A leather anniversary? Oh the possiblities!

August 31^st my husband and I will be celebrating our 9^th anniversary. And I sit here wondering, what on earth do I get him? What do I ask for?

As with many couples with young families, money is limited, so that trip around the world I want? Yeah, that will have to wait a few years yet. We booth need new windshield wipers, we could buy them for each other but that seems just depressingly practical. So what do you do?

You may not know this but, just like there are a crazy number of traditions to do with getting married, there are specific gifts for the annual celebration of that marriage. Both traditional and modern.

Traditional:

Year	Theme
1	Paper	A card is a cop out here. Anything from concert tickets to a love poem works well for this important milestone. The trick with anniversary one is to make certain the gift means something. A neat option are the notebooks made by www.newleafhandmade.com. Perhaps a love letter written on the first page could start an annual tradition? The first year can be the toughest in a marriage and making it through needs to be celebrated.
2	Cotton	Hmmmm . . . clothes? Bedding? New towels?
3	Leather	I gave my husband a leather jacket as a wedding gift and it would work great for an anniversary gift idea. As would a new watch or wallet or a set of car seat covers. Of course there are a mind boggling array of other leather gift ideas if your relationship goes that way. Me, I’ve got a thing for the boots :D
4	Fruit/Flowers	This is a great gift to be able to send to work. Show you care and let your spouse ‘show off’ that you care.
5	Wood	Get your mind out of the gutter. Not that romance isn't a great anniversary gift. But how about golf clubs? Friends of mine planted a tree, which I thought was a really cool way to celebrate this one.
6	Candy or Iron	Golf clubs count here also. Chocolate is always a winner.
7	Wool or Copper	A sweater is great here, as well as scarves, hats, coats, suits and more. Copper could be jewellery or cookwear. There is some beautiful copper art out there.
8	Bronze	www.findgift.com suggests art work for this one. They have a really cool bronze door knocker as well. Or maybe an engraved family tree.
9	Pottery	I’m big into coffee mugs. A hand crafted mug would be on my wish list for this one. A fruit bowl or other kitchen stuff works great here. For the men it would be harder. Maybe this is why the modern version is leather!
10	Tin/Aluminum	A dozen beer is the first thing that pops into my head on this one! But how about a photo frame or garden ornament? www.findgift.com has some cool monogrammed golf club links – little buttons you put in the top of your clubs. www.tingifts.com has a huge selection of jewellery and things as well.
11	Steel	Watches, cutlery, beer steins, a new toaster. I found a surprising number of gift suggestions when I typed this one in.
12	Silk	The possibilities here are endless. Shirts, ties, suits, dresses, lingerie, fashion scarves. Be careful on quality.
13	Lace	Another that is easy to buy for women but a challenge for men. Unless of course you buy something lacy for her to wear and him to enjoy!
14	Ivory	Real ivory is difficult to come by as most critters that supply it are on the endangered species list. According to www.well-chosen-gift.com there are a couple of alternatives. "Mandarin" ivory, a polyresin commonly known as alabastrite, or "Vegetable" ivory, actually the tagua palm nut of South America. They also suggest the colour ivory would work well for this anniversary and I think that’s an excellent idea.
15	Crystal	Ah, wine glasses, tumblers, liquor decanters, paper weights . . . the list for crystal is as easy to fill as the one for silk.
20	China	After 20 years choosing china together should be easy. It’s likely way past time to replace the everyday kitchenware. And by the time you hit the 20th often your children will be the ones buying your anniversary gifts.
25	Silver	Once you hit these big ones jewellery is the obvious answer. Earrings, neck pieces or watches for her. Watches, cufflinks, pens or tie clips for him.
30	Pearl
35	Coral
40	Ruby
45	Sapphire
50	Gold
55	Emerald
60	Diamond

Modern:

Year	Theme	Gift ideas
1	Clocks	Big or small, desk or wall, there are a ton of clocks out there. Check out www.giftclocks.com for an amazing variety of ideas.
2	China	Every couple needs a decent set of everyday china. If you didn’t receive this for a wedding gift, this is a great time to choose one.
3	Crystal/Glass	Same with glass wear.
4	Appliances	Pretty self explanatory. These don’t have to mean a new fridge and stove. Toasters, blenders and mixers count too. Men, a tip here, check with her BEFORE buying one. Some women get really insulted by this.
5	Silverware	You see, if you use the modern list by your tenth anniversary your house hold is totally set!
6	Wood	There are some very cool wooden gifts out there beyond what we talked about in traditional. www.woodgifts.ca is the outlet for Smiling Frog wood studio and they have BEAUTIFUL suggestions from jewellery boxes to magic wands.
7	Desk Set	There are so many versions of desk sets out there, you can be sure to find something any spouse with a desk would enjoy.
8	Linens/Lace	For her – table clothes, throw pillows, curtains. For him – shirts and suits. Linen textured paper could easily work for this one also.
9	Leather	To add to the list above: leather footstool, a belt, luggage, a duffle bag or a purse. On www.findgift.com they had the coolest antique 1587 map of the world on leather. Of course the boots would be a hit in my house. Or maybe a leather beer holster? Check out http://www.beeroutlaw.com/info-classic.html
10	Diamond jewellery	Pretty self explanatory I think. 10 years is a big deal in a modern marriage. For men think rings, watches and tie clips.
11	Fashion Jewellery	We’ve got a great selection of fashion jewellery in store but some women may be wondering what to get for their man for this one. Well, guess what girls. Guys wear bracelets too! Type ‘fashion jewellery for men’ into your web browser and an amazing selection of sites will pop up. www.askmen.com had a great article on jewellery men can wear and how to wear it.
12	Pearls	A classic pearl necklace for her. A pearl handled revolver for him. ;-) just kidding. But you can get some beautiful pearl inset pens or pocket knives.
13	Textiles or fur	Anything fabric or fur? Yep.
14	Gold Jewellery	Again, these guys pretty much explain themselves.
15	Watch
20	Platinum
25	Silver
30	Diamond
35	Jade
40	Ruby
45	Sapphire
50	Gold
55	Emerald
60	Diamond

I wonder how my dear husband would feel about a leather beer holster?



courtesy of 'beer outlaw. com'



I'm kidding Luv.

Hopefully these ideas have gotten you started on your search to find something thoughtful and special to buy the love of your life. The big rule here is it should remind both of you what an amazing gift you gave each other when you exchanged your vows.

Marriage is so much more then a piece of paper. An anniversary is so much more then an excuse for a present. If nothing else, make certain to take some time for each other to commemorate that special day you pledged your lives to each other.