Anniversary Gifts - Thirty-First Anniversary

Now that you've had time to recover from your thirtieth anniversary, it's time to get ready for number 31. The anniversary gift idea, which is modern only, is time pieces. Interesting that they didn't use the term clock or watch. If you're not sure whether this leaves your choices wide open or narrows them down, the best way to figure this out is to look up the definition of "time piece" in the dictionary.

If you look up the definition of time pieces in the dictionary you will find that it says, "An instrument, such as a clock or watch, that measures, registers, or records time". Sounds like this can be just about anything that tells time. Having said that, remember, this is a big anniversary. I mean, talk about time. So don't go heading out to Sears and get some $10 piece of junk. There are so many nice and unusual time pieces that you can get. Need some ideas? No problem.

Let's start off with a big one. How about a grandfather clock? Yes, they're expensive and they're very hard to maintain, especially if you don't know what you're doing. However, there are places that specialize in caring for these collectors' items and plenty of sites on the Internet with instructions on how to care for your grandfather clock. Think this won't bring a surprised look to your spouse's face? It will.

If the thought of having one of those monsters in your house doesn't exactly appeal to you, then maybe you'll want to go with something a little smaller. A nice antique pocket watch should do the trick. Yes, this kind of gift is more for guys than for ladies, but certainly your husband is worth it. Just make sure that you get one with a chain on the end of it so he can attach it to his pocket. You might actually even get him to dress up after he has one of these things.

Of course, there are those of us who think grandfather clocks and antique pocket watches are corny and clichéd. For those people, there are always your more standard time pieces. Today, with digital watches and clocks, there are plenty of styles to choose from. Of course, for the ladies, you may just want to get your wife a nice regulation ladies watch. You know the kind. The ones with the small wrist band and the equally small watch face. You can't really tell what time it is on these things, especially when you get older and your eyes start to go, but they do look nice.

Of course finding a watch for a man is a lot easier. The watch faces are much bigger so you don't have to worry about him not being able to tell what time it is. You can go with the traditional watch with hands or the brand new digital kind if your husband considers himself a man of the new age. Either way, at least he won't be late for dinner.

Time pieces may not be as romantic as pearls and diamonds, but at least they're practical.

Michael Russell

Your independent guide to Anniversary Gifts

Anniversary Gifts - Forty-Fourth Anniversary

Have you been noticing that the anniversary gift ideas over the past few years have been a little off the beaten track? Well, it doesn't get any less strange for your forty-fourth anniversary. Most likely as the list makers were getting to this end of the list, they were just running out of ideas. If you think not, just try on this year's offering for size. What exactly is it? Well, you're going to be taking your spouse to the supermarket.

That's right. This year's anniversary gift idea is groceries. You know, those things that you get at the local Pathmark and bring home to fill your stomachs with. Well, this year you get to make those groceries a special anniversary gift for your lovely wife or handsome husband. If you're scratching your head wondering how you're going to pull this off, we've got a few ideas that should do just the trick.

One idea is to go on a shopping spree. No, not just take a trip to the supermarket. A real shopping spree complete with gift certificate and all the trimmings. Considering how expensive groceries are just for a normal day out shopping, you're going to want to make that gift certificate out for a sizable amount. We'll leave that amount up to you, but just remember, $100 barely feeds a family of three for a week these days. So you probably want to make that certificate out for at least $250 if not more. You can offer to go with your spouse on this spree or let him or her go alone. Make it their choice.

If the idea of the shopping spree seems a little corny, what you may want to do is have certain groceries delivered to the house as a surprise. If you really want this to be an eventful day, call up a number of different places that maybe specialize in different kinds of foods and have them all make a delivery at different times during the day. Make sure your spouse is home the whole day. That way, each time the doorbell rings and there's another delivery person at the door, there's another surprise to go along with him. The trick here is not to have too many different deliveries. Three or four should be fine. After the fourth one, the whole thing might get a little old. You want to keep the element of surprise. The second delivery will actually be a bigger surprise than the first one as your spouse will figure that one delivery was the whole gift. You will get a great reaction to this gift.

Of course, if you want to keep the whole thing simple, you can just go out yourself and pick up a few special items from the grocery store that you normally don't get. For example, if you've been putting off getting that lobster tail because it is too expensive, now is a perfect time to get a few.

The only trouble with this year's anniversary gift is that eventually it will be gone, but at least you'll enjoy eating it while you can.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Anniversary Gifts