by Elyse Barnes

Created on: July 28, 2007

Golden wedding aniversary gifts

Choosing a gift for the couple who is celebrating 50 years of marriage may sound like a difficult task, but if you focus on the life the couple has shared and how they have enhanced your life, you'll find the perfect gift for them and a boost of satisfaction for yourself.

Tradition says that gold is the gift of the day. If you choose to go that route, try to choose something tasteful and useful. Few couples who are marking that many years together need or want gold trimmed baubles that neither have special meaning to the celebrants nor serve any purpose other than to spell out in gold letters the fact that they have been married 50 years. A gift should evoke memories of the couple's life together.

Personalized gifts, although requiring more time and creativity, always seem to bring joy. The 'bride and groom' want to be reminded of and relive the special moments of their life together. A scrapbook filled with pages created by people they have known and loved throughout the years can be enjoyed over and over again. Or, make it higher tech and create a CD of pictures, music and video messages from family and friends. If there are public celebrations of the golden anniversary, be sure to do a CD of those occasions as well.

For a casual anniversary celebration, create matching tee-shirts for the couple. Include on them the wedding date, add a picture from their wedding and a recent picture or create a snappy message, or other illustration. You can get the shirts made up at shops that create shirts for sports groups and corporate branding. Another gift that will bring warm memories in more ways than one is a handmade quilt containing family pictures printed or silk screened onto fabric. Or embroider signatures and greetings from friends and family in the center of a patchwork quilt block.

How about gifts that the couple can use to create more memorable moments - tickets to concerts, movies and plays, gift cards for their favorite restaurants. A gift of lessons to learn a new skill or new techniques for a hobby would be great. More and more people reaching their golden anniversary today are still healthy and actively involved.

Pictures frames have long been a standard for golden wedding anniversary gifts. How about one of the new digital frames which show a continuous loop of digital pictures?

Whether homemade or high tech, or something in between, your gift will bring pleasure when you give a bit of yourself in the gift.

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