Wedding Anniversary Meanings: Modern Anniversary Gift

When people think of anniversary gifts, they often think of the traditional gifts of paper, leather, copper and so on. People do not realise is that there is a modern version of the wedding anniversary list. After much interest in our previous blog post Wedding Anniversary: Traditional Gifts, I thought it would be fitting to continue this trend and look into the topic of modern anniversary gift.

Modern Anniversary Gift

Before I begin the look into the modern anniversary gift, there are many common misconceptions about its origins, meanings and so on. I decided to do a little digging and found out the truth behind it all.

Origins Of The Modern Anniversary Gift Guide

The modern anniversary gift list was created by the Chicago Public Library as far back as 1997 and updated till 2000. You can see that while the original page is now gone, the web archive shows the changes as the years went on. Many online articles will say it was created in 2000 but this is clearly not true.

After personally contacting the Chicago Public Library (who were extremely helpful and forthcoming with information) they divulged much about this modern day list. The librarians compiled the list from various sources. Comparative to the traditional anniversary list which every gift has a meaning behind it, this list is based on durability. To literally quote a Librarian from the Chicago Public Library from their response to me they said “Most sources do not ascribe meaning to the different gifts except that the gifts get more durable the longer the marriage goes on.”.

To show this point if you look at gifts within the first few years like Clocks, China and Crystal (to name a few). Compare this to later gifts such as Diamond, Land and Furniture.The 100th anniversary gift is a 10 carat diamond… which is very durable indeed.

So if you are looking for a modern anniversary gift for your significant other then check out the list below. just make sure you have enough funds for the 41st and 42nd gift.

Modern Anniversary Gift List

Anniversary Year	Modern Gift
1st	Clocks
2nd	China
3rd	Crystal, Glass
4th	Appliances
5th	Silverware
6th	Wood objects
7th	Desk sets
8th	Linens, Lace
9th	Leather goods
10th	Diamond
11th	Fashion jewellery
12th	Pearls, Coloured gems
13th	Textiles, Furs
14th	Gold jewellery
15th	Watches
16th	Silver Holloware
17th	Furniture
18th	Porcelain
19th	Bronze
20th	Platinum
21st	Brass, Nickel
22nd	Copper
23rd	Silver plate
24th	Musical instruments
25th	Sterling silver
26th	Original pictures
27th	Sculpture
28th	Orchids
29th	New furniture
30th	Diamond
31st	Timepieces
32nd	Conveyances (e.g., automobiles)
33rd	Amethyst
34th	Opal
35th	Jade
36th	Bone china
37th	Alabaster
38th	Beryl, Tourmaline
39th	Lace
40th	Ruby
41st	Land
42nd	Improved real estate
43rd	Travel
44th	Groceries
45th	Sapphire
46th	Original poetry tribute
47th	Books
48th	Optical goods (e.g., telescope, microscope)
49th	Luxuries, any kind
50th	Gold
55th	Emerald
60th	Diamond
75th
80th	Diamond, Pearl
85th	Diamond, Sapphire
90th	Diamond, Emerald
95th	Diamond, Ruby
100th	10-carat Diamond

Check out our other Wedding Anniversary Gift Guides below to see what you can get for your significant other:

• Traditional Gifts
• Modern Gifts – You Are Here 🙂
• Anniversary Colours
• The Anniversary Flower  (coming soon)
• Anniversary Gemstones

What are your thoughts on the modern anniversary gift guide? Have you given a gift based on this guide? Comment down below and join the conversation 🙂