GALENTINE'S GIFT GUIDE: FOR THE ONES WHO FEEL LIKE HOME

WORDS BIANCA NICOLE

Galentine’s Day is a reminder that love isn’t only romantic it lives in the friendships that hold us steady, lift us higher, and make life feel lighter. It’s in the friends who celebrate your wins, sit with you through your quiet moments, and bring an energy that feels like home. This Galentine’s gift guide is an ode to those women: the ones who inspire you, ground you, and reflect the kind of love you want to give and receive.

BEARDS & DAISIES

Beards & Daisies isn’t just about houseplants it’s about creating gifts that feel thoughtful, modern and quietly meaningful. For Galentine’s Day, plants offer a different kind of expression: intimate without being sentimental, beautiful without being fleeting. As a female-founded brand, celebrating friendships feels personal a reflection of the women who inspire, support and shape us every day. With the option to select delivery dates and add personalised messages, each plant becomes more than a gift; it becomes a small, intentional gesture of love for the friends who bring the best energy into your life.

The Snake Plant (Sansevieria laurentii) is the ultimate symbol of resilient friendship: strong, low maintenance and quietly impactful. Known for its ability to thrive even with occasional neglect, it’s a fitting metaphor for bonds that endure busy lives and distance. With its striking upright leaves, handmade earthenware pot and reputation as one of NASA’s top air-purifying plants, it’s a gift that brings beauty, calm and longevity.

COLONEL SAAB'S FIVE COURSE VALENTINE’S TASTING MENU

If your idea of Valentine’s is less awkward date chat and more champagne with the girls under chandeliers, Colonel Saab is calling your name. Bathed in romantic lighting beneath a canopy of ornate chandeliers, this A-list hotspot feels like a love letter - not just to romance, but to friendship, indulgence and doing things properly. Because frankly, Galentine’s deserves the main character treatment.

For Valentine’s, Colonel Saab is launching a five-course tasting menu (£140 per couple) at their Trafalgar Square and Holborn restaurants, complete with a glass of Rosé Champagne and complimentary roses - ideal for toasting your favourite people (and pretending you’re in a film). Loved by everyone from Jennifer Coolidge and Reese Witherspoon to Jackie Chan, the menu is as indulgent as the setting: think Kadhi Pakoda Mousse to start, followed by Kadak Seekh Kebab or Black Pepper Paneer Tikka, before diving into their iconic Malabar Chicken Curry or Makhmali Palak Paneer with layered parantha and rice.

Dessert is where things get seriously flirtatious - the viral Thandai Crumble with vanilla ice cream or a Shikanji Rose Tart with red wine-poached figs - finished with Valentine’s chocolate petit fours, because one sweet moment is never enough. Packed with Indian art, heirlooms and even love letters between the restaurant’s namesake, Colonel Saab and his wife Binny, the space is a bricks-and-mortar testament to love in all its forms. Consider this your sign to book the table, order the champagne and remind your friends why Galentine’s is elite.

Where: Colonel Saab, Trafalgar Square, 42 William IV St, London WC2N 4DD

             Colonel Saab, 193-197 High Holborn, London WC1V 7BD

When: 12, 13, 14 February 2026

Price: £140 per couple

Book here: https://colonelsaab.co.uk

THE HEAD PLAN

The Head Plan’s Wellness Journal is the kind of Galentine’s gift that feels thoughtful, intimate and genuinely useful a way to support your friends in their everyday lives, not just on one day in February. It’s perfect for the women who are always juggling dreams, responsibilities and emotions, offering them a moment of calm, clarity and encouragement. The undated journal blends productivity with wellbeing, making it easy to start whenever life feels ready for a reset. With guided prompts for goals, rituals and reflection, it helps turn big ambitions into manageable steps, while its personalisation options and elegant colourways make it feel beautifully individual.

SENSORY RETREATS

The 11:11 Self-Heating Eye Mask from Sensory Retreats is a beautiful Galentine’s gift for the friends who deserve rest, softness and a moment just for themselves. Infused with the dreamy scent of rose and oud, it transforms everyday downtime into a calming ritual perfect for easing stress, supporting better sleep and rebalancing busy minds. Thoughtful yet affordable, it’s the kind of gift that feels intimate without being over the top, offering warmth, comfort and care in a simple, luxurious way.

SMARTER

Smarter is the kind of game that turns a night in with friends into something unforgettable loud, chaotic, competitive and genuinely hilarious in the best way. Blending trivia, charades and quick-fire challenges, it’s designed for people who love proving a point, thinking fast and laughing even faster. With 45-second rounds and constantly shifting categories, everyone gets their moment to shine, whether they’re the strategist, the performer or the unexpected genius of the group. Perfect for Galentine’s gatherings, cosy evenings or group dinners, it’s less about winning and more about connection that electric energy that happens when the right people are in the room. A gift that promises memories, inside jokes and “remember when?” moments, Smarter is proof that the best presents aren’t things, but experiences shared.

DIVINE

The Divine Dark Chocolate Lover’s Bundle is the ultimate gift for anyone who believes dark chocolate should be bold, complex and deeply indulgent. Bringing together seven of Divine’s finest bars from tangy raspberry and warming ginger & orange to mint crisp, hazelnut truffle and delicately salted notes it’s designed as a journey through rich, intense flavours that feel grown-up, comforting and quietly luxurious. Each piece is smooth and balanced despite its high cocoa content, making it perfect for slow evenings, shared moments and thoughtful gifting.

Beyond the flavours, Divine Chocolate carries a story that makes every bite more meaningful. As the only chocolate company co-owned by cocoa farmers, it works directly with the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana, paying Fairtrade prices, funding community programmes and sharing profits with the farmers themselves. It’s a Galentine’s gift that feels generous and conscious at once — ideal for friends who love good chocolate, meaningful brands and moments worth savouring together.

MANTA

The Manta Original Healthy Hair & Scalp Brush is the kind of Galentine’s gift that feels quietly thoughtful rather than showy something your friend will actually use, not just admire. Designed to move gently with the hair and scalp, it reduces breakage, boosts shine and turns brushing into a soothing, almost grounding ritual. It’s perfect for the women in your life who deserve a little more gentleness in their daily routines, a reminder that caring for themselves doesn’t have to be complicated.

VIA EMILIA 

Just in time for Galentine’s, Via Emilia by Food Roots has opened its third site on All Saints Road in Notting Hill (28 January), and it’s the kind of place made for long lunches, shared plates and group chats that turn into bookings.

Inspired by Emilia-Romagna - Italy’s famed food basket and birthplace of fresh egg pasta - the menu features nine hand-made pasta dishes, each representing a different area of the region and titled in their original Emilian dialect. From Spaghet’ cun e’ sùg ed pundór with slow-cooked tomatoes, to Tajadèl bulgnaisi col ragó for the bolognese lovers, and the Turtē vèird a l'arşâna - square ravioli filled with spinach, ricotta and parmesan (my favourite) - every dish follows a traditional family recipe and is made fresh daily.

To start, order what’s truly unique to Via Emilia: their Gnocco Fritto. This traditional, gently fried bread is served with Emilian meats like Prosciutto, Mortadella and Pancetta, alongside cheeses including Parmigiano from Parma and Caciotta from Ravenna. Eaten strictly with your hands, this ritual is an experience you won’t find anywhere else in London. It’s there to really get stuck into - the kind of food designed for tearing, dipping and sharing. And we all know what sharing means: leaning in, laughing louder, and feeling that little bit closer around the table.

Finally, don’t skip the Lambrusco - a fizzy red wine with a playful twist, served the traditional way in ceramic bowls. It’s a hallmark of the region and has become a signature part of the Via Emilia experience. Because if you’re doing Galentine’s, you may as well do it the Italian way: bowls up, pasta shared, hearts very full.  

Where: Notting Hill - West London, 12 All Saints Road, W11 1HH London 

Book here: https://www.via--emilia.com/