--- title: Treat Yo Self Day 2017: Retta Explains How Donna Celebrates description: Retta reveals how her 'Parks and Recreation' alter ego Donna Meagle will be celebrating "Treat Yo' Self" day this year. canonical: https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-12T09:46:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:47:54.612Z og:title: Here's How Donna Is Celebrating 'Treat Yo' Self' Day in 2017 og:description: Her Instagram would be filled with more lavish locations. og:url: https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7300e895e419eb23/6988e161929fadf1e5bee061/tom-donna-treat-yo-self-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Parks & Recreation - Season 6 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's How Donna Is Celebrating 'Treat Yo' Self' Day in 2017 twitter:description: Her Instagram would be filled with more lavish locations. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7300e895e419eb23/6988e161929fadf1e5bee061/tom-donna-treat-yo-self-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's How Donna From 'Parks and Recreation' Would Celebrate 'Treat Yo' Self' Day in 2017 > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 12, 2017 9:46 AM UTC  PARKS AND RECREATION -- "Farmers Market" Episode 612 -- Pictured: (l-r) Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Retta as Donna Meagle -- (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images) PARKS AND RECREATION -- "Farmers Market" Episode 612 -- Pictured: (l-r) Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford, Retta as Donna Meagle -- (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Oct 12, 2017 9:46 AM UTC Today is [“Treat Yo’ Self” day](http://time.com/4530742/treat-yo-self-day-retta-2/), otherwise known as the best day of the year. For the sad souls who have lived their lives without knowing what this hallowed holiday is until now, here’s a brief: on October 13, 2011, Donna Meagle (Retta) and Tom Haverford (Aziz Ansari,) two of the best characters on [NBC’s _Parks and Recreation_](http://time.com/3678205/parks-and-recreation-politics/)_,_ introduced “Treat Yo’ Self” day to the public; the day is exactly what it sounds like: a day to pamper yourself and indulge in your most extravagant whims. Clothes? Yep. Fragrances? Yup. Massages, mimosas, and fine leather goods? Yes, yes, and yes! The holiday became an instant hit with fans of the show, who have enthusiastically celebrated the day every year since the episode aired (in the last season of the show, Tom and Donna have a final “Treat Yo’ Self” day that’s their most extravagant yet.) In honor of “Treat Yo’ Self” 2017, we caught up with Retta to see how both she and her on-screen counterpart would celebrate this very important holiday in the present. [via GIPHY](https://giphy.com/gifs/parks-and-rec-treat-yo-self-yourself-tbTr5mqTI0fPa) **Why do you think people have loved Donna and Tom doing “Treat Yo’ Self ” day so much?** To me, I feel like Donna and Tom, particularly together, had a child-like love for life and I think we don’t embrace that when we’re older. I think watching them do that with sheer abandon, to just enjoy things, kind of brings you back to that and you want to experience that too. And people love to buy sh-t! It’s a good excuse. **Do you still keep in touch with Aziz Ansari since Donna and Tom were partners-in-crime?** The whole cast does. We talk at least once a week if not more because we have a group text. Our most recent group text was Pratt saying that he was in town because he’s been working so much, so we were trying to figure out where and when. Amy and Nick are both on set for their new show, _Making It_, so they sent pictures from the barn they were filming at. **How do you think Donna would celebrate “Treat Yo’ Self” day in 2017?** She would do all the things that they said they would do. The massage. The mimosas. The shopping. Once _Parks_ ended and they had that flash-forward episode, she was in a place where she was earning good money, so she would be getting those massages during a trip to Europe. Doing more extravagant shopping, like in a boutique in Rome. Her Instagram would be filled with more lavish locations. **How would you celebrate “Treat Yo’ Self” Day if you could be as extravagant as Donna?** I am an avid handbag purchaser. So my first stop would Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci. I say this as though I don’t do this every other week. I definitely have an obsession with handbags and I say that it’s because they always fit. The clothes that I like, the styles that I like, they may not always make it in my size, but they always make handbags my size. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/"},"headline":"Here's How Donna From 'Parks and Recreation' Would Celebrate 'Treat Yo' Self' Day in 2017","datePublished":"2017-10-12T09:46:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:54.612Z","description":"The best day of the year","url":"https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","parks and recreation","aziz ansari"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7300e895e419eb23/6988e161929fadf1e5bee061/tom-donna-treat-yo-self-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7300e895e419eb23/6988e161929fadf1e5bee061/tom-donna-treat-yo-self-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Parks & Recreation - Season 6","caption":"Parks & Recreation - Season 6","creditText":"NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4976614/donna-on-parks-and-recreation-would-celebrate-treat-yo-self-day-interview/","name":"Here's How Donna From 'Parks and Recreation' Would Celebrate 'Treat Yo' Self' Day in 2017"}}]}] ```