The best anniversary plan depends on what you both like doing and how much energy the year has left you. Here are ideas for a night in, a day out and a tight budget, then ideas for milestone years and a few ways to look back on your story together.
At home
- Recreate your first date. Same food, same music, same movie if there was one. Get the details wrong on purpose if you can’t remember them.
- Cook something ambitious together. Pick a dish neither of you has made, ideally from a place you’ve traveled or want to go.
- A photo night. Put the year’s photos on the TV and pick the ten you’d print. Print them the next day.
- Breakfast in bed and no plans. Phones in another room until noon.
- Read your wedding vows again, or the first messages you sent each other.
- Build a fire or light candles and play cards. An old-fashioned evening is a nice break from screens.
Going out
- Go back to where it started. The restaurant, park or bar from your first date or your proposal.
- A day trip somewhere new. A town an hour or two away that neither of you knows.
- A class together. Cooking, pottery, dancing or a wine tasting. Something you’ll laugh through.
- A show or a game. Tickets to something you both enjoy, booked weeks ahead so you have it to look forward to.
- A night away. Even one night in a hotel across town changes the routine.
On a budget
- A picnic with takeout from the place you ate in your first months together.
- A sunrise or sunset walk with coffee from home.
- A free museum day or a local event. Your library or parks department website is a good place to look.
- Write each other a letter. A page each about one moment from the past year, exchanged over dinner.
- A “yes day” at home. Each of you picks three things for the day and the other agrees to all of them.
Ideas for milestone years
- First anniversary. Paper is the traditional theme. Our paper anniversary gifts guide has letters, maps and small books you can make.
- Fifth anniversary. Wood is traditional. Plant a tree together, or frame a photo from each year.
- Tenth anniversary. Tin or aluminum is traditional. A trip that echoes your honeymoon, or a small tin of ten notes, one for each year.
- Twenty-fifth. Silver is the theme. If family and friends were part of your start, a meal with the people who were there can suit it.
- Fiftieth. Gold. A family gathering with old photos on display, and a book of messages from children and grandchildren.
The themes follow Hallmark’s list. See anniversary gifts by year for every year on it.
Ideas for looking back together
If you’d like the day to include some of your story, these work alongside any plan above.
- A timeline picnic. Bring a long sheet of paper and draw the past year, or all your years, across it: moves, jobs, trips, songs you played on repeat, people who helped. Take a photo of it before you roll it up.
- A story walk. Walk through a neighborhood that mattered earlier in your relationship and tell the story of each stop: “This is where we bought the first plant.” Record a few voice memos if you both want to.
- Two versions of the same memory. Each of you writes down your memory of one day, such as your wedding or your first apartment, then compare. You’ll remember different things.
- A few good questions over dinner. Our anniversary questions are a good place to start. Pick two or three rather than working through a list.
If you’d like something to keep from it, our one-page anniversary record is a short format you can fill in each year.
If you’re apart on the day
Watch the same movie at the same time on a call, order each other dinner delivered, or mail a letter timed to arrive on the day. Plan a proper celebration for when you’re together again.