There are many anniversary gifts that are both affordable and romantic. If you're struggling for the perfect romantic anniversary gift for your spouse, you can look to both unusual gift ideas and anniversary traditions for inspiration. In addition to giving tangible items as gifts, you could do something special for your sweetheart. Also, think of surprising your spouse this year. These romantic anniversary gift ideas are very popular and provide plenty of room for fun and creativity.
Romantic Anniversary Gift Ideas: Weekend Getaways
A romantic weekend getaway is another surprise your spouse will surely appreciate. However, don't surprise your sweetheart at the last minute, since even a short vacation requires some planning and preparation. Look on the web for the best deals on travel in your local area. Look especially for places that are within 50 miles of where you live. Check a comparison shopping site such as Priceline.com for spas, luxury resorts and chain hotels in the area with discounts and extra amenities. Also, be sure that the area you're traveling to has plenty of attractions to keep you busy. You may both feel better if you skip the airport frustrations and drive to a nearby destination. However, if the airline prices and car rental rates are low, hopping on an airplane may be a better bet.
Romantic Anniversary Gift Ideas: Jewelry
There are many affordable anniversary jewelry gifts for both men and women. If you're a woman buying for your husband, consider getting him some cuff links or a ring engraved with his initials or a personal message. If you're a man buying for your wife, think about buying some earrings, a ring, a bracelet or a locket with a personal inscription. Enclose a picture of yourself in the jewelry item if possible. Use tradition to guide you in your gift-buying decisions. If it's your eighth anniversary, get something in bronze. If it's your eleventh, purchase stainless steel jewelry. If it's your fourteenth, get something in ivory. For the thirtieth anniversary, buy jewelry inset with pearls. For the thirty-fifth anniversary, look for coral jewelry. Find rubies for your fortieth, sapphires for your forty-fifth, gold for your fiftieth, emerald for your fifty-fifth and diamonds for your sixtieth anniversaries. Check Gifts.com for jewelry and engraving services.
Romantic Anniversary Gift Ideas: Dinner
Dinner makes a wonderful gift on your wedding anniversary. If you make the dinner yourself, the gift is that much more meaningful. Restaurants such as the Macaroni Grill make dinner kits you can purchase to make the meal preparation quicker and easier. Be sure to get started with planning your dinner several days in advance. Assemble a menu and find recipes in your favorite cookbook or online. Then shop for the ingredients one or two days before your anniversary. However, for best results, you should purchase fresh produce the same day. Try to prepare some dishes ahead of time and store them in the freezer, if possible. For a truly romantic anniversary dinner, surprise your spouse with a candle-light meal at a time when you know you won't be disturbed.
Romantic Anniversary Gift Ideas: Cards
Anyone can go to the store to buy a card. However, a homemade card is much more meaningful. To make a romantic card for your anniversary, all you need is some colored construction paper or heavy card stock, some scissors, a glue stick, a pen and some great ideas. Choose red or pink as the color of your card for more romantic effect. Fold the paper or card stock in half. Cut out some designs, such as hearts, from construction paper and glue them onto the front of the card. Write your greeting on the front of the card in gel pen. Then include a personal message inside the card to let your spouse know how much love you feel.
Romantic Anniversary Gift Ideas: Poems
No matter what your poetic skills are, you can bestow a lovely gift of verse on your loved one for your anniversary. If you're a budding poet, write the verses yourself. If you haven't got as much talent in your whole body as Shakespeare had in his little finger, don't despair. Go to a website such as Poets.org to select a favorite verse from a great poet like Emily Dickinson, Elizabeth Barrett Browning or John Keats. Find some parchment paper and a calligraphy set. Then write your poetry in beautiful script on the paper, roll it into a scroll and bind it with a ribbon. If you are new to calligraphy, it's easy to learn. Just make sure you practice on cheap paper before you make any marks on the parchment. Alternatively, you could create a file of the text and take it to your local copy shop on a disk or flash drive. Make sure that the file is formatted as you want it with a large, romantic font. Have them print the poetry on quality paper using a laser printer. Consider giving the gift of poetry for your first anniversary, which is traditionally the paper anniversary.
These are just a few of the possible romantic anniversary gifts you can get for loved one. With just a little brainstorming, you could come up with many more.