Anniversary Gifts

If you're celebrating a wedding anniversary, old etiquette recommends you give a gift that follows the traditional list—paper for the first year, cotton for the second and so on. You can thank etiquette queen Emily Post for starting the anniversary gift-giving convention back in 1922, and the list was modified by the American National Retail Jewelers' Association in 1937 to form the guidelines we follow today. Later, a second "modern" list was created. It's unclear when and where this one originated, but even with the addition of appliances and musical instruments, it seems equally stuffy at first glance.

Though some may find the traditional and modern gift lists too limiting, we think they can be a great springboard for creative and unique anniversary gift ideas that fit well within the guidelines. For example, it may seem odd to say, "I love you," with wood on your fifth anniversary, but a retro wooden record player paired with a couple classic LPs would be a clever twist on tradition and a thoughtful gift for a music lover.

Whether you want to follow the traditional list or try the modern list, the Gift Gurus have found fresh gift ideas that fit both of the major milestone guidelines.

The Silver (25th)
and Gold (50th) anniversaries were first celebrated in medieval Germanic Europe where husbands crowned their wives with silver and gold garlands.

The longest marriage on record was between a Taiwanese couple who celebrated their 86th anniversary in 2003.

The list starts with small, practical gifts to help newlyweds stock their home and builds up to more luxurious gifts as time goes on—stick it out and go for the gold!

YEAR	TRADITIONAL GIFTS	MODERN GIFTS
1st	Paper	Clocks
2nd	Cotton	China
3rd	Leather	Crystal or Glass
4th	Fruit or Flowers	Appliances
5th	Wood	Silverware
YEAR		MODERN GIFTS
6th	Candy or Iron	Wood
7th	Wool or Copper	Desk Sets
8th	Bronze	Linens or Lace
9th	Pottery	Leather
10th	Tin or Aluminum	Diamond Jewelry
11th	Steel	Fashion Jewelry
12th	Silk	Pearls
13th	Lace	Textiles or Furs
14th	Ivory	Gold Jewelry
15th	Crystal	Watches
16th		Silver Hollowware
17th		Furniture
18th		Porcelain
19th		Bronze
20th	China	Platinum
21st		Brass or Nickel
22nd		Copper
23rd		Silver Plate
24th		Musical Instruments
25th	Silver	Silver
YEAR		MODERN GIFTS
26th		Original Pictures
27th		Sculpture
28th		Orchids
29th		New Furniture
30th	Pearl	Diamond
31st		Timepieces
32nd		Conveyances (automobiles, bicycles, etc.)
33rd		Amethyst
34th		Opal
35th	Coral	Jade
36th		Bone china
37th		Alabaster
38th		Beryl or Tourmaline
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 (telescope, sunglasses, etc.)
49th		Luxuries of Any Kind
50th	Gold	Gold
YEAR		MODERN GIFTS
55th	Emerald	Emerald
60th	Diamond	Diamond
65th	Blue Sapphire	Star Sapphire or Gray
70th	Platinum	Platinum
75th	Diamonds or Diamond-Like Stones	Diamond or Gold
YEAR		MODERN GIFTS
80th	Oak	Diamond or Pearl
85th		Diamond or Sapphire
90th		Diamond or Emerald
95th		Diamond or Ruby
100th		10-carat Diamond

Send me the Gift Gurus' latest gift picks.