Anniversary Gift for Him

Soon it’s going to be my 20^th wedding anniversary and just as in the lyrics of Green Day’s When September Ends, “20 years have gone so fast”. I really can’t understand where the time has gone. I found a wonderful anniversary card with very fitting comments about him hogging the TV remote and falling asleep in front of the TV, pinching all of the duvet and snoring, but still loving him. But when it comes to buying him a gift for the big day, I’m having a bit of trouble choosing something.

He hates sports, so anything related to that is out. He’s an absolute book-worm, but if I buy something I know he likes, he’s likely to have already read it, and the same goes for DVDs. I like nice cufflinks or aftershave, I love Kouros, Fahrenheit or Obsession, but I think that’s just a woman’s way of trying to buy jewellery and perfume for a man! We have four children, so romantic breaks are difficult to arrange. He loves gadgets, but already has most of them. I did find a nice retro twist to the iPhone though, with a great plug in retro handset, which made me feel all nostalgic. It doesn’t feel very romantic though.

The traditional gift is to buy something made from China or ceramic. I can think of lots of things that might be suitable for a wife, such as a nice vase, tea set, dinner set, cake-stand, photograph frame, but none seem quite right for a husband. I thought of a ceramic wine cooler, but I have to be honest and say that there are some really great wine coolers out there that are not ceramic, I might get one of those and break the traditional gift idea. But I like the idea of a wine aerator too! What to choose?

I might try to think of something really witty or maybe find a wedding photograph of us to put on a mug. The local gift shop has lots of funny slogans on mugs about gardening, or waking up grumpy, but I want something more personal, that is affectionate but also funny, without being offensive. I’ve already bought a bottle of champagne and some personalized chocolate truffles, all fabulously iced with “Happy 20^th Wedding Anniversary” (he’s going to have to share both of those with me!) Maybe I’ll get a gourmet hamper with lots of yummy food for us to eat. Or perhaps I could get a bottle of vintage wine from 1992?

I’m trying to think back to 1992, the year that we married. It was the year that Prince Charles and Lady Diana separated. Perhaps I could get a newspaper from that year that has all the stories in the news from that year. Or maybe I could get a film or some music that we listened to then, I remember that we went to see “The Bodyguard” and watched Whitney Houston singing ‘I will always love you”; 1992 was the year that she married Bobby Brown. It was the year that Madness released “It must be love”; we both love ska music and had a ska band to perform after the wedding - both songs fit well with our wedding anniversary celebrations.

Neither of us can really remember how he actually proposed to me, which is something he regrets, it just seemed to happen. What I do remember is that we had arranged for my parents to come and stay with us for the weekend, and he wanted to do the traditional thing and ask my father for my hand in marriage. We took Friday afternoon off work and spent the day in Hatton Gardens choosing an engagement ring. I remember going in all the jewellery shops and feeling so special. He took me away for a few days as surprise engagement present and we went to Berlin. The most amazing thing was that at the time this was happening, the Berlin Wall came down and there was a huge turning point in the whole political situation in the Eastern Block. We joined in all the celebrations as people hammered away at that huge chunk of concrete that had divided the country and its people for so long.

Maybe I should get something for the bedroom!! I love the pillowcases that have romantic cartoons on (even if they seem more suitable for the second anniversary which is cotton).

Perhaps I should get a love seat for the garden? I should have got that for our fifth when the traditional gift is made of wood.

But there is one thing that we really need, especially having four wonderful children. It’s not a bigger car, or a trampoline for the garden, or anything like that. It’s quite simple; just some time alone together. That’s what I’ve decided. A quick call to his parents, ask them to look after the children for a day, who will all love their grandparents doting on them and we’ll have some uninterrupted conversations and a relaxing walk around a nearby town or city and choose a nice restaurant for a good evening meal. We had the most fantastic honeymoon in Singapore and Malaysia, perhaps we can find a nice Malaysian restaurant and pretend we’re twenty years younger!

If you have a wedding anniversary gift to choose, below is a list of the traditional gifts that people like to give, according to the number of years the couple have been married. Or you could just offer to babysit for them!

1st Paper

2nd Cotton

3rd Leather

4th Fruit, flowers

5th Wood

6th Sugar

7th Copper, wool

8th Bronze, pottery

9th Pottery, willow

10th Tin

11th Steel

12th Silk, linen

13th Lace

14th Ivory

15th Crystal

20th China

25th Silver

30th Pearl

35th Coral

40th Ruby

45th Sapphire

50th Gold

55th Emerald

60th Diamond

65^th Sapphire

70^th Platinum