The New Anniversary Gift List

Remember the days when people consulted a list to help them find anniversary gifts for their married friends and family members? And if you were married, you had a pretty good idea of what was coming, so you did not have to worry about purchasing household necessities yourself. Well, those days are still here – sort of – as there is a modern anniversary gift list. However, you won’t find paper and cotton on the new list like you did on the old, and no one wants iron or pottery anymore.

Our society is more affluent, and the new anniversary gift list reflects that. Besides, with the divorce rate climbing, the accomplishment of staying together even for ten years now warrants diamond jewelry (although the diamonds are probably not very big). Here is the new list, along with some reminders of how it used to be in a simpler, and poorer, time.

AnniversaryNew Old
1st Clock Paper
2nd China Cotton
3rd Crystal or Glass Leather
4th Small Appliances Fruit or Flowers
5th Silverware Wood (firewood or furniture)
6th Wood (figures or antiques) Candy or Iron
7th Desk Sets Wool or Copper
8th Linens Bronze or Pottery
9th Leather Willow
10th Diamond Jewelry Tin or Aluminum
11th Fashion Jewelry Steel
12th Pearls Silk or Linen
13th Textiles or Furs Lace
14th Gold Jewelry Ivory
15th Watches (often matching) Crystal
20th Platinum China
25th Silver Silver
30th Diamond Pearl
35th Jade Coral
40th Ruby Ruby
45th Sapphire Sapphire
50th Gold Gold
55th Emerald Emerald
60th Diamond Diamond

Decades ago, the first few anniversaries were times for the couple to receive items that were considered useful for stocking a house and starting out in life. Our society starts out with so much more, and the luxuries that we expect have resulted in more expensive gifts, earlier in the marriage. Notice how many times diamond shows up? Three times. Perhaps it means that you get a bigger diamond each time.

Of course, there is no need to choose your gifts according to a list. Few people do so anymore. They are helpful for sparking ideas, though. But, in the end, what you really need to do is to find something that expresses your admiration for the couple, and that is a heartfelt expression of how much you care. It doesn’t have to be gold or gems, but it should come from the heart.