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Our anniversary is coming up this weekend and I have had a hard time coming up with creative and special ideas on how we can celebrate without spending lots of cash.
Could you help me? I would love to hear your traditions and ideas for making the day special without feeling like you have to go out and spend a lot of money.
For our 5th anniversary, my husband gave me a box. The box had all kind of items in it that reminded him of our relationship over the past few years. He had things like a watch (with the time stopped at 2:30….the time we were married), a picture of my son in a frame, silly putty (because we like to be silly together), etc. He was very creative it coming up with different ideas and things that represent who we are together. It was really very sweet!
Get a piece of cake and go back to your reception site. I had a friend do that last night and I thought it was a perfect way to spend the night thinking back.
One year we wrote letters to each other telling what we meant to the other one. That was way better than a card that someone else wrote. We’ve been married 32 years and raised 5 children and now that we are empty nesters we enjoy alot of special one on one time together and everyday is a celebration because we have the time now. I know this sounds sappy but it’s true.
Not sure how much “a lot ” of money is, but the Chihuly art glass installation at Cheekwood at night is amazing! Make a picnic dinner, go to a lake at sunset and enjoy the evening. That’s always a romantic, simple way to spend time together.
One more idea-this is a fun idea for anytime. Go to Dollar Tree and each of you gets to spend a set amount on toys. (Small amount-like $3.) Then go home and play with them. This is not meant to sound kinky! It is a blast to blow bubbles or play with punch balls together, etc. I love to see my husband just having fun and laughing. Men are so stressed out with jobs and responsibilities that you will be surprised at how this unwinds them.
We are using the tapas Groupon that we purchased a couple of weeks ago, this weekend to celebrate ours!!!
Sorry to be filling up the comments like this but I think having had alot of anniversaries I can say that you should not go out and eat a huge meal and splurge on dessert. We all know what our husbands like for their anniverary and it can make you miserable:)
Every year, we watch our wedding video together after the kids are in bed…usually over a glass of wine, in our pajamas! I still cry every time I see us say our vows. It never gets old! 7 years and we have NEVER been out. We were married on Valentine’s day, so it is a nightmare to go out anyway! And use one of those $.14 cake mixes you have in your pantry to make a tiny wedding cake to share!
this is mainly the gift of thoughtfulness:
find pictures from your wedding, past years of your marriage and even dating years…and place them in frames you currently have out (for a temporary anniversary display) and configure all on a table or sideboard along with any other gifts you may have: present, flower (or free greens picked from the trees out back!), his favorite cake/dessert etc.
and i don’t know that i’ve ever done this but it seems sweet: tuck a sweet note under his pillow on your anniversary night….
We celebrated our 15th Anniversary last night! The day prior I told my husband that I had an idea to write down 10 things that I appreciate about him (currently or something from the past 16 years we’ve known each other). I told him that he could do the same thing if he wanted, if not…no pressure.
After the kids went down we took turn reading our “keyword” lists and explaining what we meant by them.
Best thing ever! I thank God for that great, inexpensive, marriage enriching idea!
I love the dessert at your reception site and re-watching you wedding video idea. That seems like a very romantic way to celebrate an anniversary. I also like the idea of the Groupons, though, if you’re looking to do a night on the town.
Right before our 8th anniv. my husband was told his position might be eliminated so we clamped down on our spending. I ended up making him a CD called “8” with 8 of the songs we listened to a lot when dating and that have sort of been the soundtrack of our life. I designed the cover and wrote liner notes. It cost me nothing and he loved the sentiment involved. For our 3rd annv. we had just moved to a new city, no babysitter. I put the baby to bed, sent him to the back of the house. Set up a late night picnic in the family room, lined the fireplace and every surface with candles, put on our favorite music, had a bottle of champagne and desserts and we enjoyed a simple yet very romantic evening of talking and celebrating, that is actually one of the favorite anniversaries I remember.
thanks for the good ideas. our 8th anniversary is next week!
We have an anniversary sundial that you can find online, it is made of glass and sits on the window sill and was handmade just for us so it would work where we live. It is a clock that tells time by using the sun, but the coolest thing is that it makes really vivid rainbows in our home when the sun shines. We were able to add a date line to our sundial that the time shadow follows on our anniversary day each year and there is even a special mark on that anniversary line to celebrate the actual MOMENT we got married! My husband tells me that the sun and moon and planets all move every day, but they will always align for us on our day together (awww) It really is a great gift though because it also makes brilliant rainbows on the floor when the sun shines, and our toddler loves to play in the colors on the floor. I don’t remember what its called but you can find it online with a search – it has become a real touchstone in our home!
Sounds beautiful and so special!
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