Traditional Wedding Anniversary Gifts: Ideas for the first year - Paper
Some people say that the first year of marriage is the most difficult. For some couples who moved in together for the first time after getting married, the entire first year is a continual series of adjustments as you learn to live together with this new roommate, or lifemate. Some couples will buy a new home or welcome a new baby in that first year, while other couples’ biggest accomplishments consist of accepting the fact that the toilet seat will stay up or the toothpaste cap will stay off sometimes. Once the first year wedding anniversary comes along, you can commend yourself for sticking together through, probably, the most difficult year. The traditional wedding anniversary gift for the first year is paper, so here are some ideas on paper items to get for your spouse.
* Every weekend, your spouse might run out to get the New York Times, or maybe you noticed your wife buying the Martha Stewart magazine every time she went to the grocery store. Magazine or newspaper subscriptions are wonderful paper gifts for the first year. Although it is difficult to judge when a magazine subscription will arrive, if you choose to buy your spouse a newspaper subscription, make them breakfast in bed one weekend morning and have the paper on the tray, along with a little note that lets them know of your gift to them.
* If you love writing or if you have a romantic streak in you, type out a newsletter that chronicles your first year of marriage, complete with headlines like, “Susan Takes Pregnancy Test. Is She or Isn’t She?” or “Gary gets a new Chevy Tahoe, names her Audrey.” It will be fun reminiscing on your first year together and all the special events you shared.
* If your spouse loves seeing operas or Broadway plays or if their favorite band is in town, get them tickets to a show. Pair this with dinner at their favorite restaurant and you have yourself a fun and romantic wedding anniversary date.
* Maybe your wife loves Harper Lee’s, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and maybe she has read it seventeen times since high school Buy her a first edition copy or signed copy of her favorite book and the accompanying DVD (if there is one).
* Scrapbooks are wonderful paper gifts for a first year anniversary. You can simply give a nice empty scrapbook as a gift, with the promise of you two filling it out together later, or, if you know scrapbooking isn’t exactly your spouse’s cup of tea, you can secretly work on completing the scrapbook of either your courtship, wedding, honeymoon or first year together to give as a gift on your first year anniversary.
* You and your spouse may love to travel together. Surprise your spouse with plane tickets to a favorite spot for a long weekend getaway. You can leave the plane tickets where she will find them or you can simply e-mail her a copy of the itinerary (if you don’t actually get the actual plane tickets in hand) with a small note that says you’ll meet her at the airport.
