What a treat to be able to get away with your girlfriends! That is exactly what I did this past weekend when my friend Ashley and I teamed up with downtown Holland to experience the official “Girlfriends Weekend“. We relaxed, we sipped mimosas and coffee and we shopped until we danced. (don’t worry we dropped on Sunday). The weather was in our favor and we enjoyed the sunshine and walking around the heated streets of downtown holland.
Girlfriends weekend happens once a year in March. It is put on by Downtown Holland to promote and support the local restaurants and shops of Holland. You can sign up for as little or as much as you want. They offer things like cooking classes, jewelry making, drink mixing and more. You can have as activity filled or as relaxing as you would like.
Ashley and I stopped into the new Courtyard Marriott to pick up our badges, complimentary beverage and coupon guidebook for the weekend. We sat down in the comfy booth to plan out our weekend while we sipped our drink and flipped through our coupon book. Once we feel like we had a plan of action we called it quits for the night so we could get a bright and early head start on Saturday.
Saturday morning we met up at the newly remodeled (and beautiful) civic center for the breakfast and fashion show. Each boutique had a few models wearing the latest trends for spring and walked around while we ate. It was a great kick off to the morning with lots and lots of coffee. After the fashion show we decided to head out and do some shopping. We started at the far east end of town and shopped our way down the block.
Some of our favorites were Tweed, Spring Sweet, Frances Jaye, Studio K and Fustinis. We took a break for lunch at the City Flats Hotel and enjoyed $3 beverages and appetizers. We sat by the window soaking up the sunshine and enjoying our relaxing lunch. No work, no plans. The lovely server even turned on E! for us instead of sports.
After a full lunch we headed back to 8th street to finish up our shopping and grab one more cup of coffee. When the sun started to set we went to the new Poquito tapas restaurant in holland which is in the new development next to Hawthorne. We had appetizers of dates and goat cheese with a cocktail before going to get ready for the red carpet party.
Saturday night we dressed up and headed back to the civic center for the red carpet party. It was a blast! DJ JWill4Real played everything from ACDC to Justin Timberlake and we danced well into the night. There was an actual red carpet and cut outs of celebrities on the dance floor which made for some great photos. We had an awesome time dancing with our new friends and taking silly photos. When our feet couldn’t take it anymore we headed out for some sleep before our brunch reservation in the morning.
Sunday morning we met up at Alpen Rose for our brunch reservation and the spread did not disappoint. There was an entire room of everything from french toast to eggs Benedict. There was also $3 mimosas, who wouldn’t take advantage of that!? We talked about how much fun the weekend was and how relaxed we felt. It was good to get away in your own town. The stores and restaurants went above and beyond to make the weekend special with exclusive sales and discounts and everyone was so friendly and welcoming.
To find more information about Girlfriends Weekend 2021 keep an eye out here. Also if you plan to attend make sure you book your hotel right away they sell out fast!
Thank you so much to the City of Holland for inviting us to experience this fun weekend!
To read more about my Holland favorites click here.
