1st Year Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas

This Sunday is David and I's first wedding anniversary. We couldn't be more excited. We are planning to stay at a local hotel for a few nights and just enjoy our staycation. It will also double as our babymoon. Our weekends are usually filled with errands and working on the house so this little getaway will be just what we need. It got me thinking about gifts, though.

The first year traditional material for a gift is paper (you might be more familiar with the higher years that include things like gold, diamonds, and other jewels). This makes for kind of a weird gift unless you get creative about it. So here are some ideas:

• artwork (as long as it's done on paper, like a print) 
• maps. This could be especially cute if you get a map of where you first met or where you each came from. It could also be of your wedding spot, honeymooon destination, a place you want to go to in the future, anything special to you.
• books. This could include things like notebooks or journals but it could also be reading books. 
• Stationary. This one seems kind of boring to me but if your spouse is in a place in their lives or a job where stationary or business cards would make sense, go for it. You could get it monogrammed or make it more professional with their work information.
• Calendar. In the middle of July (when our anniversary is), I don't see this being very practical but you could make one yourself and have all the pictures be things important to you and your relationship. It could end up being very sentimental.
• Tickets. This could be for a concert, a trip, a museum pass, etc. 

I don't think David and I are doing gifts, we never really have for things like this but we do always find a special way to celebrate, like with our mini-vacation. So of course you don't have to give a gift of paper. It's just the traditional material. You could even make up your own things as you go along!