Anniversary Gift Ideas by Year: A Complete Guide for Years 1 to 60

Discover symbolic wedding anniversary gift ideas and their meaning. Find traditional and modern anniversary gifts by year plus anniversary colors, flowers, and jewelry.

If you have celebrated a wedding anniversary or shopped for an anniversary gift for another couple, you have probably heard about the traditional and modern anniversary gift lists. These lists tie a symbol, material, or theme to each anniversary year. For example, paper and clocks go with the first year anniversary, cotton and china the second year, leather and crystal the third, and so on.

But before we get into what kinds of gifts go with each anniversary year, let’s explain how these links and connections came about.

A short history of anniversary gifts by year

The tradition of giving themed wedding anniversary gifts by year dates all the way back to the Middle Ages. Some scholars believe the symbols were chosen to bring good luck and good fortune to the married couple. Others have concluded that the specific materials correspond to the strengthening of the marriage and the investment the couple has made in their relationship, with each gift gradually increasing in both substance and value.

During medieval times, husbands would crown their wives with a wreath of silver or gold on their 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries, respectively. Still today, the 25th anniversary is known as the “silver anniversary” and the 50th anniversary the “golden anniversary.”

The tradition of symbolic anniversary gifts for each year of marriage really started to take off, however, during Victorian times. For example, the traditional gift of wood, celebrated on the fifth anniversary, can be traced back to 1875, while the 60th diamond anniversary came into custom when Queen Victoria celebrated her 60-year reign with a diamond jubilee in 1897. Before that, the 75th anniversary was the diamond anniversary.

By the 20th century, it was common for couples to celebrate their milestone anniversaries with themed anniversary gifts, and the tradition continues today, with traditional and modern anniversary gifts for each year of marriage.

Traditional vs. modern anniversary gifts

Today’s traditional wedding anniversary gift list is largely based on Emily Post’s list published in 1922 in her her book “Etiquette: The Blue Book of Social Usage.” The book highlighted the eight wedding anniversaries that everyone should acknowledge — the first, fifth, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th — as well as the symbolic anniversary gifts for the first 15 years and for every five years after that.

In 1937, the American National Retail Jewelers Association expanded and updated many of the traditional gift suggestions with more modern versions. This list included many more practical symbolic gifts, such as clocks, silverware, appliances, and desk sets.

Today, you’ll also find lists with wedding anniversary colors, flowers, jewelry, and gemstones to help guide gift decisions and plan anniversary celebrations. In addition to gifts, modern couples celebrate anniversaries with such things as dinner, a night out, and even a romantic getaway or a second honeymoon.

Finding the right anniversary gift

For generations, traditional, symbolic gift suggestions have guided us in finding meaningful, significant, and appropriate ways to celebrate. The popular traditional and modern anniversary gift lists help us find special meaning in each anniversary year, making the occasion even more exceptional and memorable.

However, finding the right gift for your spouse (or another couple) can sometimes be a challenge, especially if you’re trying to follow the traditional gift suggestions. Lace (the traditional gift for the 13th anniversary year) might have been a popular gift at some point, but today it’s not as common. The same goes for ivory (the theme for 14th year anniversary gifts), which is no longer an ethical gift option and can be a bit tricky.

Luckily, each anniversary year offers several different options, including modern gifts, jewelry, and gemstones, flowers and even colors that can help you tie in your present to the corresponding year.

Anniversary gift ideas for every year

To help you quickly find what the different symbolic gifts and themes are for each anniversary year — and to offer some unique gift suggestions — we’ve put together a comprehensive anniversary gift guide that includes a section for each year, one through 60.

Here is what you will find in this comprehensive guide:

• Full list of the traditional anniversary gifts: A complete list of traditional gifts, which exist for years one through 15, then every five years; anniversary themes fill in the years in between.
• Full list of modern anniversary gifts: A comprehensive list of all modern gifts.
• Full list of anniversary themes: These themes fill in the blanks for years without a traditional gift suggestion.
• Full list of anniversary colors: Find colors that tie into the overall theme of the anniversary to help you plan the celebration and gifts.
• Full list of anniversary flowers: Flowers are a natural anniversary gift, and this list includes suggestions for each year.
• Full list of anniversary jewelry: Jewelry lovers will appreciate the complete list of anniversary jewelry suggestions for both men and women.

In short, you’re getting every gift idea, symbol, and meaning of each wedding anniversary. The colors, flowers, jewelry, and gift themes that represent each anniversary year will help you plan the perfect gift or celebration.

And if you’re looking for specific gift suggestions, keep reading to find unique gift ideas for him, her, and another couple, including some great ways to celebrate big milestone anniversaries. You will also learn what the specific materials associated with the different anniversary years symbolize. For example, paper (first anniversary) symbolizes new beginnings and the fragility of a new relationship, while diamonds (60th anniversary) symbolize strength, affection, and undying, eternal love.

Anniversary gift ideas by year

Table notes

As noted above, the different anniversary lists aren’t complete and don’t offer suggestions for every year. In order to create a more complete list, we offer suggestions for items that are missing that tie into the overall anniversary theme or other gift suggestions.

• The 18th anniversary does not have a specific flower associated with it. Because the theme for this year is so practical, our suggested 18th anniversary year flower is cacti.
• The 22nd anniversary does not have a specific flower. Our recommendation is pothos, which thrives when grown in water (water is the 22nd anniversary year theme).
• The 23rd anniversary does not have a flower specified. However, the choice was obvious, since the theme for the 23rd year is air: The 23rd year flower choice is air plants.
• The 26th anniversary year color suggestions come from the jewelry and flowers tied to this year, which include jade green and rose pink.
• The 27th anniversary color recommendations are black and gold, derived from the jewelry and flowers for that year.
• The 29th anniversary color ties into the flower and jewelry recommendations for the year. We suggest deep red or pink.

Finding the perfect anniversary presents

The traditional anniversary gifts and their symbolic meanings are listed for years one through 15. After that, only milestone anniversaries occurring every five years have traditional symbols and meanings. However, the years in between are recognized with an anniversary theme and a modern gift, so you still have plenty of gift options and great ways to celebrate.

As you’ll notice, the traditional gifts tend to increase in value and substance along with the years, from common paper and cotton all the way to emeralds and diamonds. The modern gift suggestions tend to be more practical (clocks, appliances, silverware, etc) and some might be a bit outdated (such as desk sets, bone china, or silver holloware), but you can always take the general idea and just run with it.

The important thing is to find something that’s personal, intimate, and tailored specifically to the individual or couple. With that in mind, use our gift suggestions as a starting point to create the perfect personalized anniversary gifts to make each wedding anniversary a day to remember.