Anniversary Gifts by Year

Subtract the wedding year from the current year. Married twenty years ago means the 20th anniversary this year — the anniversary lands on the same date they married. If the maths feels risky, use the finder at the top of this page: pick the wedding year and it does the sum for you.

Each year has a traditional material: paper for the 1st, cotton for the 2nd, then leather, linen, wood and so on, up to silver at 25, ruby at 40, gold at 50 and diamond at 60. Not every year has one — the full UK list is in the table above, blanks included.

The 25th is the silver wedding anniversary — the best known of all the milestone years. Silver-themed gifts are the tradition: jewellery, keepsakes, or anything with a nod to the metal. A candle with a message about 25 years together counts the sentiment, if not the silver.

The 40th is the ruby anniversary. Traditional gifts pick up the ruby theme — deep red flowers, ruby jewellery, red glassware — but most people simply want the milestone marked. Something personal that names the 40 years matters more than the material; it’s a rare milestone and worth saying out loud.

Yes. The traditional UK list dates back to Victorian times and leaves many years blank; the modern list (mostly American) fills every year with things like clocks, appliances and desk sets. This page follows the traditional UK list — where a year has no traditional material, we say so rather than invent one.