It’s that time of year again. Not only is summer a popular wedding season, but obviously, anniversaries as well. So what are the appropriate gifts for a 5^th wedding anniversary? Or a 20^th wedding anniversary? How far does it go? Is there a traditional 75^th wedding anniversary gift (other than hearing aids made for two)?

Regardless of the number of years, choosing the right anniversary gift is critical. (I gave my friend and her husband a set of knives for their wedding, which she still attributes to their divorce a year later. I attribute it to their utter lack of compatibility, but let’s not split hairs, shall we?)

Here’s an anniversary chart with both traditional and non-traditional gift ideas:

YEAR           TRADITIONAL GIFTS             MODERN GIFTS

1                   Paper                                          Clock
2                    Cotton                                        Porcelain
3                    Leather                                      Crystal, Glass
4                    Flowers                                     Electric Appliances
5                    Wood                                        Silverware
6                    Candy, Iron                               Wood
7                    Wool, Copper                           Linen Chest
8                     Bronze, Pottery                       Lace
9                     Pottery, Willow                        Leather
10                   White Steel, Aluminum           Diamond Jewels
11                   Steel                                        Fashion Jewels
12                   Silk, Linen                                Pearls
13                   Lace                                        Fur, Fabric
14                    Ivory                                       Gold Jewels
15                   Crystal                                    Watch
20                   Porcelain                                Platinum
25                   Silver                                      Silver
30                   Pearl                                      Pearls
35                   Coral                                      Jade
40                    Ruby                                     Ruby
45                    Sapphire                               Sapphire
50                    Gold                                      Gold
55                    Emerald                                Emerald
60 or more      Diamond                               Diamond

So it looks like if you’ve made it to your 60^th anniversary, it’s diamonds from that point forward. Nice.

If you make it to your 10^th wedding anniversary, you get ripped off a bit. (How many couples received aluminum foil as a joke? I’d give it).

Your 6^th wedding anniversary, you may receive everything from candy to…wood. Interesting range. And the 9^th anniversary…let’s not touch that one. Though if I had a 9^th wedding anniversary party, I would insist that all gifts were either pottery, willow or leather or they weren’t allowed in. And secretly, I’d consider the ones who brought willow to be the most creative and best friends.

If you have an anniversary coming up or know a couple who does, start the day off with a smile with a free anniversary for a couple ecard from our vast collection. Then start wrapping up that lovely gift (for your friends’ 35^th anniversary).

Hre is an image from our popular Terriers in Paris Anniversary ecard. What anniversary gets a trip to Paris?

Here is a video of a really sweet older couple celebrating their 75^th wedding anniversary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt5ClBgcn2I

If that wasn’t good enough, here’s another couple celebrating their  80^th wedding anniversary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pkW-XYhS5Q&feature=related. Holy cow. (“A gallon of gas was just a dime.” Indeed.)