Traditional Anniversary Gifts

Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas

Traditional wedding anniversary gifts are chosen from a list of materials that are designated for each year. The first wedding anniversary is symbolized with paper, and from there traditional anniversary gifts become more precious or scarce to reflect the growing number of years a couple has remained together.

Wedding Anniversary Customs
No one is certain just when the traditional gift list came into existence, but it probably evolved over time. Calling years twenty-five and fifty 'Silver' and 'Gold' may have originated in medieval Europe, where wives were given a silver wreath to celebrate their twenty-fifth year of marriage and a gold wreath for their fiftieth wedding anniversary.

Diamond Wedding Anniversaries
Diamonds are traditional anniversary gifts in both the sixtieth and seventh-fifth years.
Year sixty probably became a part of existing traditions when Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee after sixty years on the British throne.

The traditional list may seem somewhat boring for the early years, but it doesn't have to be if you get creative. There are many ways you can turn each year's anniversary theme into a special gift.

Anniversary Gifts for the First Years, Paper and Cotton

* A lovely origami booklet or box folded in a shape that's special to the recipient. And, hint--hint, you can tuck a second gift into the paper.

* Paper tickets to a movie, the theatre, a concert or another performance.

* A first edition of a favorite book.

* Paper flowers that will never fade.

* Vintage or new cotton clothing or decorative items.

* A scrapbook with a plush cotton cover, filled with memories.

* A cotton wallhanging or quilt, or a painting on cotton.

That's the idea. There are plenty of personal and decorative gifts for each year and I'm positive you can come up with something special.

When a Traditional Anniversary Gift Won't Work

* Ivory is traditional for the fourteenth anniversary, but most new ivory cannot be imported to the US. You can find items made from vintage ivory, but if you're among those who do not want to own the material at all you might want to consier ivory alternatives, made from nuts and seeds of palm trees and other vegetation.

* Coral isn't as protected as ivory, but it is another item that many people do not think should be removed from nature. Choose an alternative for your thirty-fifth anniversary, or take a diving trip to see the real thing!

Traditional Anniversary Gifts by Year

First: Paper
Second: Cotton
Third: Leather
Fourth: Fruit or Flowers
Fifth: Wood
Sixth: Candy or Iron
Seventh: Wool or Copper
Eight: Bronze or Pottery
Ninth: Pottery
Tenth: Tin
Eleventh: Steel
Twelfth: Silk or Linen
Thirteenth: Lace
Fourteenth: Ivory
Fifteenth: Crystal
Twentieth: China
Twenty-Fifth: Silver
Thirtieth: Pearls
Thirty-Fifth: Coral
Fortieth: Ruby
Forty-Fifth: Sapphire
Fiftieth: Gold
Fifty-Fifth: Emerald
Sixtieth: Diamond

Author: Carly Wickell, Source: www.about.com