Tag Archives: anniversary gifts

25 Awesome Anniversary Gift Ideas

25 Awesome Anniversary Gift Ideas for Under $25

76 Replies

25 awesome anniversary gifts for under 25

Have you ever been just a couple days away from your wedding anniversary and trying to figure out what meaningful gift you can get…inexpensively?  Yep, been there, done that.  But have no fear, you (and I) never have to go through that again.

Yesterday, we posed a simple question to Happy Wives Club members on our Facebook Community page: What is the most creative anniversary gift you (and/or your husband) has ever given for less than $25? And we got back some pretty awesome answers!  

These are just a few of our favorites.  Feel free to borrow these ideas and make them your own. I most certainly will!  

1. For our first anniversary (which is traditionally the paper anniversary), I took sand from Lake Michigan (where my husband was born) and put it in an old bottle with a stopper top.  Then I took a piece of paper and “aged” it with coffee and tea grounds. When it dried, I printed a poem I wrote on it, burned the edges to make it look OLD, rolled it up, tied it with a red ribbon, and put it in the bottle. He loved it and it still sits on his dresser by the bed! -Carla

2. My husband took the batteries out of a wall clock, set it to the time we got married, and wrote a poem around the outside of it. -Stephanie

3. I bought a jar and filled it with his favorite candy and wrapped each candy with a piece of paper that had a reason why I love him. -Shelley

4. On our first year anniversary, my husband gave me a photo album he had worked on the entire year to commemorate our first year together. -Sharon

5. One year we decided to get creative and set a $5 limit and whatever we did it had to fit in a noodle box. My husband made me a Red Vine bouquet and I filled his with Love Notes candy! -Sherry-Jane

6. I went on Shutterfly and put a picture of us at our wedding on a shirt w/ the caption “Married My Best Friend” and our wedding date. -Vanessa

7. In a small box, I placed inside a test pack w/ a positive pregnancy result… we’d been longing for 8 years.-Jyra

8. A six-pack of diet Coke and a gallon of chocolate ice cream — it was meaningful to the two of us, something no one else would think of giving me….expensive gifts just bought as a gift can’t hold a candle to something simple and inexpensive with loads of personal meaning. -Kelly

9. I made a poster of the different popular love teams (i.e tarzan & jane, mickey and minnie mouse) and in the middle I put our names in bolder, bigger letters and put it in a romantic frame I personally made. -Sheila

10. I got $20 dollars worth in $2 dollar bills and printed labels with things we could do and rolled them up. (go to the dollar show, get ice cream, go for a walk to the store to get a candy…)  It was fun and we got to spend time together. -Urinda

11. A puzzle with a picture of your wedding and you can spend time every year putting it together they make them at Walmart or Meijer. -Adilene

12. My sweet hubby made me a DVD of family pictures from when we dated through our 10th anniversary using some of my favorite music as background. It was a complete surprise and is my most prized gift from him (we’ve been married 22 years now – hoping for an updated version :) ). -Tonya

13. My husband gave me this Love basket with all my favorite things in it (smell goods “candy” whitebear that smells like chocolate and a red and pink heart with a rose in my name). -Lori

14. An envelope full of handmade vouchers for a back tickle, massage, favourite dinner, movie night, etc. He could redeem his vouchers whenever he wanted. -Claire

15. I arranged for the children to be gone & prepared a dinner & greeted him in a piece of lingerie & dinner & dessert was me. -Valerie

16. A mix cd of songs from our dating and married life that reminded me of him or a special memory we share. We love to listen to it. It is like memory lane of our marriage and it always shows us how far we have come, let’s enjoy where we have been and look forward to where we are going! -Jamie

17. For our 25th Anniversary I gave my husband a silver trophy that read To My Greatest Friend and Lover. He really enjoyed his gift since he never received one as a child. Now, he’s looking forward to our 50th for another trophy. -Dawn

18. I cross stitched a wedding sampler for our 25th anniversary for my husband.  It didn’t cost much at all. -Tina

19. One year gave him a heart shaped box with a note inside “this heart is filled with kisses for you from me.”  He loved it! -June

20. Etsy has wonderfully thoughtful gifts. Ordered a print with all the family’s important dates on it-wedding day, births of our children, etc. -Julie

21. I made him a video that told him all the things I love about him and put pictures of us throughout our relationship. He loved it! -Michelle

22. Our anniversary is on Groundhog Day..so I went to Build-A-Bear and made my husband a groundhog and included inside the stuffed animal a personal message I recorded while making “Phil”. He LOVED it! -Stephanie

23. Husband made me a dozen roses out of my favorite candy (stuffed Twizzlers). -Brittany

24. Wrote out the words of all the little ways he shows me love everyday and framed it… stamped 3 hearts on the frame (for our third anniversary) displayed it in the bathroom where we see it everyday 10 years later. -Jacqueline

25. At-home spa day.  Treat your spouse to a 30-minute massage, followed by an enzyme facial (don’t attempt to do extractions…enzyme facial mask will do the trick and can be purchased anywhere for less than $20), manicure and pedicure. -Fawn (yep, I just came up with this one so I’d better try it out myself :) ).

QUESTION: Do you have any great anniversary gift ideas for less than $25?  Please share them with us! (NEW: You can now leave comments on this page – just scroll down and click through the Comments button below)

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

Email Signature transparent

JOIN THE 1,000,000 MEMBER CHALLENGE: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for?  Join the club!  It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

the argument free marriage book

 

THE BOOK: Read the book that inspired the powerful TED talk and prompted author of The 5 Love Languages, Gary Chapman, PhD., to write the book’s foreword. Drs. Les & Leslie Parrott, bestselling authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts said, “We’ve been counseling couples and writing marriage books for a long time, and we can say with absolute certainty, there has never been a book quite like The Argument-Free Marriage. If you think no such union exists, or if you’ve come to the conclusion that arguments are necessary in marriage, allow Fawn to challenge that notion and set you on a path to creating the greatest partnership in life: your marriage.”

Priceless For Your Husband

The Priceless Gift Your Husband Will Love (that won’t cost you a dime)

15 Replies

Priceless For Your Husband

This priceless gift for your husband will make him smile from ear-to-ear.  And did I mention the cost begins with a “z” and rhymes with hero?

I love surprising my husband with unique and low (or no) cost gifts.  So when I met Gail Roddy in Minneapolis last month, and she told me about this cool thing she was doing for her anniversary, I asked if she’d be willing to also share it with our entire community.

She said yes.

Until Monday…make it a great weekend!

Email Signature transparent

___________

Oftentimes, it can be a challenge figuring out ways to celebrate our husbands. (They have the same challenge, I’m sure!)  

When I shared with Fawn something special I did for my husband, Bill, she asked if I’d also share it with each of you.

Bill and I celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary last month.  We’ve never been big on exchanging purchased gifts. (In the early years we had very little money anyway!)  This year, I wanted to create and share something memorable and priceless.

I designed a 10-Day Countdown To Our Anniversary.  Each of the nine nights leading up to our anniversary, I wrote and posted a brief and loving letter on his Facebook wall that reflected my thoughts about his wonderful character, such as:

  • the man who makes me so happy
  • his wedding day surprise behavior
  • supporter of my talents
  • businessman
  • father figure/mentor to hundreds of at-risk young men.

(If you’d prefer a more private way to do this, rather than on Facebook, you can surprise him with one letter a day at the most opportune time and place.)

No need to wait until your anniversary either.  You can do this any time of the year – even now!  You also don’t have to write and post for 10 days. You could do 7, 5, or even 3 days. Each day, you write a short message to your man and post it on his Facebook timeline. If he has no Facebook page, post it in an e-mail or text message. A wonderful extra touch is to include a favorite picture of him!

You’re not a writer?  You don’t have to be. This is written from your heart. The heart has no shame about its writing skills. It just speaks its truth. His heart will resonate.

To get you started, I offer you the use of my beginning and ending. Use the exact words, if you’d like, or change them according to your heart’s song.

Here’s how I began each letter:

  • “In 9 (8, 7,6, etc.) Sunsets we will celebrate The Day We Were Wed
    I shall tenderly count down the days ahead…”

The rest of my text also continued as poetry. I didn’t intend to create poetry.  But a short poem created itself from my fond reminiscence of my man and our marriage.

Each of my letters ended with:

  • “And so ends the Fourth (Fifth, Sixth, etc) Night
    Of these letters of longing and love from Your Wife…”

Have FUN with your intro whether you use mine or you create one!

Next, write what you are thankful for about YOUR mate. No, no, it does not have to be poetry.  A single sentence from your heart is worth more to your man than all the brilliant poetry ever created. Trust me.

You could praise him about his skills as:

  • father
  • lover
  • military service
  • volunteer passion
  • provider
  • protector
  • teacher
  • friend

I’m sure your husband’s list of skills and attributes could go on and on!

Bill was thrilled and touched.  Each night he was more excited than the previous night, anticipating the next heart-felt letter from me.

This simple gift is special because it is completely from the heart (it’s also easy to do – and costs you nothing).  Why not design a similar anniversary (or birthday) commemoration your husband will forever treasure?  Remember, you needn’t write 10 days.  A series of 7 or 5 or even 3 is great too.  Just do it in such a way that he’ll anticipate each day more and more.

It’s your heart that matters to him.  It’s his life’s inspiration, in more ways than one…

Peace and Joy Forever,

 Gail

##

JOIN THE 1,000,000 MEMBER CHALLENGE: If you haven’t already done it, what are you waiting for? Join the club! It takes only a few seconds and, of course, is free.

Happy Wives Club Book

 

THE NEW YORK TIMES® BEST-SELLING BOOK: It’s been described as, “Like Eat, Pray, Love but not down on marriage.” Make sure to check out the Happy Wives Club book.  I had the great honor of traveling to 12 countries on 6 continents, interviewing couples happily married 25 years or more, with 1 mission only: to find out what makes marriages happy…and keeps them that way.  It’s a marriage book line none other.  Guaranteed.