self-care kits for galentines | diy

So, Valentines week is upon us, and if you’re like me, that usually just means a good excuse to get my husband to take me out for a nice date (and maybe drop some hints about a Farmgirl Flowers arrangement, too). The past few years, a new favorite Valentines week tradition has been finding a sweet way to love on some of the women in my life by celebrating “Galentines.” (Thanks, Leslie Knope for the idea.) This past weekend, I threw a Galentines Brunch for the women and kiddos in my in-law’s family. The brunch won’t be on the blog because I played hostess, not photographer and didn’t take a ton of pictures. But I will post the few pictures I do have + our menu on Insta stories Monday afternoon if anybody’s interested.

One of my favorite ways to show love for others is putting together meaningful little gifts. So- I figured I’d share about the self-care themed gift bags I put together for the big girls at Galentines this year. Maybe this will give you some inspiration to spend a few minutes (and really, just a few dollars) this week putting together something sweet for the girls in your life!

I wanted all of the items I included in these bags to be things that could be intentionally used for self-care, because who doesn’t need more of that? Because these were gifted to busy working mammas, I also wanted to keep it simple and choose items that could be used all at once (like for a single super relaxing bath after the kids are down one night). My favorite places to shop for things like this are Marshalls and TJ Maxx because they have nice products but they’re inexpensive. They also tend to have multi-packs of things which is helpful when you’re putting together the same gift for multiple people.

A few things to keep in mind as you’re shopping:

  • Determine ahead of time how many bags you’re making so you can add up the tab as you go to make sure you’re staying on budget. I think $20-$30 is a reasonable budget for 4 gift bags. Maybe less if you’re really thrifty.
  • Look for multi-packs that you can break apart, and make sure that each individual item within the pack is individually wrapped (especially important for things like bath bombs and soaps that will break down if they’re not packaged well).
  • Be mindful of size to keep the wrapping process simple.
  • Don’t skimp on your friends- choose only great items that you would love to use yourself.
  • Also- (very important if you’re gifting fragrant items) make sure that you choose fragrances that complement each other. I think simple + classic is always safest so you can’t go wrong with scents like lavender, eucalyptus, oatmeal, mint.
  • Don’t over-think it! Your friends are going to adore these because they’ll be thoughtful and from someone they love- YOU! So don’t make yourself crazy running all over the place shopping. Just go into one store and do what you can with what’s there.

 

I was able to get everything here for under $30. The candles were the priciest item, at 2.99 each (you could save some money but still include a candle by breaking up a pack of tea lights or votives). Yes, the bath salts are in a big jar but I’ll show you how I split those up.

You’ll also want to pick up some wrapping supplies while you’re out! I’ve been a neutral girl ever since I heard Julie Andrews sing “brown paper packages tied up with string” so I always have the same, simple gift-wrapping supplies on hand. I think clear goody/treat bags are best for these because you can see all the cute items inside. Get some of those, twine or ribbon, tissue paper, and anything else you want to add like a card or tag. I added heart shaped doilies for V-Day.

When you sit down to make your bags, you’ll want to break everything up into the individual items. I knew I had a box of small mason jars in one of our cabinets so I used those to split up the bath salts. Small ziploc bags would have also been fine.

I ended up adding chocolates and these little wine spritzers at the last minute because I saw them at the grocery store and couldn’t help myself.

I put the chocolates down in these little drawstring bags I had to make them easier to package and grouped everything together. (My sister-in-law who’s 38 weeks pregnant got a pair of socks- not pictured- in place of a wine spritzer.)

Here’s what they looked like all wrapped up. They were very unexpected and seemed to be a big hit.

Hopefully this posts gives you a little inspiration to do something sweet for some of the girls in your life this Valentines week! (Official Galentines Day is Feb 13th just FYI). If you end up putting something together, I’d love it if you’d send me a picture on Insta so I can see what you came up with! 🙂 And I truly hope that you have the most wonderful week full of chocolate, flowers, maybe some romance if that’s where you’re at but most importantly- lots and lots of self love because you are so very worth it.

XO -Rachel

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