Celebrating Love – Anniversary Gifts by Year

May 10, 2023 By archelys3 0

The Origins of Gift Themes for Each Wedding Anniversary Year

The tradition of giving a specific type of gift on a certain anniversary year dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. Originally, people believed that giving anniversary gifts by year would bring good luck.

**Celebrating Love – Anniversary Gifts by Year**

The gifts traditionally rose in value over the years, with paper and cotton being given in the early years and more costly materials such as silver and gold being given in later years. The gradually increasing substance and value of the gifts reflects the investment that the couple gives to each other. They also represent the progressive strengthening of the relationship over the years. The logic is that a stable relationship deserves a reward and the more the stability the greater should be the reward.

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These days not every couple sticks to the old traditions of anniversary gifts by year. They might give each other modern gifts such as a stereo, a television or an iPod rather than the traditional items. However, some couples still stick to the old fashioned list of materials and give the right gift on their anniversary.(1)

What Are the Anniversary Gifts By Year?

If you are wondering what the anniversary gifts by year would be, here is a list along with a few suggestions to help you get ideas.

The first year is paper, such as a handmade notebook, a drawing or a beautiful book.
The second year is cotton, such as cotton clothing or a warm blanket.
The third is leather, such as men’s shoes, a leather-bound journal or leather jewellery.
The fourth year is linen, such as a high quality set of linen bed sheets.
The fifth is wood, which could be anything from an artistic carving to a wooden salad bowl to a gazebo in the backyard.
The sixth year is iron, which could mean a beautiful candle holder, wine rack or lawn furniture. Guys don’t get your wife an actual iron for this anniversary unless she has a good sense of humour.
The seventh anniversary is copper, such as a copper kettle, wind chimes, copper jewellery or copper bookends. A more expensive gift could be rose gold jewellery which is a type of gold alloyed with copper.
The eighth anniversary is bronze, which might mean a lovely bronze sculpture or a plaque.
The ninth anniversary is celebrated with pottery, so give your partner a lovely ceramic cup, tea kettle or set of bowls.
The tenth anniversary is celebrated with tin or aluminium. This can be a very difficult one to think of, but you could find some beautiful antique tin storage boxes or banks and fill them with money, love notes and little personal coupons. There are also some lovely antique tin toys which might make a sweet and nostalgic gift.
The eleventh anniversary means steel, which could mean a lovely stainless steel ring, necklace or bracelet or an engraved stainless steel wine bottle stopper.
Your twelfth year should be celebrated with silk, which could mean a silk tie for him and some sexy silk lingerie or a pretty silk blouse for her.
The thirteenth anniversary gift is lace, which brings to mind even more pretty lingerie. It could also mean lace curtains or a table cloth to add some glamour to your home.
The gift for the fourteenth anniversary is ivory, which could be a carving or jewellery. Avoid real ivory and go for faux ivory instead.
The fifteenth anniversary gift is crystal, which could be a piece of jewellery or a beautiful set of drink tumblers or a crystal serving bowl.(1)

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At this point, there stops being specific anniversary gifts by year and the list goes by every five years.

20years – China
25years– Silver
30years – Pearls
35years- Jade
50years– Rubies
45 years – Sapphires
50years– Gold
55years – Emeralds
60years– Diamonds

Of course, the modern couple doesn’t have to stick to this list at all, but it can be fun to get each other traditional anniversary gifts by year whenever you celebrate the day of your marriage.(3)

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