About Wedding Anniversary Gifts

Wedding anniversaries are occasions to be celebrated, and giving gifts is a good way to help the couple. Each anniversary dictates a different gift or level of gift, based on tradition and even family customs. Some of these gifts are modest, some are sentimental and others are exorbitant. Of course, you have to be married a very long time to get the best gifts!

Misconceptions

Wedding anniversary gifts are not a creation of a greeting-card company to secure more card and trinket sales. However, Hallmark has done a significant amount of research on what to give for different anniversaries.

History of

Giving specific wedding anniversary gifts based on how long a couple has been married dates to the mid 1400s. Research by Hallmark traces the tradition of giving silver for a 25th anniversary to the Germanic region, when a husband gave his wife a silver garland at the 25th year of marriage. In central Europe, friends of anniversary couples followed the German tradition and gave silver wreaths on the 25th anniversary and a gold wreath for the 50th.

Evolution

In her book "Etiquette: Blue Book of Social Usage" in 1922, Emily Post listed gifts for the eight important anniversaries, the first, fifth, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th and 75th. She wrote that only eight anniversaries were acknowledged until recent times and suggested symbolic gifts for the first 15 years and every five years thereafter. Now you can find gift suggestions for anniversaries 1 through 50 and then every five years through 100.

The traditional wedding gift ideas are still used, but modern options are also offered. For example the third wedding anniversary gift at one point was leather; it is now crystal. The reason for the change is that many of the older gift ideas are no longer useful.

Significance

Wedding anniversary gifts add a bit of ceremony and sentimentality to anniversaries. This helps the couple or individual receiving the gift feel special and appreciated on this very special day.

Expert Insight

While most people know or can easily find out what to give on each anniversary from one to 100, some of the more interesting gifts are as follows:

Fruit, flowers, or appliances for the 3rd year
Tin or aluminum for the 10th year
Ivory or gold jewelry for the 14th year
Musical instruments for the 24th year
Conveyances (transfer of property from one person to another) for the 32nd year
Land for the 41st year
Improved real estate for the 42nd year
Diamonds and gold for the 75th year
10-carrot diamond for the 100th year