's one of the best rom-coms of the year — and that Adam Brody is still super hot. The series, which also stars Kristen Bell, has gone viral for everything from its hilariously relatable approach to dating to "the best kiss of all time" to how eloquently it explains the fear that we're too much for a romantic partner. With an 8.1 out of 10 on IMDb, a 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, and literally millions of TikTok views, it's no surprise the show was just renewed for a second season.

Keep reading for everything we know about Nobody Wants This season 2.

When is Nobody Wants This season 2 coming out?

Netflix

Stay tuned for an official Nobody Wants This season 2 release date. The cast starts filming in February of 2025, and based on the timeline for season 1 that means we could get new episodes in the fall of 2025! Considering how many shows in recent years have had multiple years between new installments, a season a year sounds perfect to us.

What's going to happen in Nobody Wants This season 2?

Hopper Stone/Netflix

Creator Erin Foster just revealed Nobody Wants This season 2 is actually going to get rid of this tease from season 1: Morgan and Sasha's flirtationship. "I think we’re going to wrap up their weird 'Is it romantic?' thing. Because we want to see them together in season two, hanging out," she tells The Hollywood Reporter. "We want to see Esther. I think we went down that road enough that now we’re going to pull back and reposition so we can have them all in scenes together without [Morgan] being like, a full homewrecker. But we’re going to give Morgan something very fun. Justine [Lupe] came in and we pitched it to her and she was like, 'This is my dream storyline.'"

Is Morgan going to be swept off her feet? Or maybe she'll inherit a huge sum of money and become her own trophy wife. That would be SO Morgan.

“We are in a tense moment of massive upheaval, and there doesn’t seem to be many romantic comedies, period,” Adam Brody tells Variety, while Kristen Bell adds that, “There was a ton of really great, intense, hardcore television that ‘Breaking Bad’ inspired — rough-and-tumble watches — and something lovely in the rom-com space hadn’t been felt by the masses in a while.”

While Kristen hopes season 2 will give people what they want, Adam is just excited to be back with such a "clever and sweet and funny" story. "I want it to be good, and that can take many forms," he says. "I’m not too invested in the twists and turns as long as they’re true and smart and fun to play."

Is there going to be a season 2 of Nobody Wants This?

Stefania Rosini/Netflix

Yes on October 10, Netflix announced that Nobody Wants This will be coming back for season 2. And (spoiler!!!) now that Joanne and Noah have decided to be together, and Noah's decided to give up his position as Head Rabbi, I have a feeling they'll have to deal with a lot of opinions. (Namely, Noah's mother).

"Creating Nobody Wants This will forever be a career highlight for me," creator Erin Foster says in a statement. "The incredible cast, crew, producers and executives all made this into the show it is today, and to experience viewers' reactions to this series now that it's out in the world has been more than anything I could have dreamed. I’m so lucky to be able to continue this story, and to do it alongside Jenni Konner and Bruce Eric Kaplan, who I've been such a fan of since Girls... Justice for healthy relationships being the most romantic!”

Who's in the cast of Nobody Wants This season 2?

Netflix

The Nobody Wants This cast includes Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, Stephanie Faracy, Tovah Feldshuh, Paul Ben-Victor, Michael Hitchcock, Jackie Tohn, Sherry Cola, Shiloh Bearman, and Emily Arlook.

Does Nobody Wants This End on a Cliffhanger?

Saeed Adyani/Netflix

Nobody Wants This might not end on the same kind of thrilling, dramatic cliffhanger as Outer Banks season 4 part 1, but it definitely leaves us with a ton of questions. How will Joanne and Noah's families react to the news? What does life look like as a couple? Will Joanne be able to flaunt their relationship in front of all the teenagers? No matter what comes, these two are very much in love, and I can't wait to see them continue to heal and grow together.

Adam Rose/Netflix

Check out 10 Reasons Nobody Wants This Is The Best TV Show Of The Year — and all the other October TV shows to watch this month!