Milestone Wedding Anniversary Gifts by Year (From Year 1 to 80) Updated in 2024
What are the traditional wedding anniversary gifts by year? Milestone anniversaries are a reason to celebrate, whether you are one year into a new marriage or have spent many happy decades together. There are traditional materials often associated with each year, with the first couple of decades devoted to materials like lace, china, leather or paper wedding anniversary gifts by year. Anniversaries for those who have been married a while vary from strong and durable metals to beautiful gemstones. Some are considered traditional wedding anniversary gifts by year, while others are more modern spins on the concept.
What are the gifts for every year of marriage? What item represents each year of marriage? We’ve rounded up some perfect ideas wedding anniversary gifts by year to celebrate style, whether you are looking to gift a special couple something they will love or are looking for the perfect gift for your own spouse to celebrate the occasion. While some suggestions are more literal takes on the material at hand, others are fun spins or alternative interpretations that capture the spirit of each milestone anniversary year.
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Wedding Anniversary Gifts by Year
1. 1st Anniversary: Paper or Clock
This all-important 1st anniversary is a chance to look back at what has made the year special and to make plans for the future. Paper anniversary gifts symbolize the blank sheet of many years you will spend together. Great wedding anniversary gifts by year for the first year include paper items like journals, photo albums and planners. You can also create personal wedding-related mementos like blown-up wedding photos, broadsides that include your vows and personalized couple stationery.
Also known as the clock anniversary, this is a great chance to gift timepiece-related items like new watches or soothing alarm clocks that wake each other up with the sound of birdsong, soft music or rain. These materials also make great wedding gift ideas to start the couple off in their first year. Paper as a material that also makes a great inspiration for wedding favors for guests and wedding decoration ideas.
2. 2nd: Cotton or China
Cotton represents strength and flexibility. Fun ideas for this wedding anniversary gifts by year include bedding and linen items like new sheets, towels, tablecloths, napkins and other items made of cotton. It’s also a great chance to give your husband or wife a luxurious new cotton robe or comfy cotton pajama set.
Also known as the china anniversary, you can opt for gifting dishware you may have not registered for before the wedding or special pieces like beautiful sugar and creamer sets, teapots or decorative bowls.
3. 3rd: Leather, Crystal or Glass
The third anniversary boasts several ideas according to tradition for wedding anniversary gifts by year. For the leather anniversary that represents durability and strength, consider gifting each other or the celebrating couple items like new luggage, totes or wallets.
As the crystal or glass anniversary, great ideas for wedding anniversary gifts by year include glassware sets, barware and beautiful glass serving items like punch bowls, pitchers and trays. Crystal suncatchers are a pretty anniversary gift that the couple can hang in the window and think of you everytime it catches the light.
4. 4th: Fruit or Flowers
Representing a marriage that is in full bloom, the fourth year is a great chance to gift flowers and flower-related items as perfect wedding anniversary gifts by year. Present the couple or each other with lavish bouquets or a floral subscription service that delivers new blooms monthly. This is also a great chance to give gifts related to gardening like lush hanging baskets or flats of annuals or perennials. Or opt for a gift card to a garden center. Also known as the fruit anniversary, a great gift is a fruit or jelly basket or box or sign up the couple for a monthly fruit subscription that presents each season’s signature fruits mailed directly to them.
5. 5th: Wood or Silverware
Perfect options for the 5th year of wedding anniversary gifts by year are wood items, representing sturdiness and durability, that can include everything from custom wood signs with special messages to larger pieces of furniture like dressers, tables or intricately carved headboards. You can also give a hand-carved wooden memento box from a local artisans or carved wood sculptures. Just don't give anything in oak, this is reserved for one of the most special wedding anniversary gifts by year, as you'll see later on.
Also, known as the silverware anniversary, this is a great chance to give new silver pieces like flatware or candlesticks.
6. 6th: Sugar
This sweet anniversary has many options for wedding anniversary gifts by year, including gifts of candy or baked goods. Give the couple or each other boxes of chocolate, candy bouquets or gourmet baked treats. For a gift that keeps on giving, give a subscription for companies that send treats, jam, maple syrup or organic honey in a variety of flavors each month of the year. For couples, end your day with a visit to an old-school candy store or vintage ice cream parlor.
7. 7th: Copper or Wool
Great wedding anniversary gifts by year for the copper anniversary, which represents warmth and coziness include copper cookware like measuring spoons, measuring cups, utensils and copper cookware. You can also gift the couple or each other a shiny set of Moscow mule mugs for a home bar. Copper jewelry like rings, bracelets and pendants are more beautiful and meaningful wedding anniversary gifts by year. Since this year is also known as the wool anniversary, wonderful ideas include cozy woolen throw blankets, slippers or winter wear like scarves and hats.
8. 8th: Bronze or Pottery
The eighth wedding anniversary gifts by year focuses on bronze, a material known for its strength. Great gift options for this anniversary include jewelry made of bronze, art or sculptures in bronze or bronze vases. Other suggestions include intricately carved bronze frames, bronze bordered mirrors or bronze or brass windchimes for hanging outdoors.
Also known as the pottery anniversary, great gifts for the year include small or large pieces of pottery like hand hewn mugs, decorative bowls and vases. Or better yet, an experiential gift like pottery classes, could be a fun choice. Then the couple can make their own ceramics to suit their tastes.
9. 9th: Willow or Pottery
The ninth year, known as the willow anniversary that represents both strength and flexibility, has many options for giving the perfect wedding anniversary by year, including willow-themed and decorated items like jewelry, sculptures and artwork. Woven items are also popular gift items, including baskets, totes, wreaths and cane furniture.
For a couple with a yard, a great gift is a weeping willow sapling that will grow into a large and beautiful tree that gets bigger every year. Willow wood items like boxes or furniture are also a great option. This anniversary is also sometimes considered the pottery anniversary, so you could also opt for handmade pottery or a chance to learn how to create your own with enrollment in a pottery workshop.
10. 10th: Tin
The tin anniversary, which represents rust-proof durability, is a chance to give the couple or each other gifts for decorating the garden like signage, lanterns, planters and decorative objects. Other great options include carved tin or aluminum objects like decorative plaques or signs, as well as lanterns or lighting fixtures made of tin or similar metals. For inexpensive tin gifts, opt for tins of popcorn or treats or a delicious-smelling travel candle.
11. 11th: Steel
For the eleventh year of marriage that represents unbreakable strength, great traditional wedding anniversary gifts by year include objects made of metal like knife sets, cookware or stainless steel appliances like toasters, blenders, or espresso machines. Lawn or camping gear are also great options, including outdoor grills, camp stoves and metal-framed tents. For a much more luxurious gift option for each other, this is an excellent chance to gift a new automobile or large home appliances, like a fridge or stove, to your spouse.
12. 12th: Silk or Fine Linen
For the twelfth wedding anniversary gifts by year, look toward softness and luxury. This year represents the finer parts of the life you’ve built together. Silk is a great material that can be found on everything from sumptuous bath robes to silk sleep masks and pajama sets. This is also a great chance to gift your spouse new lingerie or luxurious silk boxers. Also known as the fine linen anniversary, great gift options include new table linens, high end bedding or clothing items in linen.
13. 13th: Lace or Textiles
Perfect ideas for wedding anniversary gifts by year for year number thirteen include clothing or accessories with lace or lace detailing, which represent the intricate webbing of your lives together. Since it’s also known as the textile anniversary, this is a great chance to reupholster furniture, buy new drapes or invest in new linens for the home. Great gift options for the couple include new kitchen towels, potholders, placemats or tablecloths. You can also gift the couple or each other new throw pillows, blankets or other soft items for the home.
14. 14th: Ivory
The fourteenth anniversary provides a chance to gift the couple or each other with ivory as a material or a color, a material known for its luck. Great gifts include ethically sourced ivory carved pieces or jewelry like rings, bracelets and pendants. You can also opt for ivory colored objects or materials like cream colored scarves, towels or clothing items. Elephant-themed artwork, decorative items and patterns are also great ideas for this wedding anniversary gift by year.
15. 15th: Crystal
The crystal anniversary is another chance to give gifts that sparkle and shine. It represents something both strong and fragile. Glassware, barware and items like candlesticks and vases are great ideas. You can also use it as a chance to give zirconia or diamond jewelry for the fifteenth year. Other fun ideas include lighting fixtures like chandeliers or lamps.
16. 20th: China
These wedding anniversary gifts by year include china, which means that dishes and serving pieces are great gifts to give the couple or each other. Decorative bowls, vases and candle holders made out of china are also great gift ideas. Mosaic art or housewares with a lot of broken china bits fused beautifully together are another fun way to celebrate the twentieth year or marriage.
17. 25th: Silver
While jewelry is the most obvious choice for this traditional wedding anniversary gift by year that represents beauty and strength, houseware that incorporates or is made of silver is also a great option. Perfect anniversary gifts for her beautiful silver rings, bracelets, earrings or necklaces. Great anniversary gifts for him include watches, tie tacks or cufflinks. Silverware or silver serving pieces, candlesticks or silver frames are also fun gift ideas.
18. 30th: Pearl
Another anniversary that is perfect for gifting jewelry, the thirtieth year can be celebrated with pearl earrings, necklaces or other pieces, as well as pearl-accented pieces like hair brushes, compacts, hair accessories, handbags or inlaid furniture. Pearl represents endurance and beauty in a long marriage. Mother of pearl as a material can be found on many things for the home, including frames, vases and decorative trays or bowls.
19. 35th: Coral or Jade
The thirty-fifth year of marriage offers a chance to celebrate with some color, either vibrant coral or vivid green. Coral has good-health properties associated with it, as does jade. Jewelry pieces are popular wedding anniversary gifts for her with either material as the focus, as well as jade items like beautiful lamps, letter openers, candles, vases and decorative accents made from real or faux jade stone. Pretty and ethereal vintage jadeite dishware is also a great option for antique lovers as a gift for three and a half decades of marriage.
20. 40th: Ruby
For this wedding anniversary gift by year, opt for rubies, a stone that represents an undying flame, in jewelry pieces like pendants and rings where their vivid red can really shine. You can also choose to gift items in a ruby or deep garnet hue like housewares, clothing and accessories. New or vintage red dishware is also a great gift idea to celebrate this milestone.
21. 45th: Sapphire
Another perfect jewelry anniversary, great ideas for this wedding anniversary gift by year include brilliant sapphire rings, earrings and pendants. It also includes other sorts of gifts with a blue theme like housewares and accessories. Blue sapphires are believed to attract abundance and wealth. Opt for deep blue glassware, candle holders, glass art sculptures, bar decanters or lighting fixtures that capture the spirit of sapphires.
22. 50th: Gold
One of the easiest wedding anniversary gifts by year to shop for, the fiftieth year celebration calls for gold in all its finest, representing wisdom, strength and endurance. For a 50th wedding anniversary idea, this can mean sumptuous real gold, white gold or rose gold jewelry pieces or other golden-hued pieces for the home. Great inexpensive takes on the year’s themes include gold photo frames, decorative accents like candles and vases or gold textile pieces like scarves clothing. Hot tip: Invest in gold in your first year of marriage and unleash the profits of your investment in your 50th year!
23. 55th: Emerald
Beautiful and vibrant green is the focus of this wedding anniversary gift by year and represents love and devotion. Opt for beautiful emerald jewelry pieces or accessories incorporating the stone. It’s also a great chance to gift green housewares, clothing or textiles. This celebration would be the perfect time to take a trip to the Emerald Isle and visit Ireland as an anniversary getaway.
24. 60th: Diamond
This wedding anniversary gifts by year is a chance to gift beautiful diamond items like jewelry and accessories or to find gifts that give off similar clarity and illumination similar to this valuable stone that evokes timeless love and endurance. Glassware and home items like candlesticks, vases and decorative bowls make great wedding anniversary gifts by year for this special occasion. A great gift idea is a crystal faceted photo frame with a current or older photo of the couple.
25. 65th: Blue Sapphire
Another year devoted to deep blue sapphires, the sixty-fifth wedding anniversary gift by year should reflect this deep blue shade, whether it's the actual stone or simply the brilliant blue color. It is also a great chance for an anniversary trip to a seaside locale where the sapphire blues of the sea can be best appreciated. Great trip options include locales along the Mediterranean or the Caribbean sea.
26. 70th: Platinum
This major anniversary milestone is worthy of this durable and almost indestructible metal. Platinum rings are popular choices for celebrating seventy years, as are platinum watches and bracelets. You can also gift platinum housewares like candlesticks, vases and decorative objects made from this shiny metal.
27. 80th: Oak
Perhaps the rarest milestone wedding anniversary year to reach unless you marry early and live a very long and happy life, the eightieth year of marriage is celebrated with oak, symbolizing the endurance of stately oak trees that can survive over a century. Great wedding anniversary gifts by year for this one include furniture pieces and decorative objects fashioned from sturdy oak. For a fun spin on this, consider adopting an oak tree in the couple or your spouses names. Adoptions usually include a plaque or signage commemorating the names of the couple. Or an oak bench set up in the couple's favorite public spot.
Whether you are looking for a gift for the happy couple or part of the happy couple yourself, these wedding anniversary gifts by year are sure to be a hit and a memorable keepsake or memory of many years together.
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