Each year for the past six years I’ve been Googling “wedding anniversary gift guide by year” and each year I have to wade through a fillion websites to find the list. Not any more. I culled the Internet and created this post as a reference. More for me than for you, but you’re welcome to use it. And if you have no idea what this whole buying of wedding gift business is, here’s the short version.
Some time ago you got married. Be it last year or 50 years ago you are obligated to buy your spouse a gift. Thankfully, there are options. You can follow Emily Post’s etiquette guide created back in 1922 and get your hubby a traditional gift, you can opt for a more modern approach, or you can go with jewelry and/or flowers.
Bottom line. Ladies and dudes, you need to get your lifer a gift and here’s a list to make it easy.
| Year | Traditional | Modern | Jewelry | Flower |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper | Clocks | Gold | Carnation or Pansy |
| 2 | Cotton | China | Garnet | Lily of the Valley or Cosmos |
| 3 | Leather | Crystal or Glass | Pearl | Sunflower or Fuchsia |
| 4 | Linen, Silk | Appliances | Blue Topaz | Hydrangea or Geranium |
| 5 | Wood | Silverware | Sapphire | Daisy |
| 6 | Iron | Wood | Amethyst | Calla Lily |
| 7 | Wool or Copper | Desk Sets | Onyx | Freesia or Jack-in-the-Pulpit |
| 8 | Bronze | Linens or Lace | Tourmaline | Lilac or Clematis |
| 9 | Pottery or China | Leather | Lapis | Bird of Paradise or Poppy |
| 10 | Tin or Aluminum | Diamond | Diamond | Daffodil |
| 11 | Steel | Fashion Jewelry | Turquoise | Tulip or Morning Glory |
| 12 | Linen, Silk | Pearl or Gems | Pearls or Colored Gems | Peony |
| 13 | Lace | Textiles or Furs | Citrine | Chrysanthemum or Hollyhock |
| 14 | Ivory | Gold Jewelry | Opal or Gold | Dahlia |
| 15 | Crystal | Watches | Ruby or Watches | Rose |
| 16 | Wax or Candles | Silver Holloware | Peridot | Statice |
| 17 | Furniture | Furniture | Carnelian | Red Carnations |
| 18 | Porcelain | Porcelain | Cat’s Eye, Opal, or Aquamarine | Sunflower |
| 19 | Bronze | Bronze | Aquamarine | Bronze-hued florals |
| 20 | China | Platinum | Emerald or Platinum | Aster or Day Lily |
| 25 | Silver | Sterling Silver | Sterling Silver | Iris |
| 30 | Pearl | Diamond | Diamond | Lily |
| 35 | Coral or Jade | Jade | Jade or Emerald | |
| 40 | Ruby | Ruby | Ruby | Gladiolus |
| 45 | Sapphire | Sapphire | Sapphire | |
| 50 | Gold | Gold | Gold | Yellow rose or Violet |
| 55 | Emerald | Emerald | Emerald or Alexandrite | |
| 60 | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond | |
| 65 | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond | |
| 70 | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond | |
| 75 | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond | |
| 80 | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond |
Gee, I wonder who was responsible for the gifts post-60 years of marriage?