Traditional Anniversary Gifts By Year
Wedding anniversaries are momentous occasions—whether you’re celebrating ten years together or fifty! And to remember your one-of-a-kind love, these precious occasions deserve to be celebrated with your significant other.
If you’re searching for unique traditional anniversary gifts by year, then you’re in the right place! You may have heard of traditional or modern anniversary gifts. But don’t worry, if you haven’t or are confused as it’s quite simple.
Each anniversary year has its own theme for traditional and modern gifts. These themes are in place to guide couples as they purchase presents for their spouse. So, if you’re struggling to find the perfect gift, the traditional anniversary themes might be the missing piece in your search.
Exchanging gifts for anniversaries has been a custom for many years. In particular, the traditional anniversary gifts originated from symbolism. For example, the first-anniversary theme is paper, which represents the delicateness of a new relationship. On the other hand, modern anniversary gifts arose to prominence to help couples find practical gifts.
Along with the gift themes, there are also specific gemstones, colors, and flowers that correspond to each anniversary. So in reality, there’s no shortage of ideas if you know where to look for them!
Still, at Forever Anniversary, we recognize how difficult it can be to find a gift that feels just right—and then do it again the next year. A perfect anniversary gift must feel special and memorable, yet also beautiful and practical. Plus, there are personal preferences to consider.
If you’re looking for an anniversary gift that will check all these boxes and still showcase your love to your spouse, then read on! Today, we’ll be focusing on traditional anniversary gifts, plus recommending gift ideas to get you started. However, if you want to explore modern anniversary gifts more in-depth, check out this blog post.
Specifically, we’ll focus on the primary anniversary years—every five years up to sixty.
Let’s go!
1st Anniversary
The theme for the first anniversary is a classic as paper represents a fresh start. Yet there’s also a hint of fragility due to how new the relationship is. Still, just like there’s plenty of room on a new sheet of paper, there’s also plenty to look forward to in your relationship. This Metallic Vinyl Song Lyric Print would make for an adorable first-anniversary gift. You can even customize it with a special song from your relationship and add the date of your marriage!
5th Anniversary
This year’s theme of wood stands for strength and wisdom, a hopeful prospect for a young couple with a whole lifetime ahead of them. Take this Steel Wine Set in Wooden Case for inspiration when searching for fifth-anniversary gift ideas. Perfect for the wine-lover spouse, it also has a personalization option to make this gift even more meaningful.
10th Anniversary
Resulting in a shiny gift, your tenth anniversary has two themes you can choose from—tin or aluminum. Tin is a long-lasting metal that doesn’t rust, which adequately represents a relationship of ten years. On the other hand, aluminum is an extremely malleable metal. This makes sense as it takes a flexible sort of love for a couple to reach this milestone. See this Chai Tea Kit that features a variety of teas in little tins as a gift you and your partner can sample and enjoy together.
15th Anniversary
A beautiful mineral such as crystal makes for a stunning fifteenth-anniversary theme. This is because of its durability, which accurately reflects a fifteen-year-old marriage. Additionally, crystal can represent transparency and honesty in a relationship. We love this Crystal Whiskey Decanter Glass Set for its uniqueness and practicality, all while fulfilling the fifteenth-anniversary theme perfectly.
20th Anniversary
Requiring gentle care, fine china is much like a long-lasting marriage, resulting in an excellent theme for the twentieth anniversary year. Similar to china, a healthy relationship requires intentionality in caring for it, so that it doesn’t chip or crack. This elegant Twelve-Piece Dinnerware Set would be a lovely china gift your wife will cherish.
25th Anniversary
One of the most famous anniversary years—the twenty-fifth year—is traditionally celebrated with silver. This also happens to be one of the rare occasions where the traditional and modern anniversary themes are the same. It’s widely known as “The Silver Anniversary.” A radiant gift idea to fit this theme would be this Silver Morse Code Necklace. To make it even more romantic, the jewelry piece spells out love!
30th Anniversary
Three decades together is a significant milestone that should be celebrated accordingly. A gorgeous pearl-themed gift is appropriate to create a timeless thirtieth-anniversary. This Pearl Tree Decoration would make a precious addition to any couple’s home as a reminder of the wonderful years they’ve spent by each other’s side and the many years still ahead of them.
35th Anniversary
A strong marriage requires strength and peace, which are two elements coral just happens to represent, resulting in a lovely theme for your thirty-fifth anniversary. You can never go wrong with a classic jewelry gift—like this Pink Coral and White Topaz Rose Bracelet!
40th Anniversary
After spending forty years by each other’s side, an exciting way to be reminded of the love and passion that made you fall in the first place is through the theme of rubies. A beautiful and meaningful gift would be this Ruby-Colored Soundwave Canvas that can be customized with a short audio message or portion of a song.
45th Anniversary
Sapphires symbolize sincerity, which is a beautiful sentiment to celebrate your forty-fifth anniversary with. Interested in putting a unique twist on this gift theme? Instead of jewelry, look no further than this Wooden Sapphire Memory Box. This special case includes a personalization of your names, so you can store your precious valuables in it all while being reminded of your significant other.
50th Anniversary
An extremely popular and precious metal such as gold deserves to be the theme of such a momentous milestone. After all, fifty years is half a century! A 24K Gold-Dipped Rose might just be the perfectly extravagant gift needed to properly celebrate this anniversary.
55th Anniversary
Representing true love, gifts featuring emeralds are particularly romantic ones that will touch your partner even fifty-five years after you’ve tied the knot. Continuing with the flower theme, these Forever Roses in the Shade Emerald Green can last up to a year as a lovely decor piece to add life and love to your home.
60th Anniversary
You’ve done it—after sixty years together, you’ve reached your diamond anniversary! What more fitting way to commemorate this epic occasion than with a classic gemstone like a diamond? This Diamond Pendant Necklace might be on the pricier side for gifts, but it’s your sixtieth year of marriage, so if there was one year to go all out, it’d be this one.
No matter what anniversary year you’re celebrating, there’s a special gift waiting out there that your spouse will love.
Take the prompts from the traditional gift themes to aid you in your search without any of the added worries or stress. Also, don’t be afraid to think outside the box and try something different—it doesn’t have to fit the rules exactly if you don’t want it to!
Still feeling stuck? Peruse our Forever Anniversary website, which has multiple lists of more gift ideas than you can possibly think of. We’ve organized the website by anniversary year, so it couldn’t be easier to find what you’re searching for. Happy anniversary!