The tradition of offering a specific gift on a specific anniversary is thought to have started back in the middle ages in Europe.  In the beginning, the only anniversaries with special gifts were the 25th anniversary and the 50th anniversary, where silver and gold wreaths were given by the husband to the wife – silver on the 25th and gold on the 50th.   I bet not that many couples made it to their 50th anniversary in the middle ages as life expectancy wasn’t all that long.  Making it to the 50th was probably cause for greater celebration than even today!

Eventually, gifts were associated with the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th and 75th anniversaries, and in 1937 the American National Retail Jeweler Association tied in a gift with the in-between years that previously didn’t have gifts, plus “modernized” some of the old traditional gifts.

Here is a list of the traditional/modern gifts for each anniversary:

1st -  Paper/Clocks

2nd -  Cotton/China

3rd -  Leather/Crystal

4th -  Fruit or Flowers/Appliances

5th -  Wood/Silverware

6th -  Candy or Iron/Wood

7th -  Wool or Copper/Desk Sets (anything that goes on top of a desk)

8th -  Bronze or Pottery/Linens or Lace

9th -  Pottery and Willow/Leather

10th -  Tin or Aluminum/Diamond Jewelry

11th -  Steel/Fashion Jewelry

12th -  Silk or Linen/Pearls

13th -  Lace/Textiles or Fur

14th -  Ivory/Gold Jewelry

15th -  Crystal/Watches

16th -  –/Silver Holloware (teapot, shakers, goblets, pitchers, bowls)

17th -  –/Furniture

18th -  –/Porcelain

19th -  –/Bronze

20th -  China/Platinum

21st -  –/Brass or Nickel

22nd -  –/Copper

23rd -  –/Silver Plate

24th -  –/Musical Instruments

25th -  Silver/Silver

26th -  –/Original Pictures

27th -  –/Sculpture

28th -  –/Orchids

29th -  –/Furniture

30th -  Pearl/Diamond

31st -  –/Time Pieces

32nd -  –/Conveyances (bicycle, car)

33rd -  –/Amethyst

34th -  –/Opal

35th -  Coral/Jade

36th -  –/Bone China

37th -  –/Alabaster

38th -  –/Beryl or Tourmaline (gemstone)

39th -  –/Lace

40th -  Ruby/Ruby

41st -  –/Land

42nd -  –/Improved Real Estate

43rd -  –/Travel

44th -  –/Groceries

45th -  Sapphire/Sapphire

46th -  –/Original Poetry

47th -  –/Books

48th -  –/Optical Goods

49th -  –/Luxuries

50th -  Gold/Gold

I think you’ll agree that the modern anniversary gifts are sometimes a better idea, and sometimes not (like appliances, optical goods, or groceries).  Either way, it might make for some creative and tradition-setting anniversaries for the two of you for many years to come.  If you don’ like these ideas, try substituting your own gifts – like exotic travel, a spa weekend, or cosmetic surgery.