Walking into this home on North College Avenue, you may assume multiple women are preparing for a special date on Valentine’s day. Makeup spread around the living room, wine being poured in plastic cups in the kitchen, and pop princesses being streamed throughout the house. But this isn’t what you think.

While many students around campus prepare for Valentine’s Day by getting dressed up, buying gifts, and making dinner reservations, others are celebrating dressed down with a night in.

Galentine’s day has become the latest Valentine’s day trend, specifically for women without a date, or for those who want to celebrate their friendship rather than a relationship.

The fictional holiday became a mainstream event after it’s debut on the popular sitcom Parks and Recreation. In the episode, first aired in 2010, where multiple characters met up together after different series of unfortunate events occur to each women right before Valentine’s Day. These characters then came up with the idea of Galentine’s day, celebrated the day before the holiday, February 13th.

These parties may seem like your typical girls night: full of song, laughter, and the occasional wine. However, they mean so much more to those who participate. For students with busy schedules, it’s a night for them to relax and celebrate each other’s company.

For IU senior, Naomi Popa, she says that the atmosphere between being around a group of girls compared to a date is drastically different.

“I just feel like girls are so much more genuine and they’re easy to talk to and their always there for you. Whereas guys you just kinda have to, you know, feel like you have to be a different person around them at time,” says Popa.

While many of these types of parties are used to relax and unwind, some also are used to promote and sell products. Especially as college students who work in unique ways for a paycheck, students take the advantage of a girl’s night to offer and sample items such as beauty and health products.

The trend is most popular among college students and young adults. However, even city mayors are getting in on the trend. Some have even petitioned to make it a national holiday.

When preparing for the Valentine/Galentine’s weekend ahead, make sure you’re staying safe when going out or staying in. When going out, make sure you walk or stay in a group at all times, keep an eye on your food and drinks, and keep your phone charged at all times. When staying in, check on those who have been drinking too much, make sure the noise is at a reasonable level to avoid noise violations, and lock all exterior doors.