So you’ve been dating steadily and you want to give anniversary gifts, yet you aren’t sure what would be appropriate. It makes sense that you are a little confused. First, when you are dating, you may not feel comfortable giving gifts that are appropriate for married couples, yet you still want to express your feelings of love, so what should you do? Well, here are some ideas that can help you find the perfect anniversary gift whether you have been dating for one month or several years.
A good rule of thumb is to make the anniversary gift as special and romantic as possible. One of the best ways to do this is to think back to when you first met and base the gift on something that pertains to your first encounter together. When choosing an anniversary gift based upon your specific relationship, consider the place of your first meeting, where you shared your first kiss, what activity you participated in on your first date and choose a gift that is related to one of these events.
For example, if you visited a movie together, then you could give anything that was related to that movie or even a movie script. You could also create a photo scrapbook that includes pictures of your relationship together from the beginning. This is a nice sentimental gift that is rather inexpensive as well.
It is a good idea to follow the basic anniversary gift guidelines whether you are celebrating one month or one year of dating with items that are from the wedding anniversary gift. Though it is rare to date exclusively past ten years without being married, it does occur. Here are the traditional gift items associated with each anniversary:
1st Anniversary - Paper
2nd Anniversary - Cotton
3rd Anniversary - Leather
4th Anniversary - Flowers
5th Anniversary - Wood
6th Anniversary - Iron
7th Anniversary - Wool or Copper
8th Anniversary - Bronze
9th Anniversary - Pottery or China
10th Anniversary - Tin or Aluminum
11th Anniversary - Steel
12th Anniversary - Silk
13th Anniversary - Lace
14th Anniversary - Ivory
15th Anniversary - Crystal
This list has also been modernized to include new materials. You can choose whether to pick gifts from the traditional or the modern list. Here is the modern anniversary gift list:
1st Anniversary - Clocks
2nd Anniversary - China
3rd Anniversary - Crystal or Glass
4th Anniversary - Applicances
5th Anniversary - Silverware
6th Anniversary - Wood
7th Anniversary - Desk Sets
8th Anniversary - Linens or Lace
9th Anniversary - Leather
10th Anniversary - Diamond Jewelry
11th Anniversary - Fashion Jewelry
12th Anniversary - Pearls
13th Anniversary - Textiles
14th Anniversary - Gold Jewlery
15th Anniversary - Watches
With a little creativity and ingenuity, you can choose the best anniversary gift from either the traditional or modern list that is appropriate for your particular relationship. There are also a number of flowers that are associated with each anniversary and these also make wonderful additions to your gift giving. Here are the flowers
appropriate for each anniversary:
1st Anniversary - Orange Blossoms or Pansies
2nd Anniversary - Cosmos
3rd Anniversary - Fuchsia
4th Anniversary - Geranium
5th Anniversary - Daisy
6th Anniversary - Calla Lilly
7th Anniversary - Jack-In-The-Pulpit
8th Anniversary - Clematis
9th Anniversary - Poppy
10th Anniversary - Daffodil
11th Anniversary - Morning Glory
12th Anniversary - Peony
13th Anniversary - Hollyhock
14th Anniversary - Dahlia
15th Anniversary - Rose
me and my boyfriend will have been dating for a year on December 6th. he said he is making me something like a gift. i wanna get him something too but my mind is blank. i was thinking about giving him a photo of when we had our first date but im not sure. what do u think???
Alright. So I need some advice. My girlfriend and I will have been dating for a year on Dec 13. We are in high school but pretty serious. I'm not sure what to get her or what we should do to celebrate. Any ideas let me know please! Thanks
My boyfriend and I have been dateing one year in about a week and I don't know what you get him. I want him to plan something but I am kinda scared he wont so should I plan something just in case? He likes hunting and he's a country boy but He is hard to shop for. Is a scrapbook over rated? and what if he gets me a scarpbook too? I am not sure what to do, please help!
My boyfriend and I have been dating for three years. And he is very materialistic so when it comes to giving him gifts I have to get creative to make the materialistic things fun and meaningful. I know for our two year, I did a treasure hunt ish. I told him to meet me at my place but I wasn't there only a card and a small scrapbook. the card was a riddle that led him somewhere else with the same thing, a small gift and another riddle. The last card led him to me at a restaurant for a bite to eat, then we went and got massages. The whole thing cost me 100 bucks and he had a BLAST! It was fun to because some of the business I left the card/riddle at got into the whole hunt so when my boyfriend came they had some fun with it too!
I think for our one year we just went out to eat and I got him a necklace. whoopdy doo. But I know when I told him I loved him I did it on Valentines day creatively. I took a red tissue box.. emptied it out. and took a deck of cards the hearts Ace-ten and I punched a hole at the top and bottom of each card. I connected them by a big string of yarn and on each card I glued a piece of paper saying a reason why I like him. Gave him the box and it said ten reasons why I like you! He pulled it and got to see all the reasons and Ace said I love you! It was cute and cost me like 3 bucks! so theres some ideas! our third year anniversary is coming up soon so I'll have to think of something else
heyy, me and my boyfriend have been dating for almost 4 years now.. i'm more of the romantic one and i'm stumped on what to get him/do for him on our anniversary, its in october so if anyone has any ideas i would greatly appreciate it. thankss! :)
I have been dating a lady for almost a year. I've read this blog but still am not sure what to do because we haven't even taken one photo for some reason. A scrap book won't work then. I have thought flowers, dinner, even maybe a necklace or bracelet (want to stay away from a ring because of the serious implications). Any thoughts about jewelry? Is dinner and flowers enough? Thanks
Hello my boyfriend I just celebrated our 9 year Anniversary, we are not engaged or anything. We have a 2 year old daughter, have been together since we were 16. I was hoping to plan something special for out Decade of being together, please help..... and what gifts are involved when buying for each other...thakn you!!
mine and my boyfriends six month is coming up, and I am lost as to what I should get him. I would like to spend more but my budget is good for only about $50, please help!
Hi my boyfriend and i are coming up on our 5 year anniversary this summer and i need ideas of what to do. I feel i need something great for this one. If you could please help me out that would be great. Thank you!!
Hello, my boyfriend and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary tomorrow!
We live in the Twin Cities Area(MN) and have a budget of maybe 20-30 dollars. Any ideas to what we should do?
Also, I got him a gift card to AMC theaters because he and I watch alot of movies together but I wonder if there could be anything else I could get him, I was thinking of making a fleece tie blanket? Or maybe not..
Thanks for the help!