Wedding anniversaries are one of those things that should never be treated lightly! I know for us, it has gotten a lot harder to get private time together. We’ve got 4 kids now, so our babysitters tend to screen our calls (that’s right, you know who you are.) Needless to say, we keep trying and sometimes manage to pull it off, and it’s SO worth it. It’s so important to celebrate your marriage, to spend time alone together, and to remind yourself of all that is great about each other. So, plan ahead for the big day…make it special, because it is.
This is a tricky post to write because I could come up with a whole bunch of fabulous things for y’all to do in Utah…but seeing as how some of you live elsewhere….I’ll try to stick to things that will work anywhere. Hopefully, this will give you some fun ideas for your wedding anniversary!
1. Recreate Your First Date – Where was your first date?? The bowling alley? The park? The theatre? The brothel?? Try and recreate it and remember the details. If you were in some far off place that couldn’t be duplicated…pretend! Remember the show “The Parent Trap”? The daughters recreate their first date at Martinelli’s Italian Restaurant by doing it in their own home. And…they fell in love…all over again. Hopefully, you will too.
2. Plan A Romantic Getaway – This is always my favorite. Our last anniversary, we sent the kids to grandma’s for a couple nights and went to The Homestead Resort. We spent 3 days golfing, going out to eat, swimming, and just enjoying each others company with zero interruptions. There are really cute bed-n-breakfasts, houses/cabins you can rent, hotels in a favorite city, etc. If grandparents aren’t anywhere near…bargain with a close friend to watch your kids for an over-nighter and you will do the same for her. No kids is imperative.
3. Romantic Night At Home – You still need an over-night-babysitter for this one, but it’s a lot cheaper because you’re staying home. Isn’t it weird to be home with absolutely no kids in the house?? I’m freaked out by the silence, but it rarely happens. We’ve done this a handful of times and it really is so fun. You’ve got the entire house to yourself…you can stay up late together, take a bath together, sleep in together, eat breakfast together, walk around in the buff together, and just be together in the comfort of your home. If you don’t want to even go out to eat, you can order pizza OR hire a kid in the neighborhood to go pick up your Olive Garden salad, Ruby River Steak, and Chili’s chocolate molten cake. Yummy dinner at the door!
4. Memory Treasure Hunt – This one would be extra work but I just thought of it today and I quite like it, actually. You would have to plan ahead big time! Think of lots of different memories that you and your hottie have had around the town….for example, if I was doing this I might do:
– Our first house
– The hospital where we have our babes
– The soccer field we made out on
– The church where we first talked
– The Taco Maker we always went to between college classes
– The store where I worked when I first saw him
– The restaurant we went to before he proposed
You get the idea. Anyway, make up clues that will lead to the next one and drop them off at each location. You will likely have to talk to an employee and have them help you out. But, they hate their job and would love any excitement you can offer. Decide on something really great for the final destination. He will likely be thoroughly annoyed after the wild goose chase but when he sees you looking screamin’ hot, waiting for him with sparkles in your eyes…he’ll wanna jump your bones. AND, it will be a fabulous memory for years to come!
5. Go somewhere fabulous to eat and afterwards get a couples massage/spa treatment. The beard man would totally groan about this…he has this fear of doing things that make him feel like less of a man. BUT…I know he would love it and be glad we did it!
So, this is my best advice for wedding anniversary gifts…get something for each other that you can use TOGETHER! Your anniversary is supposed to be about your relationship so get something for the relationship! One of the best things we ever did was buy golf clubs together on our anniversary. Neither one of us had golfed but we decided that it was something we could do together and would be fun. We golf at least once a week now and love it! I love knowing that we can still golf together even when we’re 70 years old! We’ve also bought bikes before and have gotten lots of use out of those. There’s lots of options of gifts for your relationship.
Other ideas:
Camping equipment
Movies, cuddle blanket, treats
Board Games
Racquetball/Tennis equipment
Bowling shoes
Sign up for a class together: photography, sport lessons, dance lessons
Running shoes
Binoculars, Hiking Gear and a book on the best trails around
Musical instruments
Kayak/Canoe
Whatever you decide to get for a gift, make it a PRIORITY to use it regularly together! Don’t let life get in the way, your relationship is too important!
Happy Anniversary!!
* For more ideas for your wedding anniversary, check out these posts: Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas, Celebrating Your Wedding Anniversary with the Whole Family, and Gift Idea Central.
These are some great ideas! I get so stressed trying to plan dates for big events. Thanks for the ideas!
Great ideas! I think Nick and I are going to learn to kayak…
Thanks Mariel! Great ideas! This will give us some options to discuss! I like the gift idea of getting something you can both enjoy!!
Love this post! Right in time for our one year anniversary. Now I just need to think of fun birthday present ideas for him…maybe that could be a future post? : )
My husband and I celebrate “monthaversaries.” On the 18th of every month we do a little something special – a card, dinner out, small gift. On the actual anniversary we do something big. But we’re running out of ideas – so thanks for THIS post!