Valentines Day party ideas: couple holding glasses of champagne

Who says Valentine’s Day is just for romantic love? Whether you’re celebrating with your besties, throwing a singles bash, or hosting a family gathering, V-day is the perfect excuse to host a party that celebrates love in all its forms. 

We’ve rounded up 12 unique Valentine’s Day party ideas that go way beyond the usual couple’s festivities. We’re also sharing playlist links and the cutest invitation designs around to help you pull off an unforgettable celebration.

12 Valentine’s Day Party Ideas

Valentines Day party ideas: XOXO Invitation

Design: PrettyMeJoy

Matching Invitation: XOXO Invitation

Browse these party themes and digital invitations, and steal the one(s) you like the best for your V-day bash. 

1. Secret Cupid Exchange

A Secret Cupid gift exchange is the best Valentine’s Day idea to make sure everyone in your life feels special and loved. It’s like Secret Santa, but love themed.

Pull names from a hat a few weeks prior. We love Elfster for a digital option, where the system draws names for you, and each participant can build a wishlist.

On the day of, each Secret Cupid brings their gift for their assignee, and you all open them together. Provide some munchies — maybe heart-shaped pizzas, cupcakes with V-day sprinkles, candy hearts, or a charcuterie board.

2. Cookbook Night

Pick a cookbook your friends or family members will love, then host a night where everyone cooks a recipe to share. To pull off this Valentine’s party idea, assign everyone appetizers, main courses, salads, veggies, or desserts from the book ahead of time. 

If you’re expecting several guests, confirm what each person is making to avoid overlaps. As the host, you might want to cook the main course. 

Provide plenty of sparkling water and wine, plus serving utensils for all the dishes. Put out blank notecards and pens so everyone can label their dish. Have fun bringing your chosen cookbook to life!

3. Cocktail Competition

Checkerboard Cheers Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

Matching Invitation: Checkerboard Cheers Invitation

We love seeing this idea all over TikTok — host a themed cocktail competition where everyone takes turns making a signature drink. 

Give a prompt like “Romantic comedies,” “My true loves” (with potential answers like strong whiskey or a tropical drink), “Pink and red,” or “#BookTok.”

See what your cocktail party guests come up with, from creative ingredients to presentation to a clever, punny name to fit the theme.

4. Valentine’s TV Marathon

Curate a list of Valentine’s Day themed episodes of TV shows and do a marathon with your besties, partner, or family. Here are a few to get you started:

  • “My Funky Valentine,” Modern Family (Season 1)
  • “February 14th,” And Just Like That… (Season 2)
  • “The Heartbreak,” The O.C. (Season 1)
  • “Galentine’s Day,” Parks and Recreation (Season 2)
  • “Up All Night,” 30 Rock (Season 1)
  • “Crazy, Cupid, Love,” Gossip Girl (Season 5)
  • “The One With the Candy Hearts,” Friends (Season 1)
  • “Valentine’s Day,” New Girl (Season 1)
  • “Valentine’s Day,” Abbott Elementary (Season 2)
  • “Valentine’s Day,” The Office (Season 2)

5. Flower-Pressed Candle Kit

This kit helps you make flower-pressed candles that look like they cost $20 apiece from Anthropologie, but really, they’re DIY! You melt candle wax and use it to affix dried flowers to taper candles. 

One kit includes 12 candles and plenty of flowers, but just one paintbrush, so grab extras for each guest to use.

6. Vision Boards

Rumor Has It Invitation

Design: PrettyMeJoy

Matching Invitation: Rumor Has It Invitation

Since Valentine’s Day falls at the beginning of the year, use the time to set a vision for the upcoming months. Theme it around love and see all the ways your guests interpret it. This prompt could go so many ways, and it’s fun to see everyone’s vision at the end.

For example, they might create a vision board of how they want to be loved or give love this year, or envision their future family and the love they want to show them. They might make a self-love vision board to make sure they focus on putting themselves first. 

To make this Valentine’s Day party idea happen, gather plenty of paper, magazines, glue, and scissors ahead of time. 

7. V-Day Themed Fishbowl

This Valentine’s Day game is a DIY charades variant, and it’s the perfect party game for a group of at least six people (the more the merrier!). 

Each guest writes down 3–4 Valentine-themed words, phrases, or pop culture references on slips of paper and puts them in a bowl. You’ll use those words for three rounds of hilarious gameplay:

  • Round 1: Describe it with words.
  • Round 2: Act it out.
  • Round 3: You can say one word, and one word only, to prompt your team.

Here are the full instructions for this party game — trust us, it’ll become a mainstay at your gatherings.

8. All-Out Themed Book Club

If you and your friends love to read, put together a Valentine’s Day themed book club night. Pick a book that centers around love, ideally by January 14, so everyone has a month to read. Go all out with the menu and decor for the night based on the book.

For example, say you’re reading “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas. 

In this case, you might decorate your house like the Spring Court with flowers everywhere, do a painting craft like Feyre would, host a mini trivia game like the scenes Under the Mountain, and serve faerie wine, “Rhys’s” pieces, and a medieval-style feast.

9. Flower Arranging

Go to a local flower shop, grocery store, or farmer’s market to load up on cut flowers and greenery (try Trader Joe’s if you can). Find a store with a wide selection of mums, solomios, hydrangeas, garden roses, carnations, sea lavender, eucalyptus, and more. 

Purchase some vintage vases at the thrift store — one per guest — and provide garden shears for each person. Then, on the day of the party, have your guests experiment with arranging flowers until they make their perfect bouquet.

You could also provide a roll of butcher paper and some cute ribbon options if guests want to wrap their bouquets for easier transport.

10. Letter Writing

Here’s your Valentine’s Day theme, signed, sealed, delivered: Celebrate love in all forms by writing letters. Prompt guests to write messages to their siblings, parents, kids, partner, best friend, hairdresser, nail person — anyone! 

Provide cute paper and envelopes, stickers, collage materials, colored pencils, and markers for the Valentine’s Day cards.

11. Do Nothing Pajama Party

For a non-traditional Valentine’s Day party idea, have everyone show up in their sweats. Serve brunch party foods like waffles, bacon, and espresso martinis, do a puzzle together, or have a movie night, and enjoy a cozy night in. 

To us, this sounds like the most romantic dinner imaginable.

12. Favorite Things Party

Stripes and Doodles Invitation

Design: Signature Greenvelope

Matching Invitation: Stripes and Doodles Invitation

Here’s another lovely idea for a Galentine’s Day party: host a Favorite Things gift exchange. Here’s how you do it:

  • Guests bring three copies of their favorite thing. It can be a favorite beauty product, cleaning product, book, tech gadget — anything! Everyone will buy their one favorite item three times.
  • Set a price limit of about $10-$15 per item, or around $30-$45 total.
  • Items should be unwrapped.
  • At the Valentine’s Day party, everyone will write their own name down three times on three slips of paper and put them in a bowl.
  • On your turn, explain your favorite thing and why you love it. Draw three names from the bowl. Give your favorite thing to the people you draw.
  • No swapping, no stealing — everyone will go home with three people’s favorite things!

Playlist Links

If you need some help compiling some choice love songs for your evening, we’ve used these pre-made playlists from Spotify, and we can attest that they set the mood well:

Fall in Love with Our Invites

Valentines Day party ideas: Little Love Bug Invitation

Design: Jen Montgomery | Little Love Bug Invitation

If you’re ready to get started on one of these ideas, it’s time to pick an invitation! Browse our Valentine’s Day party invitations, send yours out in just a few clicks, and get ready for the RSVPs to roll in.

We have tons more party planning ideas on our Stationers blog, from party decorations to photo booth ideas to party favor inspo and more.