Happy Anniversary

On May 25, 2011, I will have been married 20 years.  First and foremost, I can't believe it has been that long.  I feel too young to be able to say that I have been married 20 years.

Since, I need to figure out an anniversary gift for my husband, I thought I would share the list of suggestions for the typical couple.  My husband is not typical, so I will list what I have given him or what he would appreciate.

Traditional                                   Modern                                                            My Gift to my Husband
Year 1     Paper                            Clocks, Plastic, Gold jewelry                   Gold Claddaugh ring (wedding ring)
Year 2     Cotton                         China, Cotton, Garnet, Calico                  Cotton t-shirt (will only wear cotton)
Year 3     Leather                       Crystal, Glass, Pearls                                  Photo album
Year 4     Fruit, Flowers          Appliances, Linen, Silk, Blue Topaz     Olives
Year 5     Wood                          Silver, Sapphire
Year 6     Sugar, Iron               Wood, Candy, Amethyst                           Chocolate Truffles
Year 7     Wool, Cooper          Brass, Desk Set, Onyx                                  Cooper Church Key
Year 8     Bronze, Pottery      Appliances, Linen, Lace, Jewelry          Beer Mug
Year 9     Pottery, Willow      Leather, Lapis Jewelry                               Whiskey glass
Year 10    Tin, Aluminum     Diamond Jewelry                                          Card w/ Aluminum embellishment
Year 11    Steel                           Fashion, Turquoise Jewelry                     Card
Year 12    Silk, Linen               Pearls, Jade                                                     Card
Year 13    Lace                           Textiles, Fur, Citrine                                   Card
Year 14    Ivory                        Gold Jewelry, Opal                                       Card
Year 15    Crystal                     Glass, Watches, Ruby                                  Card
Year 16                                        Silver Hollowware, Peridot                      Card
Year 17                                        Furniture, Watch                                          Card
Year 18                                        Porcelain, Cat's Eye Jewelry                    Card
Year 19                                        Bronze, Aquamarine                                  Card
Year 20    China                        Platinum, Emerald                                      Irish Whiskey Truffles & Chine TEAPOT
Year 21                                        Brass, Nickel
Year 25    Silver                        Sterling Silver
Year 30    Pearl                         Diamond
Year 35    Coral                         Jade
Year 40    Ruby                         Ruby, Garnet
Year 45    Sapphire                  Sapphire
Year 50    Gold                          Gold

For our first anniversary, I kidnapped my husband, rented a car, booked a cabin (turned out to be a hotel room with ants) and took him to Forest Lakes, AZ.  We also took a day long drive along Route 66.  I enjoyed the trip, my husband didn't enjoy it as much.  It turns out he doesn't really like to be in the woods and when we drove up on a Saturday early evening it was foggy.  It looked cool to me.

From about our third anniversary on, we have been having and raising kids which has been quite the rollercoaster ride.  We were blessed and surprised right out of the gate with twin daughters and then 5 years later a son.  Kids are fun but they take a good chunk of your play money and time.  In the long run they are worth it, but that is why it got to be that I was lucky to be able to give him a card.  Somehow on our 10th anniversary we were able to take a cruise with 2 other couples.  We were all celebrating the same anniversary year!

Have fun with the list of Anniversary gift items.  Be creative and get a gift that is sort of related keeping in mind what your spouse enjoys.

I will update this blog post after our Anniversary with my actual gift.