The full list
Anniversary Gifts by Year
By Jatin Shankar Srivastava · Updated
Every wedding anniversary has a traditional gift material, and most have a modern one too. The tradition starts with paper for the first year and runs to diamond for the sixtieth.
Below is the whole list with the flower usually paired to each year, followed by deeper guides for the years people search for most: the 1st, 5th, 10th, 25th and 50th.
Wedding anniversary gifts and years
| Year | Traditional | Modern | Flower |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper | Clocks | Carnation |
| 2nd | Cotton | China | Lily of the valley |
| 3rd | Leather | Crystal & glass | Sunflower |
| 4th | Fruit & flowers | Appliances | Hydrangea |
| 5th | Wood | Silverware | Daisy |
| 6th | Iron | Wood | Calla lily |
| 7th | Wool / copper | Desk sets | Freesia |
| 8th | Bronze | Linens & lace | Lilac |
| 9th | Pottery | Leather | Bird of paradise |
| 10th | Tin / aluminium | Diamond jewellery | Daffodil |
| 11th | Steel | Fashion jewellery | Tulip |
| 12th | Silk | Pearls | Peony |
| 13th | Lace | Textiles | Chrysanthemum |
| 14th | Ivory | Gold jewellery | Dahlia |
| 15th | Crystal | Watches | Rose |
| 20th | China | Platinum | Aster |
| 25th | Silver | Silver | Iris |
| 30th | Pearl | Diamond | Lily |
| 35th | Coral | Jade | Rose |
| 40th | Ruby | Ruby | Nasturtium |
| 45th | Sapphire | Sapphire | Iris |
| 50th | Gold | Gold | Yellow rose |
| 55th | Emerald | Emerald | Calla lily |
| 60th | Diamond | Diamond | White rose |
Traditional and modern lists differ slightly between sources; flower pairings vary more. Treat them as inspiration. Linked years have their own guide.
Guides for the most-searched years
1st Anniversary Gift Ideas — Paper & Beyond
Paper (traditional) · Clocks (modern)
5th Anniversary Gift Ideas — Wood Anniversary (5 Years)
Wood (traditional) · Silverware (modern)
10th Anniversary Gift Ideas — Tin & Diamond (10 Years)
Tin / Aluminium (traditional) · Diamond jewellery (modern)
25th Anniversary Gift Ideas — Silver Jubilee (25 Years)
Silver (traditional) · Silver (modern) · Silver jubilee
50th Anniversary Gift Ideas — Golden Anniversary (50 Years)
Gold (traditional) · Gold (modern) · Golden jubilee
How to choose an anniversary gift
The material list is a prompt, not a rule. If your first anniversary is paper, a letter or a photo book obeys the tradition; a card bought from a shop technically does too, but it is the handwriting that makes it a gift.
Read the list for the idea behind it. Paper is a blank page; wood is roots; tin is something that bends without breaking; silver and gold are what a marriage looks like after long use. A gift that speaks to that idea beats one that just matches the material.
If the year feels awkward — iron for the 6th, ivory for the 14th — use the modern column, or step outside the list entirely. A gift that is specific to the two of you will always beat one that matches a table.
Scroll it. Flip it. Feel it.
This is a real anniversary website running live inside the phone. Watch the together-timer tick, scroll the story, flip a reason, break a wax seal, then pick a theme to change its mood. This is exactly what your person will open.
- 1Timer · Every second together, counting live
- 2Story · A polaroid timeline of your chapters
- 3Reasons · Scrapbook notes they flip open
- 4Promises · Wax seals they break one by one
Blush pink and warm gold on deep wine
Anniversary gift questions, answered
What are the gifts for each year of a wedding anniversary?
The traditional list assigns a material to each year: paper (1st), cotton (2nd), leather (3rd), fruit and flowers (4th), wood (5th), iron (6th), wool or copper (7th), bronze (8th), pottery (9th), tin or aluminium (10th), then crystal (15th), china (20th), silver (25th), pearl (30th), coral (35th), ruby (40th), sapphire (45th), gold (50th), emerald (55th) and diamond (60th). A modern list swaps in items like clocks, silverware and diamond jewellery.
How many anniversaries are there?
There is one every year, so there is no fixed number. The traditional gift list names a material for each of the first fifteen years and then every fifth year up to the 60th.
What are anniversary flowers?
Many lists pair each year with a flower — carnation for the 1st, daisy for the 5th, daffodil for the 10th, iris for the 25th and yellow rose for the 50th. Lists vary between sources, so treat them as inspiration, not rules.
Can “anniversary” be used for dating?
Yes. An anniversary marks any yearly milestone, so you can celebrate the date you first met, started dating or got engaged, not only a wedding. “Monthsary” is the informal word for monthly milestones.
Can “anniversary” be used for a death?
Yes. A “death anniversary” or “barsi” marks the yearly remembrance of someone who has passed. The word means a yearly return of a date, so it applies to happy and solemn occasions alike.
What is the paper anniversary?
The paper anniversary is the first wedding anniversary. Gifts made of or involving paper — a letter, a photo book, tickets, a framed print — are traditional for it.