How to Buy a 40th-Year Wedding Anniversary Gift

At the 40-year mark, the contemporary gift list suggests rubies, while the traditional thinking is ... rubies!

Things You'll Need

• Gift Ribbons
• 2 Pair Rose-colored Eyeglasses
• Anniversary Greeting Cards
• A Dozen Red Roses
• Flowers
• Rosebushes
• Wrapping Paper
• Chardonnay
• Strawberries
• Ruby Jewelries
• Credit Cards And Loans
• Gift Certificates
• Travel Services

Instructions

1. Keep your partner in mind when thinking about a gift. Do they wear precious jewelry, or would they prefer ruby slippers?

2. Assess your budget. Rubies are beautiful, but they can be costly.

3. Check out different sources, specialty shops and custom craftspeople, department stores, museum gift shops, and online sources.

4. Enclose a gift card with your present.

5. Wrap the present, and deliver it personally if possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Be creative, not literal. Less expensive interpretations could include rhinestones, roses, red glass or even strawberries. Gardeners might love a red rosebush planted in their yard, birders a trip to see ruby-throated swallows.

• If you want to splurge, buy them tickets to Washington, D.C., where they can head to the Smithsonian to see the ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz."

• Remember to give yourself two to six weeks when ordering from catalogs or Web sites.