People have always had problems picking out gifts to give each other (or friends and relatives) for wedding anniversaries. At least, it would seem so considering the rather detailed lists that have existed for centuries all over the world to help puzzled gift-givers in their annual purchases. And while there have been attempts to create “modern” lists, they still always seem to be a little out of touch.
That is, until now.
We at GeekDad have taken it upon ourselves to build a new list of wedding anniversary gifts for each year, using the “traditional” and “modern” lists shown at Wikipedia and About.com. While we’ve tried to stay true to the spirit of the “legacy” gift suggestions, we’ve tried hard to put a truly geeky, and in some cases futuristic, spin on them.
| Year | Traditional | Modern | Geek |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper | Clocks | Digital Media Downloads |
| 2nd | Cotton | China | MMORPG Gold/Currency |
| 3rd | Leather | Crystal, Glass | Geeky t-shirts |
| 4th | Linen, Silk | Appliances (electrical) | Comic Books |
| 5th | Wood | Silverware | Smartphone |
| 6th | Iron | Wood objects | Board Game |
| 7th | Wool, Copper | Desk sets/Pen & Pencil sets | Tablet Stylus |
| 8th | Bronze | Linens, Lace | Gaming Dice |
| 9th | Pottery, China | Leather goods | Gear Bag |
| 10th | Tin, Aluminum | Diamond jewelry | Tablet Computer |
| 11th | Steel | Fashion jewelry, accessories | Headphones/Portable Speakers |
| 12th | Silk | Pearls, Colored gems | Dedicated Offsite Data Back-up |
| 13th | Lace | Textiles, Furs | LEGO |
| 14th | Ivory | Gold jewelry | Bluetooth Speaker |
| 15th | Crystal | Watches | Laptop |
| 16th | Tourmaline | Silver Holloware | Technical Tools (computer repair, electronics, wiring) |
| 17th | Furniture | Gaming Console/Accessories | |
| 18th | Turquoise | Porcelain | See a Space Launch |
| 19th | Aquamarine | Bronze | Authentic Movie/TV Props |
| 20th | China | Platinum | 4K HDTV |
| 21st | Brass, Nickel | Attend a Major Genre Convention | |
| 22nd | Copper | Home Media Server | |
| 23rd | Silver plate | Drone | |
| 24th | Opal | Musical Instruments | Virtual Instruments/Sequencers |
| 25th | Silver | Silver | Desktop Computer |
| 30th | Pearl | Diamond | Geeky Adventure Travel (Vomit Comet, Arecibo) |
| 35th | Coral, Jade | Jade | Home Hardwired for Gigabit Ethernet |
| 40th | Ruby | Ruby | Off-Grid Utilities |
| 42nd | Improved Real Estate | Towels | |
| 45th | Sapphire | Sapphire | Blue Lasers |
| 50th | Gold | Gold | Near-Earth Space Tourism (Virgin Galactic, Russian Space Program) |
| 55th | Emerald | Emerald | Virtual Reality Gear |
| 60th | Diamond (Yellow) | Diamond | Bionics/Implanted Computing |
| 65th | Star Sapphire (Gray) | Medical Rejuvenation | |
| 70th | Temporal Correction (Fix a Past Indiscretion) | ||
| 75th | Diamond, Gold | Diamond, Gold | Intergalactic Travel |
| 80th | Oak | Diamond, Pearl | Eternal Life (Ascension to Higher Plane, Brain Transplant to Younger Clone) |
[And yes, the LEGO Rings are available at Shannon Conrad’s (aka rubygirl) Etsy site.]
I love the 42nd anniversary one. Not only because towels are a humorous contrast to improved real estate but they help you prepare for your 75th anniversary.