Need Gift Ideas For Your Anniversary?
Anniversaries are our way of marking life’s special occasions. From first dates to fiftieth wedding anniversaries, imaginative and appropriate gifts make every milestone more memorable. Anniversaries are a ready-made excuse for a party, a gift, an indulgence of passion and pizzazz. Let your imagination run wild as you honor a special day and the celebrants!
Whether you are celebrating your own anniversary and trying to figure out what to give your partner, or you want to select the perfect gift for a special couple, anniversary gifts should be both useful and make each moment momentous. Anniversary gifts, like wedding gifts, should also reflect the taste of the recipients. What might be perfect for one could be considered a white elephant to another, so think before you purchase.
Wear Your Heart on Your Sleeve. Let your anniversary gift to your mate express your love and make a day a flurry of hearts. A box of candy, a heart-shaped cake, heart-shaped dollies, and a heart-shaped necklace wrapped in a heart-shaped box on her nightstand. If you’re a passable cook, make a heart-shaped meatloaf, or surprise him with breakfast in bed with heart-shaped pancakes with raspberry syrup. Follow the theme with a menu of hearts – from a hearts of palm salad to an artichoke-heart pizza. Don’t forget a little silver, gold, or diamond heart pinned to your sleeve, especially for her.
For Your Leading Lady. Show how much you love her or him by purchasing tickets to a special play and then enclosing them in a card that says, “To my leading lady.”
First Things First. Paper is the traditional first-anniversary gift. But not just any paper. Be creative. Think of a paper-themed deluge of gifts. Include a newspaper from the wedding day, his and her magazine subscriptions, a photo album with highlights of the anniversary couple’s first year of wedded bliss, a colored and embellished wedding invitation framed with their wedding portrait. Make it a picture-perfect day with a gift certificate for a portrait, either painted or photographed.
Back to the Future. Choose a stock, one that’s solid and dependable. Buy a single share. Then each year, celebrate your anniversary with another share. If you’re a romantic fool, earmark the proceeds of this fund for a glamorous anniversary, say a Silver- or Golden-Anniversary cruise. If you’re the practical type, save it for a retirement fund, a twilight-years cottage, or college for the kids.
Lasting Treasures. Engrave a gift with a romantic message. Add a special ILY (I love you) to the inside of his wedding band without him knowing it, or select a piece of jewelry for her where you can add a special phrase like “Forever yours” (with your name or initials side-by-side).
Recreate Her Bouquet. When you send flowers, select the flowers that she included in her bridal bouquet. Remember your first anniversary by sending her a dozen flowers with each flower representing a month you’ve shared as husband and wife. And don’t forget to tell her you would marry her all over again. This is a lovely tradition to repeat each year and call it “your anniversary bouquet.”
The Time of Their Lives. Modern gifting declares clocks the choice of the day for a first anniversary. Let yours say, “Time Flies When You’re Having Fun” with a beautiful watch to commemorate your love. His and hers matching wristwatches are a great gift to select together. Or, if your mate’s a good sport, tell him so with a casual sports watch.
A Together Gift. When you don’t know what to give each other, select a gift you want together. Call it your “together gift” and choose a gift you’ll both enjoy, from a new television set, to a piece of art for your home, to a fabulous trip to a faraway place. It’s also a great way to build a collection of something that gives you the pleasure year round.
Calling All Friends. Orchestrate a battery of phone calls from friends and family, old and new. This one could take some planning: Assign times throughout the day and evening to delight the happy couple with their friend’s attention.
The Perfect Pair. Tell the couple they are the perfect pair and suited for each other with a gift of two of anything from a pair of candlesticks, a pair of his and her bathrobes, or even a bicycle built for two. Add a note that says, “It takes two to make a great marriage – the two of you!”
Catch a Falling Star and Put It in Your Pocket. Or better yet, leave the stars in the heavens, but designate one as your very own and give her a star-shaped necklace. It’s the sentiment that counts here. Then share how you’d move heaven and earth for your heaven-sent, angel of a wife.
Now and Then. They haven’t gotten older, they’ve gotten better. Tell them so with a selection of gifts from then and now. Wines from their wedding year and an enlarged photograph, taken at the wedding and then one this year with the inscription, “You haven’t gotten older, you’ve gotten better.” Include a book, put together by family and friends, of memories of each of the couple’s twenty-five years. And top it all off with the gift of silver, of course. Consider silver dollars, silver serving pieces, silver picture frames, silver cuff links, or a sterling-engraved locket on a chain with a picture of the two of them tucked inside.
The “I Love You” Jar. Tell your spouse how special he or she is, even after twenty-five, thirty, or any number of years together. Use a clean, empty coffee jar or purchase a pretty clear glass vase. On slips of paper like in fortune cookies, write dozens of reasons you adore your mate. Fold them and fill up the jar with your display of affection. Add a bow and a note telling your spouse to select one a day. This is also a wonderful gift from a group of friends, a loving sibling, or grandchildren.