A gift for every year
Every year there is a panic week right before a wedding anniversary. It intensifies to nuclear mode if one half of the celebrating couple "forgets" the day in question. As the scramble continues for a last moment gift idea, the usual gift-givers are also searching for the next new thing.
The white fire grid (a.k.a. the Internet) has so many ideas, and even more choices; but how to sift through all that information? To start off, why not celebrate the year of the anniversary?
There is no need to wait for the tenth or the thirtieth anniversary to bring out a stupendous present, every year can be celebrated with a gift!
A list is not the end game in all gift giving, otherwise in a fourth anniversary people might find themselves flooded with electric appliances but not enough power outlets! Rather it should be treated as an outline of what type of gift to give without repeating last year's one. Now that you have the gift idea, all that remains is to mark the date of the anniversary correctly!
It's not just marriages or other milestones enjoyed with a significant other, you could easily customise this list for your friends and other occasion you can think of.
Friends for 12 years – buy a silk scarf/handkerchief in your friend's favourite colour, or maybe a pearl bracelet and wrap it up nicely.
The third year at the office? Get your colleague an antique crystal figurine or go traditional by gifting a leather wallet.
Celebrate your favourite teacher's sixteenth year of teaching by giving him/her a box of premium tea. Also married couples who like to throw their own anniversary parties can opt for a theme.
Anyone on their fifth wedding anniversary can give wooden items to the guests as a token of appreciation. After all gifting is not a one-way thing. Just do not go overboard and start making arrangements for the "twenty-sixth anniversaries", remember that both "annual" and "anniversary" have the same base concept.
Modern gift giving may seem a tad materialistic with everyone opting for price tags and brands, but gift givers have come a long way from cards and show-pieces (although it's the thought that counts the most). The anniversary-wise gift giving makes it easier to pick a utilitarian item which also embodies remembrance. It's also easier to buy and order things online without having to spend excess time over gift buying.
The origin of this tradition dates far back into the times of the Roman Empire. Those may have been far simpler times but the practice has flourished. Of course conspiracy theorists out there have marked this as another marketing gimmick for the large companies, but do not let that be an impediment to celebrating another milestone in life!
Rather traditions like these should be embraced whole heartedly for good memories made and better days yet to come.
By Iris Farina
Photo: Collected
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