Anniversary gifts by year

Anniversary gifts by year, 1 to 60: traditional and modern materials, plus personalized gifts that really are paper, cotton-blend, wood or aluminum.

Every wedding anniversary has a material attached to it, from paper in the first year to diamond at sixty. Below is the full chart of traditional and modern gifts, followed by the short list of years where something we make really is made of that year's material, and a plain note on the years where nothing we make fits.

Anniversary gifts by year: the chart

The traditional column is usually traced to Emily Post's 1922 etiquette book, which named only a few years, and to a longer list that the American National Retail Jewelers Association put out in 1937. The modern column arrived later and still differs from one source to the next, so a list that disagrees with this one by a year is not necessarily wrong. British lists often give sugar for the sixth, and some give linen or silk for the fourth. Ivory, on the fourteenth, now means the color rather than the material.

The fifteenth, the twentieth and the thirtieth

The fifteenth is one of the most looked-up years, because crystal is the traditional gift and watches the modern one, and both are easy to spend a lot on. The twentieth pairs china with platinum, and the thirtieth pairs pearl with diamond. Those are jeweler and tableware years: we have nothing made of crystal, china, platinum or pearl, so for them the chart is information only. What many couples add at these points is a record of the years so far, such as a family photo with the children's names under it, which costs less than the traditional piece and is the part that gets kept on the wall.

How couples actually use the chart

• As a prompt, not a rule. Most couples treat the material as a theme for the gift. Something that only nods at the year is fine if it is personal.
• Milestones get the family involved. The tenth, twenty-fifth and fiftieth are often marked by children and friends as well as the couple, so one larger shared gift tends to work better than several small ones.
• The in-between years are for the two of you. Years three, seven or eleven rarely come with a party. A small thing with both names and the date is enough.

What we make that fits

We print and engrave personalized gifts. We only match a year below when the material named in the chart is the material in the product. Where it is not, we say so.

1st anniversary, paper. The family name framed print is printed on a heavy 189 g/m² enhanced matte paper and set behind an acrylic front in a black ayous wood frame. For year one, put the shared surname on top, both first names in the middle and the wedding year underneath: "Rivera" / "Sam · Jordan" / "2025". If you would rather frame the wedding photo, the framed photo print uses the same matte paper with a caption under the picture, for example "One year married" over "June 14, 2025 · Santa Fe".

2nd anniversary, cotton. The family name photo canvas is printed on poly-cotton canvas: a cotton-blend fabric, not pure cotton, stretched over 1.25 in wooden bars so it hangs without a frame. Pair a wedding or honeymoon photo with "The Riveras" and a second line such as "Married 2024 · two years". Sizes run from 10 x 10 to 16 x 24 in.

5th anniversary, wood. The personalized cutting board is hardwood (a 6 x 9 in maple board, or a smaller hardwood oval or paddle) and it is laser engraved, the only engraved piece in our range. The monogram design suits a fifth: "Dana & Chris" on the main line and "Married May 2021" below it. Our engraving partner makes each one to order, and the delivery time is confirmed when you place the order. It will be used, which is the point of a wood gift.

10th anniversary, tin or aluminum. Our metal gifts are aluminum, which the chart lists beside tin for the tenth; none of them is tin. More ideas are on our tin anniversary gifts page.

25th anniversary, silver. Nothing we sell contains silver, and we do not yet offer a silver-colored design. For the twenty-fifth we suggest the story instead of the metal: the wedding year on a family name print, or a then-and-now photo. Our silver anniversary gifts page collects those.

50th anniversary, gold. We do not sell gold or gold-plated gifts either. Two designs do carry gold-colored detail: the family name framed print sets "The", "Family" and the established year in a gold-colored ink, and the Married design on the metal ornament has a gold-toned ring motif. For a fiftieth, the print might read "Hughes" / "Ruth · Walter" / "1976". See 50th wedding anniversary gifts for presents the whole family can give together.

The years we cannot match

Iron (6th), copper (7th), bronze (8th), crystal (15th) and china (20th) appear in the chart for reference only. None of our products is made of iron, copper, bronze, crystal or china, and our ceramic pieces are not china, so we do not list them for those years. The same goes for leather, wool, pottery, silk, lace, pearl and ruby. For those anniversaries, buy the traditional piece from a specialist and, if you want a personal touch, add a small printed keepsake with the names and the date from our gifts for couples.

Wording for any anniversary

• Both first names joined with "&" or a middle dot, then the wedding date: short lines print larger.
• "Est." and the wedding year under the surname, for prints, canvases and the board.
• The place you married, if it means something: a town, a chapel, a beach.
• Avoid counting the years in the main line if the gift should still look right next year; put the count in the second line instead.

Ordering

Everything except the cutting board is printed to order; the board is engraved to order.