Somewhere around your first anniversary, someone probably told you the rule: year one is paper. Then the years keep coming, and the same question comes with them every time. What's the traditional gift for this year?
Here's the complete chart, plus a closer look at the four metal anniversaries (copper, aluminum, steel and brass), where a hand-engraved keepsake fits the tradition perfectly.
Traditional Anniversary Gifts by Year
| Year | Traditional Gift |
|---|---|
| 1 | Paper |
| 2 | Cotton |
| 3 | Leather |
| 4 | Fruit & Flowers |
| 5 | Wood |
| 6 | Iron / Candy |
| 7 | Copper / Wool |
| 8 | Bronze / Pottery |
| 9 | Pottery / Willow |
| 10 | Tin / Aluminum |
| 11 | Steel |
| 12 | Silk / Linen |
| 13 | Lace |
| 14 | Ivory (today, often gold jewelry) |
| 15 | Crystal |
| 20 | China |
| 21 | Brass / Nickel |
| 22 | Copper |
| 25 | Silver |
| 30 | Pearl |
Notice something? Four of the biggest milestones are metals, five if you count year 22. That's no accident. The tradition pairs each stage of a marriage with a material that fits it. Copper gets richer with age. Aluminum is light but lasting. Steel doesn't bend. Brass only warms up over time.
7th Anniversary: Copper
Copper is warm, it's alive, and it changes with the years. It picks up a patina that makes every piece one of a kind, which might be the best metaphor for seven years of marriage we can think of.
Engraved copper gift ideas:
- A copper tally mark bookmark with seven tally marks and the words "To be continued..."
- A copper wallet card engraved on both sides with your own words
- A copper money clip with seven tally marks or a copper tally mark keychain for him
10th Anniversary: Tin or Aluminum
A decade. The traditional gift is tin or aluminum, metals known for being durable without being heavy. Ten years in, you know exactly why that fits.
Engraved aluminum gift ideas:
- A "10 Years and Still Counting" wallet card with your own message engraved on the back
- A personalized aluminum bookmark for the reader in the marriage
- An aluminum keychain with ten tally marks
11th Anniversary: Steel
Steel stands for strength, the kind a marriage has earned by year eleven. A stainless steel wallet card or an engraved steel bookmark is rust proof, scratch resistant and built to outlast everything around it.
21st Anniversary: Brass
Brass carries the warmth of gold without the pretense. Twenty-one years deserves to be shown off a little:
- A "21 Years and Still Counting" wallet card
- A personalized brass bookmark engraved with your date or a favorite line
- A brass money clip, tally marked to 21
What about the non-metal years?
Here's a secret: the chart is a tradition, not a law. An engraved metal keepsake works for any year. That's why our tally mark bookmarks come in every year from 1 to 30. Tally marks for year three or year seventeen mean the same thing: we're still counting.
What to engrave
The metal is the tradition. The words are the gift. A few favorites from our engraving bench in Fort Collins, Colorado:
- Your wedding date in Roman numerals
- "I still do"
- The coordinates of where you met or married
- A line from your vows or your first-dance song
- "X years down, forever to go"
Every piece we make is hand-engraved to order and ships in 1 to 2 business days. Browse the full Anniversary Collection, or jump straight to anniversary bookmarks and anniversary wallet cards.