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Appropriate Traditional Anniversary Gifts: A Guide and List by Anniversary Year
There seems to be different theories on when and how the original Anniversary Gift List first came into being.

One theory states that it started back in the Victorian era, although it only included a few of the anniversaries that we celebrate today.

In a book titled Wedding Anniversaries: from paper to diamond written by Cookie Lee it is written that "in 1937 the American National Retail Jeweler Association issued the more comprehensive list, which associated a material for each anniversary year up to the 20th and then each fifth year after that up to the 75th, with the exception of the 65th."

And then there is a third theory written by Robin A. King in the book titled Happy Anniversary! A Guide to Fun and Romantic Anniversary Celebrations, that states that it was in fact Emily Post in 1922, who listed a symbolic anniversary for the first fifteen years of marriage and one for every five years after that, this is the basis for the lists that we use today.

Regardless of who originally came up with the idea, following the list can be a fun tradition to enjoy with your own family and friends.

The following is a list of the Traditional gifts associated with each anniversary (there is also a more Modern list available) and some unique gift ideas that you can use to help loved ones celebrate them.

1st Anniversary - Paper:

- Fun paper gifts include Money, Romantic novels, Airline Tickets, Show or Concert Tickets, Shares of Stock in a company, Wedding Anniversary Memory Book, Fake Newspaper with your own headlines, gift certificates to a spa or favorite restaurant.

2nd Anniversary - Cotton

- Luxurious cotton sheets, cotton shirts, cotton jacket, cotton underwear, cotton nightgown or robe

3rd Anniversary - Leather

- Leather purse, wallet, coat or jacket, belt, desk pad, briefcase, watch bands,

4th Anniversary - Books, Flowers and Fruit

- Books by favorite author, memory albums, Chocolate covered fruit, fruit basket, fruit of the month club, bouquet of favorite flowers

5th Anniversary - Wood
- Wooden massager, wine box, cigar box, Welsh Love Spoon, wooden desk set, wooden bedside table box, furniture, plant a tree in celebration

6th Anniversary - Candy or Sugar

- Chocolates, confectionary candy, candy hearts with sayings, chocolate body paint

7th Anniversary - Copper

- Copper bracelets, copper clock, copper cookware, copper cookie jar, copper vase,

8th Anniversary - Bronze

- bronze statue, bronze planter, bronze

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