Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas

[Aletheia]

So I thought about putting this in the wedding folder, and Katy or Mod Squad member, you can move it there if you'd like. But I wasn't sure how many of us old married ladies (:)) would be looking in the wedding thread. I'm so done with wedding planning! Unsure where to put it, I thought I'd put it in this nice clean and brand spankin' new forum... near my wedding anniversary. :o But then, lots of folks get married in July and August... right? Anyway, if there is a better place, gladly move it.

Welcome to a thread where you can seek and share ideas related to celebrating your wedding anniversaries. Things you might consider posting about:

gifts
trip reviews
celebration ideas
personal anniversary traditions
stories of your parents' anniversary celebrations
etc.


Here are some items of interest to get us started:
Wedding Anniversary Gift Lists
Anniv. "Traditional" Gift; "Modern" Gift
1st Paper; Gold jewelry
2nd Cotton; Garnet
3rd Leather; Pearls
4th Fruit, flowers; Blue topaz
5th Wood; Sapphire
6th Sugar; Amethyst
7th Copper, wool; Onyx
8th Bronze, pottery; Tourmaline
9th Pottery, willow; Lapis
10th Tin; Diamond jewelry
11th Steel; Turquoise
12th Silk, linen; Jade
13th Lace; Citrine
14th Ivory; Opal
15th Crystal; Ruby
16th None; Peridot
17th None; Watch
18th None; Cat's-eye
19th None; Aquamarine
20th China; Emerald
25th Silver; Silver jubilee
30th Pearl; Pearl jubilee
35th Coral; Emerald
40th Ruby; Ruby
45th Sapphire; Sapphire
50th Gold; Golden Jubilee
55th Emerald; None
60th Diamond; Diamond Jubilee

[Aletheia]

I'm going to keep track of traditions that people mention and list my favorite among them here for easy reference.

I'll begin with some I've thought of or read about (can you tell my first anniversary is this weekend?)

Anniversary Photo Album: Take one professional or many unprofessional photos of your life together on your anniversary and collect them in a special photo album- maybe in your wedding album if there is room. In 20 years, what a walk through the years that will be!

Bake a Cake Together: We got married far away and don't have a frozen rock of wedding cake to eat. Why not bake one from scratch together? Inexpensive quality together time... and yummy, to boot.

Love Letters: In our pre-marriage counseling, we heard about a couple that spent just 30 to 45 minutes on the day of their anniversary writing love letters for each other and then exchanged them. These would make for a wonderful historical keepsake, too.

[Aletheia]

Since my wedding anniversary is this weekend... what gifts have you given, gotten, or heard about for the first year? We were thinking about doing personalized stationary and just getting it together...

[Chimichanga]

I honestly can not remember what DH gave me last year for our first anniversary, but neither can he so I don't feel too bad. ;)

I got him a private golf lesson (made sure they gave me a paper gift certificate :D ) He flipped! He loved it. DH loves to golf and is always looking to improve.

This year will be our second anniversary (obviously). I'm getting DH some collegiate shirts. It's boring, but that's what he would like. It goes along with the cotton theme.

[mermccau]

Last year, our first anniversary, I gave my husband a GC for a massage. He gave me a picture from our wedding, framed, to put on my desk at my new job (that I was very excited about). Both followed the paper theme. I am surprised my husband realized it! :)

This year, I have been thinking of ideas and coming up short. My husband loves to be on boats so I was thinking of booking a schooner sail. I was going to pretend the sails are made of "cotton" to go along with the theme.

I also thought of buying him concert tickets and giving him the gift in a concert t-shirt to have the cotton theme!

[MrsTazlvr]

Here's what we did so far: (We got each other other things besides these each year, but we wanted something to be with the traditional theme each year.)

1st Anniversary- Paper
~I gave him one share of stock from Applebees (where we had our first date)- I framed the stock certificate that I bought at www.oneshare.com.
~He gave me a poem printed on fancy paper and framed.

2nd Anniversary- Cotton
~I got us nice new sheets for the bed.
~He got me a T-shirt that I wanted.

3rd Anniversary- Leather
~I got him a leather picture frame with a picture of DD and me in it.
~He got me a new leather wallet. (My new wallet was stollen a few days later right out of my diaper bag :( )

Our 4 year anniversary is coming up and I am at a loss for what to get. I assume he will get me flowers as part of my gift, but I don't know what to get him to go along with the fruit and flowers theme. He doesn't like most fruit besides watermelon, honeydew, and cantalope. We don't drink wine or that would have been a perfect "fruit" gift.

We are both running out of the colognes/perfumes we were all the time and since colognes have the fragrance of fruit and flower undertones, that might work, right?

[mrsfromage]

We also don't have a frozen cake to eat (they ran out of cake at our wedding so we let them cut into the top layer) and my DH was grossed out at the idea of year old cake so...it wasn't in the cards for us.

But one of our cake flavors was mandarin orange carrot cake--yum! so I am going to try to find a recipe and recreate it around the time of our anniversary or have some one bake a mini replica which sounds like fun.

[EmilyZA]

DH and I are going to Newport, Rhode Island for a three-day weekend. We're still on the fence about getting each other "gifts," since we'll be spending so much money on the weekend. Any suggestions for something memorable but possibly on the cheap side?

[endymion411]

i just got married a month ago, but in anticipation of our first anniversary, i am writing down things, kind of like a gratitude journal, of one little thing a day he does that i appreciate---not huge things, but just little things that he probably wouldn't even remember or think i appreciated so much. i'll incorporate it into some kind of journal/scrapbook/paper form to give. wanted to find something meaningful, but also inexpensive because our first anniversary is right after his graduation from medical school and right before his birthday, and i want to acknowledge each separately.

[Asha]

gifts i gave dh for wedding anniversary

1st - a love letter

2nd - burned a cd of love songs he likes

[ejs]

Our 2nd is rapidly approaching and I'm still undecided about what to get him. Do I go with cotton or china? I really want to make this special because we didn't even really acknowledge our first anniversary because my mom had passed away not too long before it.

Any ideas for things that are made of china besides our dishes?

Thanks!

[Sunshine]

subscribing

[laura]

I don't think I remember all the gifts we've given. Let's see...

1st year: He gave me a spa GC (spafinder.org) and a piece of our china; I gave him ... something paper, but I have no idea what. We went away for the weekend to a cute little inn in NH and ate our top cake layer - yum!

2nd year: He got me a Burberry jacket I wanted, I got him ... something cotton? Probably just clothes, he really doesn't ever want anything. We stayed in SF for the weekend at the Westin St. Francis.

3rd year: He got me a beautiful bracelet from carriedmader.com, I got him an ipod. We went out to dinner on the actual day, and 1 week later we spent 2 weeks in Italy.

How weird that I am drawing such a blank on gifts I've given; I'm sure I agonized about each one for weeks, too. :p

[MrsTazlvr]

Yesterday was our 4th anniversary- the fruit and flowers anniversary- and I made DH a fruit arrangement with all the fruits he likes. It had pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, strawberries, raspberries, and chocolate covered strawberries. I am proud of how it came out so I thought I would post it here.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5ce00b3127cce94940cecbea900000016108IYt2jls4ZK

[BuffaloBlondie]

My anniversary is soon!! This is a great idea for a thread! Now I just have to figure out something that relates to cotton!!

[Pamela]

For our first anniversary our gift to each other was plane tickets to Cancun (Paper!). Since the second anniversary gift is cotton, I'm thinking of getting some really nice sheets or something, unless I can think of something else cotton that is more exciting.

[KRM&TPS]

Bumping this thread because or first anniversary is approaching and I have no idea. Would anyone else like to share what they did for their first anniversary?

[Medako]

For our first anniversary I gave DH my journals to read. I'd kept a record of our entire relationship (the good, the bad and the ugly). He spent days reading through them and I think he really enjoyed "getting into my head" a little. I also got him a new alarm clock.

DH got me a Mommy's Journal and wrote a long message inside the cover. We'd just started trying to get pregnant, so it was a perfect gift for me. (little did we know that I was already pregnant at our anniversary). He also took me away to Eureka Springs for the weekend, complete with massages, in room hot tub, etc).


Our second anniversary is coming up and I'm at a loss for ideas. We're also on a little more of a budget this year than last now that we have a baby and I'm a SAHM. Any (inexpensive) ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Possibilities:
New sheets
Cotton rope hammock (the ones I've seen are kinda pricey though :( )
New clothes (kinda boring?)
Something wrapped up in cotton boxers (fill in the "something" with something good :p )

[Tonysweetie]

For our 1st anniversary (March 26th) were going away for the weekend. Were staying at a nice Hotel in Orlando, FL (we live an hour from there) and going to go to a theme park (tickets equal paper) and just enjoy each others company. So excited!!!! 28 more days! WHOO HOO!!! :D

[Veleno]

Here are some ideas :
wellness weekend , trip to a formula 1 race , trip to a city you both like , nice dinner at the place you met or where you has got your wedding dinner , something for his hobby , a night at the opera or theater ,tickets for a musical , a new watch .......

[LadyD088]

Subbing...2nd Anniversary is in May. Don't know what to get him. Cotton? How exciting and unique can cotton be?

1st Anniversary:
DH got me a set of jewelry. I kept the paper box it came in, plus the card.
I got DH about 4 framed pictures. 3 of our HM - 1 that was large of us swimming underwater and 1 of his Bachelor Buds at the wedding. They all did a shot and got a picture taken. He loved that one!!

What we did: We went to our favorite restaurant, Outback and had a nice dinner. We brought our Toasting Glasses, since we didn't really use them at the wedding and had the waitress serve us wine in them. She was more than happy to and it was a great evening. Glad we used them. We moved 2 months later and they were shattered (I was devistated - no replacements for them as they were on super clearance at a Lenox outlet store) At least I have pictures and know that we used them, if only once!!

So on to planning Anniversary #2 - still looking for some unique ideas.

Deb

[Kingdono]

Very best thing I can think of is high thread count sheets. We recently purchase 440 count sheets becuase they were a great price. 25.00 for a King set normally 140.00 So yesturday my husband ask me if we could go back and buy more because they were really comfy and he could tell at night which pillow he had because no of the other ones are as soft. :D

p.s. have you tried searching the web for your flutes? If you know the name of them they have lots of sites that have discontinued stuff.

[LadyD088]

Kingdono - Yeah, I was thinking of some really great sheets. Would you please tell me where you got SUCH a great deal?

As for the flutes, I have searched online. I have NO idea what they are called so that makes it very hard. I just have to search by photos. I am ok with it now. They were engraved and you know, if we got new ones, they just wouldn't be the same. I am thinking for our 10 year or 5 year annivesary, I will get some special glasses to replace them.

TY for your help.

Deb

[Kingdono]

At our local Kohls in the clearance section. They were marked down to I think 83.00 and then an additional 70% off. It was such a great deal I just got them this past weekend so if you have one near you they might still have them.

[LadyD088]

OH yeah, we have 3 of them near us!! Can't pass up that deal. I think I will head out tonight. TY so much!!

Deb

[jenji]

ooh so glad I found this thread
our 2nd anniversary is in a week and a half.

1st ann - I wrote down things I love about him/us on little slips of card stock. one for him to read every day. he LOVED it
he got us tickets to a concert so we had a weekend getaway to Atlanta and a concert to boot!

2nd ann - we're leaving tomorrow for Charleston for a weekend trip to celebrate since DH will be gone for work on our actual anniversary. trying to think of something cotton to get for him. we already have several sets of nice sheets. I'm sure he could use some clothes, but I wanted to get/make him something special.

[TracieB]

Here's what we've done so far:

1st: He gave me a bag with cutouts of a) a COACH shopping bag, b) a massage gift certificate, and c) photos to go in a photo album. I bought named a star for him and got all the documents about where it's located in the sky and stuff.

What we did: We went back to where we got married and stayed in the Honeymoon suite.

2nd: He gave me a gift bag full of cotton balls with a jewelry box in the middle of it with a nice diamond ring. I got him some cotton undershirts from BR as well as two new outfits from there.

What we did: 3 weeks before our anniversary, we took a trip to New Zealand. On the actual day, we went to dinner at a nice restaurant.

[smilewithme]

4th anniversary is hard: Fruit, flowers; Blue topaz

I'm struggling with trying to figure out what to get my hubby. He's not that into flowers and fruit, and well...I just don't want to hand him an orange and say Happy Anniversary. A pp mentioned the wine idea, that's a good one. Anybody else?

Oh, I'm horrible about this. I can't remember for the life of me what he gave me/I gave him for our anniversaries except for the 1st one. I gave him a framed paper stock from oneshare.com and it was for Southwest Airlines which had/has crappy stock, but I just couldn't pass it up when I saw their ticker was LUV. So that sealed the deal for me. I know our 3rd anniversary we told each other that we weren't buying presents because we were going on an expensive weekend getaway and booked massages on the patio of our vacation home. This year we're doing the same vacation getaway, but I'm clueless for gifts.

[cat_loverpq]

Our 2nd anniversary is next week and I can't seem to come up with anything creative for "cotton". Any more suggestions out there?

Gifts
For our first anniversary, I bought DH a nice wall clock (that chimes) for our living room (he kept complaining that he never knew what time it was while watching tv). He rolled his eyes at this gift since he knew I was being sarcastic by giving it to him. :p But in my defense, a clock is also the 1st anniversary gift along with paper, and now we have a constant reminder of our 1st anniversary! I also got him tickets (paper gift) to the KU-MU football game (he's a huge KU fan and alumni) and made a "guys' day" out of it by inviting his buddies to go along. (They paid for their own tickets though.)

DH gave me a large jewelry armoire - it's probably 3 ft tall! He's given me so much jewelry over the years that I needed a place to put it all; it was perfect!

What we did:
Our 1st anniversary was on a Sunday, and the day before I was actually a BM in my cousin's wedding. So at midnight Saturday night, I had the dj play our 1st dance song and dedicated it to DH. We danced all alone on the dance floor. :) He thought it was so sweet, and it really made his day (he was a bit perturbed about spending our anniversary weekend at someone else's wedding). I actually didn't mind it b/c I had constant reminders all day of our own wedding (pics before the ceremony, lighting the unity candle, cutting the cake, 1st dance, etc) and it was pretty amazing to have all of those same feelings again, kwim?

And not to be outdone, DH had decorated our hotel room with streamers/flowers in our wedding colors, and of course had candles everywhere and made it totally romantic. ;) So when we got to the hotel atfter 1:30am, I was completely surprised to see all of his planning and thoughtfullness!

The day of our anniversary (Sunday), after we got back home, we went out for dinner and then ate some of our wedding cake. It was still good! And since I didn't get more than the one bite DH fed me for the pictures at our reception, I made sure to have 2 slices! :D Oh, and since I threatened DH's life if he smashed cake in my face at our wedding, we decided to do it for our anniversary. Made for some great pics! ;):D

[LDS Angel 19]

Great thread!

For our first, we took a trip to Toronto. (Drove, it was only like 300-something miles.) While there, we bought some artwork at IKEA, so we counted that for the paper part.

Our second is coming up in about 3 months, and we already have it planned. MIL has about a million days saved up on her timeshare, so she gave us a few. We're going to Washington DC. Not sure how I'll work the cotton thing in there, I do like the idea of new sheets but we have a ton already. Maybe clothes, DH always seems to need clothes.

One of these years, we'll get to go somewhere tropical... Maybe for our 20th? :D

[Julss05]

1st Anniversary- We went on a dinner cruise. Even though it ended up raining we had a great time!

2nd- My brother was getting married at Disney World a day before our anniversary. We ended up spending our actual anniversary day at Disney World with family from all over the country which had come for the wedding. It wasn't a private, romantic day by any means but we had a blast. We ended up buying a crystal piece with an imprint of our faces in it and our anniversary date.

3rd- DH came home from Kuwait ON our anniversary after being gone for 6 months serving in the Navy reserves. He actually wasn't originally scheduled to come home for another 3 months but they let some go home early that wanted to. It was the best gift ever!! Because of all the paperwork he had to go through before being released we didn't get home until 11 p.m. so we didn't even get to eat dinner but had a little cake, champagne, and lovings:D.

4th- Our 4th anniversary is this Thursday. I made reservations to this quaint but upscale restaurant with views of the bay. Not sure what to get him:confused:. We both agreed we couldn't top last year! I'm thinking of getting him a coffee grinder and having it engraved with some cute message. Sound stupid? He might get me flowers, I like fruit but he doesn't. I could get him something with blue topaz but he's not a jewelry wearer.

Tradition we started for ourselves: Starting with our first anniversary we put newspaper clippings, cards, and pictures of the day into a binder to look back so we don't forget any anniversaries:).

[Janey]

Tradition we started for ourselves: Starting with our first anniversary we put newspaper clippings, cards, and pictures of the day into a binder to look back so we don't forget any anniversaries:).
Ohhhh - this is so nice! What a great idea! :D

[maplekitty]

*bump*

Our First Anniversary is coming up and I'd like to give my DH a nice gift, but since buying the new house and baby on the way...cash flow is minimal
Does anyone have any good (thrifty) ideas? Perhaps something homemade...I *am* crafty!

[MrsTazlvr]

Since it's the paper anniversary it's pretty easy to find something inexpensive to make. You can make a collage, frame a picture of the two of you, decoupage something, make gift certificates/coupons for things he would like such as massages, kisses, etc. :) Good luck.

[Sunshine]

Hi Sarah:) As you can guess I am in the same boat:p;)

I decided to make a small scrapbook for DH. It is an 8X6 coiled book, and I am making it an "I love you because" book.
I have some cute rub ons that go with this theme, and am adding pics of the 2 of us throughout the book!

Other than that, I was thinking of buying tickets for DH to the football game in Calgary........

GOOD LUCK:)

[tupelogirl]

Maplekitty-My 1st year is coming up in less than a week now and I have been struggling with gifts as well. I don't really want anything and I know he feels the same so we will probably just spend the day together and go out for a nice dinner. I did want to do something slightly special though to pay tribute to the day so I think in keeping with the "paper" tradition I am just going to write him a letter about our first year together and my thoughts.

I think doing a small scrapbook of the past year with photos/ memorabilia is also a really nice idea.

[endymion411]

our 1st was july 16th---in keeping with 'paper,' i ended up getting dh a subscription for the sunday new york times, which he loved!

he bought me a beautiful jewelry box and filled all of the drawers with little paper things like a mexican cut-out paper banner, little books, pieces of handmade paper and things that i could use with paper such as a pair of handmade scissors, a rubber stamp, eyelets, etc.

[alienhost]

this thread gave me some nice ideas...

this is what we gave for the first few years:

1st "PAPER" - I gave DH a framed share of International Paper stock (from frameastock.com). He gave me a blank scrapbook and stationery.

2nd "COTTON" - I gave DH a cotton long sleeve shirt (lame but I was pressed for time) and he gave me a beautiful table cloth and matching napkins

3rd "LEATHER" we gave IOUs for new leather jackets/coat which we never cashed in.

4th "FRUIT/FLOWERS" - I gave DH a nice bottle of wine where the vintage year was the year we got married (got the wine idea here, thanks!) and he had flowers sent. We also went out and bought some fruit. :D

This year is our 4th, DH came up with a nice idea for each anniversary - we are going to buy a piece of artwork for the house that represents the "traditional" gift. We picked out a framed painting that has fruit/flowers in it.

#5 is wood so maybe a carving of some sort. We are trying to replace some of our "cheaper" framed art for a few nicer things and thought this was a cool way to do it. We also will probably buy a token gift based on the traditional item and we go out for a nice dinner.

[eli1126]

We just celebrated 2 years in June and DH has done really well.
1st year: Subscription to People magazine (paper).
2nd year: Throw Claddaugh blanket with "Mo Anam Cara" which is on our wedding bands and our wedding date inscribed on it (cotton).

Beth

[Medako]

*bumping* for more ideas. Our 3rd anniversary is coming up next month and I'm looking for good creative ideas for leather or glass/crystal.

[MrsTazlvr]

I never updated here but for the 5th (wood) anniversary I got DH a wooden pen set. The pen holder was wooden. He got me wooden roses. :)

[ysolde]

For our first anniversary, I gave DH a digital camera and a photgraphy book; he got me some books.

2nd -- I got him new cotton pajamas; he got me chocolates in a cotton bag.

3rd -- I got him a new wallet; he got me chocolates (he could not think of anything leathery to get me).

4th -- I got him a DVD and put a flower on it; he got me a bouquet of roses.

[Medako]

I can't come up with anything leather that I like for our 3rd anniversary, so I think I'm going to go with the modern gift of glass and get DH a nice set of beer glasses.

Does anyone have suggestions on some good, reasonably priced glasses? I haven't seen too many yet, but I'm leaning towards Riedel's at this point.


For anyone still looking for gift ideas, I found www.findgift.com to be very helpful. If nothing else, it inspired ideas.

[Chimichanga]

We didn't really celebrate our 3rd anniversary (DD was just born and we had no cash/time) but I would have gotten DH some new golf accessories - glove, etc since they are leather.

For our 5th anniversary I'll buy him a new set of woods, and whatever the iron/metal anniversary is - I'll buy him new irons. He loves to golf, but doesn't get a chance to do it much. I want him to have good equipment so he can't complain he stinks because his equipment does ;)

[LIZNKEITH]

Here's what I've done so far...

1st- Paper- Bought a really nice bound book from Papyrus with floral inlay within the pages and scrapbooked all of our honeymoon pictures.

2nd- Cotton- Was going to have a quilt made with some of our favorite pictures together screenprinted on the fabric. However, FIL was terminally ill and with taking care of him I couldn't get everything together in time. I'm saving this idea for later. [url=http://www.weddinganniversarygifts.net/photo_quilts/index.shtml]Our Life Together]

3rd- Leather- Bought him a new leather briefcase. To add a little personalization, I set the combination code as our wedding date. :)

4th- Linen/Silk- strayed from tradition this year as I had just had DD 6 weeks prior and dropped the ball. I ended up giving him a nice framed picture for his office of him & her instead.

5th- Wood- a UGA diploma frame for his office.

6th- Iron- Took him to the Lodge outlet, dropped my cc on the table and told him to pick out whatever he wanted. We're both campers and he's always wanted to get in to dutch oven cooking, so he had a blast. If he were a golfer, I'd probably ahve gotten him a really nice club.

[littlelove8138]

well since we are coming up on our first year. i got DH a Beatles Book that he really wanted. i thought that would count as paper ;)

[ambula704]

Bump...my first anniversary is in less than a month so Im looking for more great ideas!

[laura]

Our anniversary is Friday. It's our fifth, which I think is... wood (?). In any case, I'm getting my husband a piece of art. I guess the wood part could be the frame, but that is not what I was going for. He is theoretically getting me an anniversary band, if I can find what I want.

[Daisy]

Wow, I'm impressed that some of you ladies remember what you gave / got each year - I sure don't!

Ok, I do remember the first - we went on a weekend trip (the paper was the plane tickets).

We're celebrating our fifth this year and I have no idea what to buy him. I *think* we're going to go to Whistler for the weekend, so since it's technically in the woods ;) , I guess that counts for the wood aspect.

[Mrs.Chappy]

our 5th is in August..so i guess wood is the theme..we decided to book a trip to Aruba (need the R and R as we just had a miscarriage) anyway, i should probably think of an inexpensive creative 'wood' present!!

[cat_loverpq]

Mrs. Chappy ~ I am so sorry for your loss. :(

For our third anniversary this year (leather), DH took me purse shopping and I got a new purse and wallet. :D I bought him a new pair of plate shoes (for umpiring) that he wanted that are black patent leather. Not the most romantic gifts, but we went for practicality this year. :)

[KrissyCat7]

For our first anniversary I bought DH season tickets to the local theater. We love going to see plays, musicals, etc.

He bought me a beautiful diamond necklace.

[njdiva]

Since our 4th anniversary is coming up next week ... I came in here for some ideas. ;)

1st - we celebrated with a trip to Las Vegas and had a nice dinner on the day of.

2nd - we planned an early vacation (1 month prior) to Miami

3rd - we didn't do much since we closed on our house a week after our anniversary.

This year is our 4th... and I am really at a loss...

[adamseve]

We celebrated our 3rd in June. To keep with the leather tradition, I bought him a guitar with a leather strap. He gave me a leather purse.

[KK812]

Our second is next month, and we both decided we really didn't need or want anything. DH has been wanting to teach me to play tennis for years (he is really good and I've never played), so I came up with the idea that we buy each other new tennis rackets and gear so he can teach me and we can spend time together being active. He loved the idea, but then we decided why wait until next month. :D We went out this weekend and got rackets, and I got my "first lesson" on Monday. It is destined to be fun AND a good test of our marriage, LOL!

[Missy2U]

Since our 4th anniversary is coming up next week ... I came in here for some ideas. ;)

1st - we celebrated with a trip to Las Vegas and had a nice dinner on the day of.

2nd - we planned an early vacation (1 month prior) to Miami

3rd - we didn't do much since we closed on our house a week after our anniversary.

This year is our 4th... and I am really at a loss...

What are you looking to spend? The traditional gift is fruits/flowers - if you can tell me your budget, I can see what I can come up with...

[Mrs.Chappy]

just throwing this out there..our 5th is in Aug 'Wood'..was thinking of getting him a bonsai tree!! redenvelope and 1800 flowers has them. they take a lot of caring though and not sure if we could find a good place for it in terms of climate conditions.

[ash313]

My 4th is next month. I am at a loss as well.

[alienhost]

We've been trying to follow the "traditional" gift theme for each year. Last year was our Fourth and we decided to buy a piece of art work with the theme of Fruits/flowers in it. It hangs in our kitchen. We want to continue that each year.

This year is our fifth or "wood". We bought a small carved wooden bird on our vacation. I'd like to get him something small though to give him on the actual day, not sure what that will be though.

[Chimichanga]

I was on vacation over our anniversary, DH said it was okay, so I'd like to get him something a little late.

it's our 4th anniversary; the one that's the real stickler!! I think I might stray from tradition on this one and get him a watch. Maybe an every day one and a nicer one.

DH stays home with DD so he really doesn't need to dress up or anything. I just want to get him something nice. Any suggestions?

[christy1010]

Bumping this

My 9th anniversary is next month. I am thinking about getting DH some leather gloves? Or maybe a leather desk set? Any other ideas would be appreciated.

[ambula704]

Bump...2nd anniversary is coming up in a few months...anyone want to post what they have done in the past (for any anniversary!)

Thanks!

[Kimberland30]

Our 3rd anniversary is next week, I'm such a procrastinator! Since the traditional gift is leather, I'm thinking about stealing an idea in this thread and getting him a leather frame and putting in one of our wedding pictures so he can put it on his desk. He already has a wallet and belt, and I can't come up with anything else 'leather' for him. Maybe a whip? :D

Ambula74: You can go traditional and get something 'cotton'. Last year DH got me a camisol/shorts night set from Victoria's Secret, and I got him a Tommy Bahama shirt (it's linen, but close enough). We also went to dinner at our fav restaurant. I think this year we are going to try out Ruth's Chris since we've heard raves about it, and it's not a typical restaurant that we'd go to on our date nights.

[Kimberland30]

OKay, so I went shopping all over town and found ZILCH for leather photo frames. I don't have enough time to do an album, so a picture album made of leather is also out.

So I ended up getting him a "pleather" business card holder that I'll wrap. I figure he can use that for work since he has cards taped and tacked all over his office. I'm going to put in a hand-made gift certificate for Dicks Sporting Goods so that he can get a new golf bag. He just got new golf gloves and such but needs a new bag. Nothing romantic, but hell, it will have to do.

Next year since it's fruit, I already know I'm going to send him one of those edible fruit bouquets to his work.

[Bastille]

My 6th anniversary is very soon and I am at a complete loss on what to get my husband. 6th is supposed to be metal but I just checked the list at the front of this thread and it says sugar - that would be easy. He really needs a nice wallet but how do I tie that in with metal?

[Chimichanga]

You could put a metal coin in the wallet. There's also an old superstition that you never give an empty wallet to someone; there should always be at least a penny in it. Otherwise, the person will always have money problems (an empty wallet)

[Bastille]

Wallet with a coin sounds good - I also thought perhaps a Leatherman tool - DH had one and it was stolen and I know he really liked it and it is made of metal. So either the wallet or the Leatherman tool.

[Txfish]

I also did a scrapbook for Year 1 -- I began a continuing poem, so I add a page each year and have space to drop a few photos or momentos on the facing page. Every year it's 4 or 5 lines -- "For our first year married: For our first home, For joining me in raising this funny, wonderful little girl, For your generosity in sharing our home and time with my family, I love you and will always remember why I started." He loves it and can't wait to find it and see what I've added each year.

If you can't come up with something that fits with the theme -- get him something he really wants and incorporate the theme in the packaging! He was really into building things on year 2 and so I got him the laser level for his miter saw, and put it inside the COTTON catch bag for the saw :)

For leather, aside from wallet and nice pair of shoes, I did a momogrammed leather valet for his bedside table. He really likes the compartments for watch, wallet, change, keys, etc.

[Bastille]

I wish I had been more organized in starting some kind of anniversary book....I ended up buying amongst other things a metal hurricane lamp for camping which we like to do and want to do more off.