Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gifts: 15th Through The 75th year

If you are one of the couples who are still together after 15, 20 or even up to 75 years of marriage then you are considered a rare breed in this day and time. As I mentioned in my previous hub “Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gifts: The First Ten Years”, statistically speaking only 1 out of every 2 marriages survive after couples tied the knot. Again the ones that do last have a lot to be thankful for considering the odds of staying together, consequently, the couple traditionally will give each other some form of gift to honor their commitment of staying together. Again is a list of suggested, traditional gifts for the 15^th, 20^th, 25^th, 30^th, 40^th, 50^th and 75^th year of he marriage. Also I skipped years 11 through 14 and the years between the decades since they are not really celebrated as milestone years but they are still counted as important years in the marriage.

After more than 10 years of marriage, most of the challenges you faced in the first ten years are pretty much behind you and now you are able to relax a little and concentrate on the other aspects of life such as job promotions, community involvement, second honeymoon, retirement, etc.

See link below for anniversary gifts for first 10 years.

Traditionally, the couple will give each other a gift made of crystal. Men the obvious gift to give her is a personalized crystal clock. There are many choices here, such as crystal figurines, crystal flowers, or crystal jewelry. You should not have any problem founding gifts for this anniversary. Women you can give him a crystal rock collection or a designer watch. For this anniversary the flower is the “Rose”.

China is the gift for this year. Men you can give her anything such as china made by Oneida, porcelain roses, vases, ceramic figurines or even a planned trip to China. The flower of choice for the twentieth year is a “Day Lily”. Women you can give him such things as a personalized mug, or a porcelain chess set.

The twenty-fifth year of marriage is a very significant milestone. You as a couple have been married a quarter of century. If you had your children early they are either out of the house or on their way out and probably starting their own wedding plans. By this time men you are at the top of your career and should be able to spend more for her gifts since you probably received a several promotions over the years. This time the gift is silver. You can buy a rose preserved in silver, birthstone in silver jewelry, silver jewelry, silver earrings and silver necklaces. Men the list goes on.  The twenty-fifth year flower is the “Iris”. Women the obvious choices of silver gifts for men are watches, cuff links, bracelets, or a necklace collection of the NFL team helmets.

The end of third decade of your marriage is the next significant milestone after your 25^th anniversary. The pearl is the traditional gift of choice for this year. Pearl seems to be the appropriate gift for this year since we all know it takes many years for a grain of sand in an oyster to be coated over and over to become a pearl. Men you can found a lot of gifts for this year to give her such as necklace pendants, earrings, rings, or a pearl in a crystal shell. The flower of choice for the thirtieth year is a “Sweet Pea”. Women you can give him such things as a tie tack, or a cuff links with an embedded pearl.

Ruby is the gift for this year. Men you can give her anything with the Ruby stone embedded in it such as a neck pendant, bracelets, rings, and earrings. Men you can also plan a trip for her to a ruby mine located in countries such as Myanmar (formerly Burma), Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam, Kenya, and Madagascar. In the United States you can found a mine in the state of North Carolina. The flower of choice for the fortieth year is a “Nasturtium”. Women you can give him cuff links and tie tacks with a ruby stone embedded in it. 

The fiftieth year is a big one since you as a couple has been married a half century. Your marriage is now in the final stage of maturity, the children are gone, you are now an empty nester and your marriage reminds you of how things were when you were 50 years younger, just the two of you.  Gift giving for this anniversary is easy because you can find many things to give each other made of gold. Men you can go wild with this one. Men you can give gold plated roses, gold jewelry, and watches. You can give her a personalized gold anniversary plate or give her a picture of the wedding in a gold picture frame. The flower of choice for the fiftieth year is a “Violet”. Women you have a long list of gifts you can give him such as gold tie tack, gold cuff links, gold rings, gold bracelets or a gold watch.

The Seventy-fifth Year

The seventy-fifth year is a rare milestone for wedding anniversaries. Unfortunately, many couples do not make it to this milestone. But the ones who do make it deserve the biggest celebration in their marriage next to getting married. The obvious choice of gift here is the diamond, the hardest known substance on earth. If your marriage can survive the test of time for 75 years it is harder than diamond and the couple that stays together this long definitely deserves a diamond from each other. The range of gifts at this point is very wide and flexible. Both the man and woman can give each other gifts with embedded diamonds such bracelets, rings, and necklaces for her and tie tacks, bracelets and cuff links for him.

Sometimes your children and other relatives may surprise you with a party at an expensive hall with all the food, gifts, and relatives present to help you celebrate this momentous occasion that only a few couples are lucky to reach and when the celebration is over the lucky couple can look back and said we were one of those rare “perfect couple”.