Celebrate Your 24th Wedding Anniversary

Congratulations on the celebration of your 24th wedding anniversary! You and your spouse are right on the cusp of a quarter of a century together and, to me, that is certainly something worth celebrating! For those who like to use the traditional gifts and symbols for year to year, here is a breakdown for the 24th anniversary:

• Traditional Gift: there are no traditional gifts associated with the 24th wedding anniversary
• Modern Gift: musical instruments or musical instrument theme
• Flowers: there are no flowers associated with the 24th wedding anniversary
• Gemstone: Tanzanite

Like many other wedding anniversary traditions and symbols lists, there is a lot of room for improvising and flexibility for this wedding anniversary in terms of ideas, celebrations, and gift exchanges. So, put your creative thinking cap on and start planning! Because there are no traditional gifts or flowers associated with the 24th wedding anniversary, consider the following:

1. Present your spouse with gifts focusing on the number 24. Offer to pamper your spouse for 24 hours straight with 24 coupons, 24 favors, or 24 other requests they may have. Present your spouse with 24 of their favorite flowers; give them 24 pieces of wrapped candy, or 24 unexpected things (serving them dinner, doing a chore without being asked, etc.) 24 times in a row! There’s a lot of room to have fun with this anniversary idea.
2. Create a different anniversary card to present to your spouse 24 days leading to your 24th wedding anniversary. Make some up using create and print designs, send e-cards, and use store bought cards in various days to keep your spouse guessing and surprised. Place these cards (aside from the e-cards, of course) in unusual places so that your spouse will have an unexpected surprise when they reach into their brief case, open the refrigerator door, or get something from the trunk of their vehicle.
3. Give your spouse 24 rolls of 24 exposure film, and tell them that the two of you are going to spend until your 25th wedding anniversary taking pictures and filling photo albums during 24 unique adventures throughout the year!

If you and your spouse to go with the modern gift and gemstone suggestions for this anniversary, consider an anniversary gift of jewelry for the tanzanite, or a musical note. You could also compile a CD or songs that remind you of the relationship the two of you share, or compile a book of sheet music and song lyrics for these such songs. This type of anniversary gift will take some time and research, so be sure to start planning well in advance.

However you choose to celebrate your 24th wedding anniversary, be it simple or involved, be sure to place focus solely on what you and your spouse want to do or are interested – rather than focusing on the needs and wants (or expectations) of others. That is not always an easy thing to do, but it is not impossible! Have fun!

How did you celebrate your 24th wedding anniversary? Did you go all out, or did you and your spouse prefer to keep things simple?

Hollywood Anniversary Party Theme

If you are looking to add some sparkle and pizzazz to your anniversary party celebration, consider using a Hollywood theme. Not only will you and your spouse’s anniversary idea stand out, but also it’s a lot of fun to plan and follow-through with! Go all out when it comes to your anniversary party’s invitations, decorations, and food. Here are some ideas to consider when putting together your plans for this anniversary party:

STEP #1: The first thing you’re going to want to do is figure out the specifics of your Hollywood theme. There are many angles this type of anniversary party can take. To get started, ask yourself some of the following questions:

1. Do you want to have a “film awards” type anniversary party?
2. Are you going to throw a costume party where everyone shows up dressed as their favorite Hollywood star or producer?
3. Do you want to throw an anniversary party similar to a “Golden Globe Awards” after party?
4. Have you thought about a Hollywood themed anniversary party where only films from a certain era are showcased?

STEP #2: Now that you’ve nailed down what type of angle you’d like this Hollywood themed anniversary party will take, you’ve got to figure out how you’re going to decorate. Here are some suggestions:

• Hang glitter and white strands of Christmas lights so they drape over window treatments, hang from the ceiling, and frame entryways. If you’re not renting a venue, and you’re decorating your own home for this anniversary party, then use every opportunity you can find to add lighting. There’s no such thing as too many twinkle lights when it comes to a Hollywood anniversary party!
• Hang iridescent, silver, and gold stars (in as many sizes as you can find at a party store, or online) from strands of lights, garland, and from the ceiling.
• Place bunches of helium filled balloons in the corners of rooms suspended from faux film awards or popcorn boxes. Choose balloons in the same colors as the stars.
• Roll out a red carpet from your front door, down the stairway, and on to the pathway leading to your home (if possible). If this isn’t possible, have a red carpet runway in your living room, or leading to the room where the party will be held.
• Send out anniversary invitations that look like movie tickets, or that contain a photo depicting your Hollywood theme!

STEP #3: Now that the details of the party are settled, you have to decide what type of anniversary gift and anniversary card you’re going to give to your spouse for this wedding anniversary.

1. Do you want to present your spouse with an anniversary gift that is within the same theme as this anniversary party? If so, then consider finding an anniversary card that is also following this theme.
2. Would you prefer to give an anniversary gift to your spouse during a private moment together, either before or after your anniversary party? If so, consider choosing a card that is fitting with the type of gift you intend to give your spouse (humorous, romantic, etc.).

The whole point of this type of anniversary idea is to go all out and have fun! Because there is so much glitz and glamour involved, you’re going to have to plan for this anniversary party well in advance in terms of budget and party supply gathering. Have fun!!

Celebrate Your 23rd Anniversary

Congratulations on the celebration of your 23rd anniversary! Now, considering this is an odd-numbered year, why not consider some “odd” anniversary idea celebrations? This could put a fun twist on an anniversary that already doesn’t have a lot associated with it in terms of symbols and traditions:

• Traditional gift: there are no traditional gifts associated with the 23rd wedding anniversary
• Modern gift: Silver plated item
• Flowers: there are no flowers associated with the 23rd wedding anniversary
• Gemstone: Imperial topaz

Let’s talk about some “odd” anniversary gift and celebration ideas for your 23rd wedding anniversary:

1. Present your spouse with 23 pieces of their favorite candy with an anniversary card that depicts how sweet you think the relationship the two of you share is. You could also change this up to be 23 other small gifts that place emphasis on the relationship you share, or your spouse’s specific interests.
2. Choose an anniversary card for each of the 23 days leading up to your anniversary, but make them vary between sappy and humorous cards so they’re always unexpected. Choose e-cards, create and print cards, and store-bought cards to keep the variety going.
3. Make a memory book containing “odd” things like 23 pictures of the front of your home over a period of 23 days (or 23 weeks depending on how far in advance you’re planning this anniversary gift), 23 wrappers from favorite foods and/or treats, 23 to do lists your spouse typically writes out for you (honey-do lists), and things of that nature. This type of gift is meant to reflect upon the “real” life the two of you share together and how, even though it’s a meaningful relationship, it can be filled with some odd things from time to time.
4. Depending on your budget, buy 23 tickets to events you and your spouse can attend throughout the year leading up to your 24th anniversary. This anniversary idea requires a lot of advanced planning, research, and help from friends and/or family members if you need help purchasing tickets that are not available in your area or on the Internet.
5. Invite 23 friends and/or family members over for a party! Depending on your budget and the space available, consider inviting 23 couples or 23 families to join you for this celebration. Serve a buffet consisting of 23 different foods ranging from appetizers to desserts. Include information about the type of party you are having, how many family members are welcome to attend, etc. on the anniversary invitation.

Have fun thinking outside the box with this anniversary celebration. Other ideas include presenting your spouse with a single stem of their favorite flower for 23 days leading to your wedding anniversary, renting 23 videos for 23 nights leading to your wedding anniversary, making up 23 coupons consisting of unexpected favors (or chores you hate to do) to present to your spouse with your anniversary gift, and so on.

How do you plan to celebrate, or how did you celebrate your 23rd wedding anniversary? Did you choose odd things, or was it something completely different?

New Parent’s Guide to Anniversary Celebration

Your anniversary is right around the corner and, in addition to that, you’re learning how to be new parents to the welcomed addition to your family. How in the world are you going to pull off an anniversary celebration in addition to the baby showers, birth announcements, and the general “settling in process” you’ve already been through?

It’s normal to feel like letting this anniversary slip by without any mention at all because, let’s face it; you’re tired! However, why not make this a milestone anniversary celebration to create keepsakes from to enjoy years in the future? You are, after all, celebrating your first anniversary as new parents! If that isn’t worth celebrating during your years of marriage, I don’t know what is!

Here are some ideas:

Anniversary card idea: give your spouse a card that is customized with a photoghraph of the three of you together, or one that is created using specialized verse or poetry. You may have a difficult time finding a pre-designed card focusing on the fact that this is your first wedding anniversary as new parents, so creating one yourself might be the best option.

Anniversary gift idea: there are so many ways to mark this occasion through customized gifts. Here are some to take into consideration:

• Customized wine bottle or address labels using photography from your wedding or of the three of you together.
• Jewelry featuring family pendants, birthstones, or family names.
• Afghans or throw blankets featuring your family tree, a poetry about being a new family, your wedding date coupled with the birth date of your new baby, or a photograph that is meaningful to you and your spouse.
• Newspapers from your wedding date, as well as from your baby’s birth date encased in memory books or vinyl sleeves.
• Picture collages with your wedding photos and the hospital photos (or homecoming photos)
• Personalized plates containing information about your wedding, as well as the birth or homecoming of your child

Anniversary party ideas:

• Invite several people over for a potluck dinner so the two of you aren’t saddled down with a lot of cooking and baking while trying to take care of your new baby.
• Invite your immediate family over for a BBQ, and serve a special anniversary cake designed to reflect your first year as parents.
• Hold an open house for those who haven’t met your new baby yet, and incorporate your anniversary in by using colors and themes from your wedding day.

Anniversary invitation ideas:

• Design your anniversary invitations so they mirror the style of your wedding invitation, and add a photo of the three of you to the inside or cover.
• Create and print the anniversary party invitations to include specific information about if this is a potluck dinner, or other pertinent information.
• Use photo cards as a means of announcing the birth of your new baby, and the fact that you are throwing a “we’re new parents” anniversary party.

Being new parents is exciting, overwhelming, and wonderful. By including friends and family into the mix, you are sure to have a wonderful first anniversary as new parents celebration! Who knows, you might even get someone to volunteer babysitting services!

Celebrate Your 22nd Anniversary!

Congratulations on the celebration of your 22nd wedding anniversary! Let’s get right into the traditions and symbols associated with the 22nd anniversary:

• Traditional gift: there are no traditional gifts associated with the 22nd anniversary
• Modern gift: Copper
• Gemstone: Spinel (all colors)
• Flowers: there are no flowers associated with the 22nd anniversary

Now, considering there are no traditional gifts or flowers associated with the 22nd wedding anniversary, this creates a lot of opportunity for unique ideas and plans for you and your spouse to explore this year. Even though these symbols and traditions are in place from year to year offering an easier way to come up with ideas, it’s nice to have some freedom to come up with something on your own once in awhile – embrace the opportunity!

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does your spouse have a favorite type of flower?
   If so, then this is the flower to associate with this anniversary. If your spouse doesn’t have a favorite kind of flower, then consider getting some bouquets or potted plants with a mixed variety. The latter will give your spouse the opportunity to enjoy this portion of your anniversary gift for a longer period of time, of course, so choose wisely!
2. Has your spouse been putting a lot of hours in at their job, and/or running themselves ragged taking care of life’s other duties and responsibilities?
   If this is the case, then take this opportunity to spoil your spouse with pampering they haven’t experienced in a long time for one reason or another. Make up some coupons detailing how you plan to pamper them whenever you are presented with a coupon. Include coupons for freebies like massages, car washes, house cleanings, etc. This will show your spouse that you can see what they’re going through, you appreciate what they’re going through, and your anniversary gift to them is to take care of their needs.
3. Did your spouse miss out on an event when they were younger that they wished they hadn’t (like prom, graduation, etc.)?
   Life is full of milestone and monumental events, but sometimes things get in the way of attending them. If your spouse has mentioned over the years their desire to have attended one or more of these events, figure out which one seems to be hitting them the hardest and do your best to recreate the event for them as a way of celebrating your wedding anniversary. This anniversary idea will take a lot of preplanning, preparations, and help from friends and/or family members. Create anniversary invitations so they’re associated with the type of event you’re planning. You’re going to need to be organized and detail oriented. If you don’t possess these skills, find someone who is!

During all of these plans and preparations, don’t forget the anniversary card. You can buy one, make one, or send one through e-mail . . . or do all three! Your spouse most likely won’t be expecting more than one anniversary card from you (unless you’re having a party where one card is given while the two of you are alone, and one is given when all the guests are present – that’s always a nice touch), so this will be a nice surprise for them! Good luck, and have fun with this!

Wedding Anniversary Poetry

Do you have a creative side you’re longing to get out in the open? Are you stumped for words, but want to share something poetic? In either case, an anniversary gift containing poetry is a great way to go. Consider using an anniversary poem that has already been written, or write your own.

While anniversary cards already have an anniversary poem written inside them nine times out of ten, choosing an anniversary poem (or writing one) specifically for your spouse has a lot of meaning (and they’ll likely keep it forever in their memory book or stored away somewhere else). Presenting this anniversary poem to your spouse can be approached in many different ways:

• Design your own anniversary card, and write your anniversary poem inside (or customize the card so it is printed inside). If you have written your own poem, consider printing it out on a piece of vellum, and tying to the anniversary card using a hole punch and ribbon.
• Enlarge the poem on a large piece of plain (or decorative, depending on what is available at the copy center), and use it to wrap the anniversary gift you give your spouse. If you choose this option, be sure to have another copy printed on a piece of decorative paper so your spouse can either frame it or keep it somewhere special.
• Recite the anniversary poem at an anniversary party. If you choose to send out invitations to your guests, consider asking them to come with an anniversary poem to include with their gift or anniversary card as well. That way, your spouse can be surrounded by beautiful poetry longer.
• Have the anniversary poem written on your anniversary cake. This is an option to consider if you and your spouse decide to go with a bakery for your anniversary cake. If this is a surprise for your spouse, then you’ll have no trouble with this step at all. However, if this isn’t a surprise, you’re going to have to be sneaky about getting the poem on to the cake without your spouse finding out. Consider enlisting the help of friends or family for this step.

This wedding anniversary idea may seem like an obvious choice to some, but for others this will be an especially creative twist to the typical anniversary celebrations your spouse may be used to having. If you want to write your own poem, but are unsure how to do so, consider visiting these sites for some guidance:

1. eHow.com: How to Write Poetry
2. Approaches to Writing Poetry
3. 37 Ways to Write Poetry
4. How to Write Poetry: Free Exercises

Don’t be afraid to truly express yourself with this anniversary idea. Your words are going to have some serious impact on your spouse, particularly if you’re typically not good at telling them on a regular basis. Because this gift is so touching, you may feel more comfortable giving it to your spouse when you’re spending time together alone. Either way, be sure to do it in a way that will be comfortable for the both of you so the occasion isn’t spoiled in any way. Good luck!

History of the Wedding Anniversary

Wedding anniversaries are the celebration of couples who have experienced ups, downs, and timeless love during their marriage. They're also a wonderful way for a couple to remember and celebrate the reasons behind their decision for such a union. There are some who prefer to keep their wedding anniversaries quiet, while others like them to be grand social affairs. What is the history of the wedding anniversary, though?

"Historians have traced the origins of silver and golden anniversaries to medieval Germanic Europe, where silver and gold garlands were presented by the husband to the wife to celebrate the 25th and 50th years of marriage respectively.” – Buzzle.com

It’s no mystery how much the wedding anniversary has changed over the years. As outlined in the various year-by-year celebration blog posts presented here, there are traditional symbols, tokens, and gifts presented yearly. However, this was not always the case. This all changed in 1937:

"In 1937 the American National Retail Jewellery Association issued a more comprehensive list of representative materials for all the traditional wedding anniversaries for each year up to the 15th Anniversary and then every fifth year after that up to the 60th. This list has been continually updated by various commercial companies over recent years and today celebrants can choose between the traditional list as well as a contemporary list of anniversary the(which provides alternative modern-day suggestions such as electrical appliances!)” – Buzzle.com

I remember my grandparents celebrating their anniversary yearly, and how romantic the two of them were about the tokens they gave each other and traditions they followed. They never really followed what was outlined in the commercial anniversary lists when it came to choosing anniversary gifts, anniversary card suggestions, or flowers. Every year, my grandfather would give my grandmother red roses – one for every year they were married, and one to grow on. Then, when it came to a gift, he gave her something she always desired but would never get for herself.

It wasn’t until I was planning my own wedding that I realized there were gift, flower, and symbols associated from year to year when celebrating anniversaries. I always wondered why my grandparents, or even my parents for that matter, never followed these traditions. Then I realized that, when it comes to gifts and flowers, it was better for their own personal tastes and comfort to go their own way. Some years they had a big anniversary party complete with anniversary invitations and lots of people . . . while other years their take on a good anniversary idea was just to treat it like it was just another day. Why these decisions were made were their own, and the family never seemed to question their reasons.

The history of the wedding anniversary has always interested me, though. When I was younger, I can remember my great-grandmother being so excited when she received an “official letter” from the President of the United States congratulating her on the celebration of her 50th wedding anniversary. She wasn’t expecting this piece of mail because she had been a widow since my mother was a young girl (she never remarried), so it was a kind of celebration of it’s own.

Do you ever think about what the history of the wedding anniversary is and why it all came about?