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Guess what, you guys! Pearson and I will have been married for 5 years this Friday! We were married on July 14, 2012. Wow. 5 years. In some ways it’s gone by super fast and in some ways it seems we’ve been married all our lives. But that stuff is for Friday’s post.
Today I wanted to share some anniversary gift ideas with you guys! As I’m sure you know, there are traditional gifts that go with each anniversary year and now there are modern gifts as well as colors and stones etc.
I decided to get a little creative with this post and share gifts people might not think of. I picked the “big” anniversaries because I didn’t want to do every single year. Oh and apparently all the “big” numbers are blue or green… Who knew?
Table of Contents
Year ONE:
Color: Gold/Yellow
I’ve seen a lot of ideas out there for the “paper” anniversary; love notes, stationery, books, journals, calendars, newspaper or magazine subscription, newspaper or magazine from the day you got married, tickets to an event. The list could go on.
I wanted to think of something more unique than that and I think I’ve got it. Sheet music. Both Pearson and I love music. We both sing, play instruments (more him than me on that one) and read music. But more than that, I LOVE the look if sheet music. There’s just something about it that makes me feel nostalgic and my heart is just happy. So I love anything with a sheet music “print”; socks, blankets, wall art, you name it!
Another idea I’ve seen around and really like is some kind of map of places you’ve been together. Of course, this is your first year of marriage so you probably haven’t been too many places together. So why not do a blank map to fill up together? Like The Dating Divas’ DIY Travel Map!
Year TWO:
Color: Red
Again you could always go with something on all the “cotton” lists out there; his and hers bath robes, pillow cases, any kind of clothing or cotton accessories, bedding etc. Or a traditional china set for the modern take.
Or, you could get creative with a cotton care package (pin pictured below) having each item in the box or basket start with a letter in the word C O T T O N. Bonus points if the items are also made out of cotton.
As for the “china” gift, go with some fun themed china. Maybe it’s Christmas china. Or, as I would love, Halloween china! (or this mug, or this mug, or these mugs, or these heart shaped ones – mugs count as china, right?).
Year THREE:
Color: Jade/White
You could always do something typically leather like a belt, wallet, shoes, a nice bag of some sort, a guitar or camera strap etc. Or you could get cutesy matching stuff like his and hers leather luggage tags or passport holders, bracelets, keychains. And the list goes on.
Or you could search Etsy for “unique leather gifts” and find all sorts of stuff like this sleeve that turns a mason jar into a coffee mug!
You could get a little more creative and get something not leather but goes with leather. Like leather working tools or s belt hole punch. Or even just leather scented things like candles and lotion.
And if you’re feeling really affectionate, go all out and get a car with a leather interior! Crazy, right?
Year FOUR:
Color: Blue/Green
Of course a fruit basket or flower arrangement is perfect for this gift. Or fruit or floral printed clothes or home decor. Or fruit or floral scented candles or lotion. How about a fondue kit to dip fruit in?
This year is actually one for which I like the modern theme better than the traditional one. So… appliances. Pearson loves appliances for some reason. Something unique like a spiralizer, French press, rice cooker, instant pot, or the Kitchenaid she never got as a wedding gift!
Year FIVE:
Color: Blue/Pink/Turquoise
Of course, the first suggestion I’m going to give for this one is a JORD Wood Watch! It’s classic. These watches are beautiful. And Pearson loves his. He says he feels like Ron Swanson when he uses things made of wood.
The second is a funny wooden eyeglass holder. Pearson uses prescription safety glasses in the lab so he always leaves his regular glasses on his desk when he’s working. They’ve gotten lost a few times. This might just help that. It’s just a bonus that it’s funny.
And lastly, any kind of wooden musical instrument. Whether it’s an expensive guitar he’s had his eye on or a fun, cheap instrument from a foreign culture like the Orutu that I got Pearson when we were in college. It was made in Kenya and I bought it from Ten Thousand Villages.
Year TEN:
Color: Silver/Blue
This one was kind of a tough one. I mean there are plenty of tin gifts out there, right? Like this tin periodic table glass. But I wanted to come up with something really unique.
The Dating Divas have a fun “Man Can” gift. It’s a sexy gift pack that fits in a tin can complete with printables! You have to sign up for Divas Central to access it, but I promise it’s worth it! And you can get a 7 day free trial of Diva Central. So you have nothing to lose!
Another fun, unique gift I found was license plate art! I found these on etsy, but I also think it would be really cool if you made your own. Especially if you’ve lived in different states. You could make a cool keepsake with which to remember each stage of your relationship where you lived in different places. We still have our Georgia license plates and we’ll keep our Ohio ones when we leave. I may just have to do this one in five years when we celebrate ten!
And I think the diamond jewelry pretty much speaks for itself. A diamond studded watch for him. Diamond earrings, necklace or a tennis bracelet for her. You can’t go wrong!
Year TWENTY:
Color: Emerald
For the traditional, China, see modern from year three!
As for platinum, any platinum jewelry will work so try to be creative; watch, cuff links, unique necklace or earrings. You could also do platinum serveware or something like this platinum glass vase
Year THIRTY:
Color: Green
Year FORTY:
Color: Red
Year FIFTY:
Color: Gold
- Do you try to stick with traditional or modern gifts for each anniversary?
- Do you have some other anniversary tradition?
- Tell me when your anniversary is and how many years you’ve been married! I love sharing other’s wedding celebrations!
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I did buy Dan tickets to Weird Al for our first anniversary. Otherwise, we haven't followed any of the gift rules! For our second anniversary, we had professional photos taken. For our third anniversary, we went to San Antonio (where we got married)… and we bought a house.
Yeah to be honest, we don't really follow them either. They're always kind of in the back of my mind but I don't think Pearson knew they existed until I wrote this post. Lol at least he didn't remember them. This year I did get him something little and silly that went with the theme thoigh: the wooden eyeglass holder. Lol