Who said you need a significant other to celebrate Valentine’s Day? Gather your besties and celebrate your friendship and love on Galentine’s Day with plenty of activities, shopping, dining, and partying throughout Greater Fort Lauderdale.
For the Ladies Who Brunch
Your group counts down to the weekend for the meal that serves all cravings: brunch. Foxy Brown boasts an extensive menu for brunch, including doughnut holes, banana Foster pancakes, and, obviously, mimosas and Bloody Marys.
If your group wants a waterfront view during their meal, opt for Shooters set along the Intracoastal and watch the boats wade by. Or, go sky-high for brunch at Rooftop @1WLO and start a game of ProseccoPONG or ChamBONG. And, of course, Las Olas is lined with restaurants at the ready with their brunch menus, such as Louie Bossi’s, American Social, Big City Tavern, and Casa Sensei.
Along Fort Lauderdale beach, MAASS at The Four Seasons Hotel & Residents Fort Lauderdale hosts Sunday Brunch, which features an unlimited raw bar and carving stations, chef specialties, caviar add-ons, and a dessert to top off the afternoon.
Live out your “Bridgerton” dreams and head to Queens Tea House in Parkland for tea time. Think mini quiches, tea sandwiches, soups, desserts, and bottomless pots of rooibos, herbal, black, and green teas.
For the Shopaholics
Grab your gal pals, we’re going shopping! The epic Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise is bursting with more than 355 stores, including luxe brands in The Colonnade Outlets like Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo, Gucci, and Neiman Marcus Last Call. Over in Coconut Creek, The Promenade also has a great selection of shops, like White House Black Market and DSW. In Dania Beach, Dania Pointe features great finds at retailers, including Anthropologie and Sugarboo & Co. The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale is another classic shopping destination with your favorite brands: Free People, Michael Kors, Sephora, and more.
For the Creatives
If your group is always up for checking off items on its bucket list, book an activity that lets everyone try their hand at crafting. Schedule a session at Ann’s Florist & Coffee Bar on Las Olas Boulevard to create flower crowns or arrange bouquets surrounded by elegant,modern blooms. Also, on Las Olas is Candle Land, where you and the girls can book a one-hour class to make soy wax candles that burn with aromatic oils.
At Victoria Park Flower Studio, the group can learn the art of flower arranging and take home a gorgeous selection of blooms. Tufting House will have you addicted to creating your own area rugs in designs from your favorite cartoon characters, symbols, and other motifs. If your gang likes to get their hands dirty, throw clay at Sarah Glass Ceramics in Flagler Village. The woman-owned biz gives you the chance to make pottery from scratch—and bring home a memento to remember your Galentine’s Day date with the ladies.
For the Night Owls
Getting dolled up for a night out is your idea of fun—the question is where to go. Follow the lights to The Guitar Hotel in Hollywood and try your hand at the blackjack tables or slot machines before heading to DAER Nightclub’s dance floor. Adjoined to the newly opened Holly Blue is The Angeles, a nightclub born from the rubble of an old church. At The Wharf, there is plenty of people watching to be done while ordering food from your favorite food truck or demolishing the competition at corn hole. And when you walk into Rhythm & Vine, you’ll feel as if you’ve crashed a backyard party lit by bistro lights.
For the Outdoorswomen
If soaking up the sun and exploring nature is where your group feels most at home, you’ll find plenty to do outdoors.
Grab your fishing rods and head to Pompano Beach’s Fisher Family Pier, a newly imagined space that, when looking from a bird’s eye view, is in the shape of a pompano fish. Another water activity is paddleboarding or kayaking through the mangroves in Hollywood’s West Lake Park (grab dessert at Jaxson’s Ice Cream Parlor after). If hiking is your choice of activity, explore the Tree Top Nature Trail Loop in Davie for a nearly two-mile adventure filled with wildflowers, birds, and waterways.
For the Cocktail Connoisseurs
If your crew’s Instagram is a tribute to artfully crafted cocktails, then Greater Fort Lauderdale’s vibrant mixology scene won’t disappoint.
Discover unique concoctions at Apothecary 330, sneakily connected to Pizza Craft on Himmarshee Street. Also in Fort Lauderdale, The Wilder’s decor is just as beautiful as its drink menu, never skimping on garnishes. No Man’s Land, a sushi-bar-turned-hideaway, is the perfect spot for the girls to sip decadent libations while catching up.
Reservations are definitely necessary for Rm. 901 at the Hyatt Centric Las Olas, a hotel-room-turned-speakeasy that requires a special room key to enter. Finally, if the group is more into wine, schedule a wine tasting for the ladies at Cooper’s Hawk in Dania Pointe.
For the Girls Who Need a Break
It’s not easy being a girl boss, and part of it is recognizing when you need to put down the phone for a much-needed spa day.
The spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Fort Lauderdale, offers treatments that will have you melting into your massage table, like the 80-minute Cleansing Ceremony massage or 110-minute Intuitive Ocean body wrap. Away Spa at W Fort Lauderdale offers not only massages but also mani-pedis in a studio wrapped in fuchsia walls.
If all you really need is to shut out the world, book a float session in a sensory deprivation tank at Float8 in Fort Lauderdale. You’ll feel completely refreshed and ready to take on the world.