Best Galentine’s Day Moments From ‘Parks and Recreation’

Grab your BFFs, it’s Galentine’s Day!

Amy Poehler’s Parks and Recreation character, Leslie Knope, invented the holiday in 2010 to celebrate sisterhood one day before Valentine’s Day every February — and fans are still toasting their gal pals annually.

“What’s Galentine’s Day? It’s only the best day of the year. Every February 13th, my lady friends and I leave our husbands and our boyfriends at home, and we just come and kick it, breakfast-style,” Leslie explained during season 2, episode 16 of Parks and Rec, which first aired in 2010. “Ladies celebrating ladies. It’s like Lilith Fair, minus the angst. Plus frittatas.”

Leslie made sure to give her BFFs thoughtful gifts each year, including a “bouquet of hand-crocheted flower pens, a mosaic portrait for each of you made from the crushed bottles of your favorite diet soda and a personalized 5,000-word essay of why you are all so awesome.”

Poehler, meanwhile, revealed that she celebrates the special day with her own friends. "Female friendships are the most important thing in your life," Poehler shared in a February 2024 TikTok from the snowy streets of New York City. "The best thing about your friends is they know you better than anyone and they still want to hang out with you. Happy Galentine's Day!"

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When she can, she reunites with fellow Parks and Rec alums. “I’m having dinner after the show with Rashida Jones, Aubrey Plaza and Kathryn Hahn,” the Massachusetts native revealed during a February 2020 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “I don’t think there has to be [gifts], but Leslie Knope did [give them].” (Jones played Ann Perkins, Plaza played April Ludgate and Hanh portrayed Jennifer Barkely on the series.)

The Inside Out actress noted that it “kind of caught on as a fun fake holiday, just like Valentine’s Day, which is also a fake holiday.”

After host Jimmy Kimmel proposed a male version of the holiday, Poehler quipped: “I feel like men are so sensitive now, you could have your own Galentine’s Day version of it.”

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That same month, Poehler confirmed during an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she does “celebrate Galentine’s Day all the time.”

The Saturday Night Live alum joked: “If you’re gay then every Valentine’s Day is Galentine’s Day.” Kelly Clarkson replied, “Women are a good time. Gay or not, it’s a fun time.”

Poehler added, “I think it’s fun to make up your own holidays.”

Parks and Recreation aired for seven seasons from 2009 to 2015. The former NBC series is currently streaming on Peacock.

Watch the video above to relive the best Galentine’s Day moments!