Anniversary gifts, traditions and love.

It’s no secret that I love, love, and with the traditional wedding season approaching it means that anniversary season is here too.

I genuinely enjoy seeing happy couples together and observing how people relate and form good relationships. I've always wondered what it was that made some couples stay together; living in times when divorce is so freely available, it is a real testament to those couples who make it through the years.

And so, each passing year together should be a cause for celebration and remembrance. A moment to pause and reflect on the time you agreed to marry, plan your wedding and walk down the aisle. I celebrated my wedding anniversary this week and it got me thinking on how others choose to celebrate theirs.

Each year we have bought it each other a present and sometimes stuck to the traditional anniversary gifts by year suggestions. But this year we came up with a new idea. We love to have to have original artwork in our home, but rarely find time to buy it or justification for the expense. For this anniversary, we bought an oil painting of the place in Central Park where we got married and we thought, why not buy a piece of artwork every year on our anniversary. We can look it all year and remember our day and fill our house with beautiful pieces.

A friend of mine also added to this idea, suggesting that we each place a note behind every painting noting which anniversary it was and writing to each other about what was going on at the time or a special message to one another. Of course I loved this idea and so there it is, a new way of celebrating our anniversary is born. That is until ten years from now when our house is full of art and the kids are grown and we can go away on a trip each year instead.

I love to hear how other people celebrate their anniversaries, a friend of mine goes back to the same hotel that they had their wedding reception each year to have dinner and spend the night which is a really special experience for them. Others I know choose a different restaurant each year and some stick to the traditional anniversary gift by year system. One couple I know say that they will not buy each other gifts for Valentine’s Day or anniversaries, their reasoning being, why wait until that one day a year to treat your spouse? You can buy them something nice all throughout the year. How do you celebrate yours? Let me know by commenting below or send me message I love to hear new ways to spread the love.

Just in case you’re wondering. Here are the anniversary gifts by year, according to Hallmark:-

1st Anniversary: Paper

2nd Anniversary: Cotton

3rd Anniversary: Leather

4th Anniversary: Fruit or Flowers

5th Anniversary: Wood

6th Anniversary: Candy or Iron

7th Anniversary: Wool or Copper

8th Anniversary: Pottery or Bronze

9th Anniversary: Willow or Pottery

10th Anniversary: Tin or Aluminum

11th Anniversary: Steel

12th Anniversary: Silk or Linen

13th Anniversary: Lace

14th Anniversary: Gold Jewelry

15th Anniversary: Crystal

16th Anniversary: Coffee or Tea

17th Anniversary: Wine or Spirits

18th Anniversary: Appliances

19th Anniversary: Jade

20th Anniversary: China

21st Anniversary: Fire (theme)

22nd Anniversary: Water (theme)

23rd Anniversary: Air (theme)

24th Anniversary: Stone (theme)

25th Anniversary: Silver

26th Anniversary: Art

27th Anniversary: Music

28th Anniversary: Linens

29th Anniversary: Tools

30th Anniversary: Pearls

31st Anniversary: Travel

32nd Anniversary: Bronze

33rd Anniversary: Iron

34th Anniversary: Food

35th Anniversary: Coral

36th Anniversary: Antiques

37th Anniversary: Books

38th Anniversary: Luck (theme)

39th Anniversary: Laughter (theme)

40th Anniversary: Ruby

41st Anniversary: Office or Desk Decor

42nd Anniversary: Clocks or Watches

43rd Anniversary: Entertainment (theme)

44rd Anniversary: Electronics (theme)

45th Anniversary: Sapphire

46th Anniversary: Games

47th Anniversary: Garden or Plants

48th Anniversary: Home Improvement (theme)

49th Anniversary: Copper

50th Anniversary: Gold

51st Anniversary: Photos or Cameras

52nd Anniversary: Bath or Spa (theme)

53rd Anniversary: Plastic

54th Anniversary: Glass

55th Anniversary: Emerald

56th Anniversary: Day (theme)

57th Anniversary: Night (theme)

58th Anniversary: Faith and Hope (theme)

59th Anniversary: Charity (theme)

60th Anniversary: Diamond