When my husband and I were nearing our first wedding anniversary, I wanted to try to follow the traditional anniversary gift recommendations. You know how it goes — first year paper, second year cotton, etc. I wanted to follow these traditions, but I also wanted to add a new twist to it, though, and also give him a number of gifts equal to the number of years we’d been together. In other words, on our tenth anniversary, he would get ten gifts that fit the traditional list. Well, we’ve had four anniversaries so far, and I’ve been able to keep up my tradition every year, with great results.

For the first year, the traditional gift is paper. This one is easier than it sounds because you can choose event tickets or gift certificates. I got my husband one paper gift certificate for a massage.

For the second year, the traditional gift is cotton. This idea lends itself well to clothing, and I knew my husband needed some jeans, so I got him two pairs of cotton jeans.

For the third year, the traditional gift is leather. Another easy one for me, because he needed a new belt. Since it was the third year, I got him three leather belts.

For the fourth year, the traditional gift is fruit or flowers. This one was a little tricky, and I knew he wouldn’t be interested in flowers, so I decided to focus on the fruit aspect. I decided to make him four little boxes of fruit-flavored candy and snacks. The four fruits I selected were cherry, orange, lemon, and strawberry. I started with cute little organizer boxes which could be easily reused, and filled them with a little shredded paper (see my post for how to make your own) in colors to match the fruits. I then stuffed each box with every snack and treat I could find that matched the fruit flavors. From strawberry milk to sour lemon candies to an actual orange to a mini cherry pie. I even split up a package of Starburst candies, which just happened to match my fruit selection exactly! Four years, four fruit boxes.

Our fifth anniversary is in a few months, and the traditional gift is wood. He’s always been a big fan of trees and the outdoors, so I plan to get him five birch tree seedlings for the yard as a gift. (Don’t tell him!)

I plan to keep this tradition going every year, although it will require a little more imagination as time goes on. I can see myself getting stuck on, say, our thirtieth anniversary, when he won’t want thirty pearls… so in cases like that (or in years for which there is no traditional gift), I’ll just find thirty of something else. Sure, the number of gifts will get larger and larger, but I think that’s a great way to celebrate an anniversary. When you’re looking at twenty of something, and realize they represent the years you’ve been married, you really appreciate how long you’ve been together!

Here’s a list of the traditional anniversary gifts, for reference:

Year	Traditional gift
First	Paper
Second	Cotton
Third	Leather
Fourth	Fruit or Flowers
Fifth	Wood
Sixth	Candy or Iron
Seventh	Wool or Copper
Eighth	Bronze or Pottery
Ninth	Pottery
Tenth	Tin
Eleventh	Steel
Twelfth	Silk or Linen
Thirteenth	Lace
Fourteenth	Ivory
Fifteenth	Crystal
Twentieth	China
Twenty-fifth	Silver
Thirtieth	Pearls
Thirty-fifth	Coral
Fortieth	Ruby
Forty-Fifth	Sapphire
Fiftieth	Gold
Fifty-Fifth	Emerald
Sixtieth	Diamond