Did you know that there is a specific material assigned to each year of marriage? I thought it would be fun to use the list as inspiration for DIY anniversary gift packages. For this post I focused on paper (1 year), wood (5 years), and silver (25 years) but wouldn’t fruit & flowers (4 years), cotton (2 years), and lace (13 years) be fun to do as well? It’s a lot of fun coming up with creative and affordable ideas to fill each package – let us know if there are any other cute gifts to include!

To inspire your creativity, here’s the full list of traditional anniversary gifts: 1) Paper, 2) Cotton, 3) Leather, 4) Fruit/Flowers, 5) Wood, 6) Candy, 7) Copper or Wool, 8) Bronze, 9) Pottery, 10) Tin, 11) Steel, 12) Silk, 13) Lace, 14) Animals, 15) Crystal, 20) China, 25) Silver, 30) Pearl, 35) Coral, 40) Ruby, 45) Sapphire, 50) Gold, 55) Emerald, 60+) Diamond.

Paper (1 year) Anniversary Box 

Supplies: Paper box, white and pink card stock, miniature honeycomb balls, mini envelope, glue stick, deck of cards, scissors, tissue paper, hot glue gun

Step 1: Print and cut out fake tickets on the pink card stock. The ones below read “ADMIT ONE – Happy Anniversary! Enjoy a movie together, our treat!” Don’t forget to tape the real movie theatre gift card to the back of one of the tickets.
Step 2: Cut the tissue paper into small squares of confetti.
Step 3: Put the confetti into the small envelope and seal.
Step 4: Glue a few extra pieces on the outside of the envelope as decoration.
Step 5: Put the gifts into the paper box: the deck of cards, movie tickets, and confetti filled envelope. You can use paper nesting to fill the box even more if desired.
Step 6: Use the adhesive dots on the honeycomb balls to attach them to the lid of the paper box.
Step 7: Cut out three small 1s from the white card stock.
Step 8: Use tiny dabs of hot glue to gently attach the 1s onto the honeycombs.

Silver (25 years) Anniversary Box
Supplies: Silver cord, silver party horn, silver foil wrapped treats (candy, coffee, chocolate, etc), small silver bucket, silver muffler tape, pencil, scissors, disposable foil tray, nail.

Step 1: Cut strips of the silver tape about 3/4″ wide.
Step 2: Peel off the tape backing and fold each piece over a piece of the silver cord, keeping the tape evenly spaced.
Step 3: Cut the folded tape into triangular bunting. The finished garland can be as long as you like, but mine was about 24″ long.
Step 4: Cut a diamond out of the foil tray.
Step 5: Using a stack of newspaper as a base, write “25” backwards onto the diamond. When you flip the diamond over, 25 will be embossed on the other side.
Step 6: Use a sharp nail to gently poke a hole in the top of the diamond.
Step 7: Fill the bucket with the silver party horn and treats.
Step 8: Weave the foil diamond onto a piece of silver cord and tie around the bucket. Drape the filled bucket with the garland, tying if necessary.

Wood (5 years) Anniversary Box
Supplies: Wooden box, scissors, small wood circles, string, wooden heart, wooden spoons, paint, paintbrushes, matchboxes, faux wood contact paper, hot glue gun, masking tape

Step 1: Apply masking tape around the handle of each spoon at the point where you want the paint to start.
Step 2: Paint the spoons. Remove the masking tape and let dry.
Step 3: Cut a strip of faux wood contact paper the same length as the matchbox.
Step 4: Apply the contact paper onto the matchbox wrapping around the top, one side, and bottom. Be sure to leave at least one side uncovered so that you can still light the match.
Step 5: Apply small dabs of hot glue onto the backs of the wooden circles and attach onto the string to form a garland.
Step 6: Paint a 5 on the wooden heart. Let dry.
Step 7: Fill the box with the matchboxes and the garland. You can also fill the box with paper nesting if desired.
Step 8: Wrap string around the box, tying at the center. Gather the wooden spoons and tie on top. Trim any excess string. Apply a tiny dab of hot glue onto the back of the wooden heart and attach onto the knot holding the spoons in place.