Modern times have brought about many changes in our gift giving etiquettes. The tradition of giving paper or cotton on the first and second anniversary no longer holds good in modern times. Times have changed and so have the gift giving etiquettes that govern our modern affluent society. However, the best gifts continue to be those that you choose with thought and care and which convey your heartfelt wishes.



Modern anniversary gifts cater to the changing desires of society. From the traditional paper gifts for the first anniversary the trend has changed to giving a clock instead. For the second anniversary, china is preferred, and for the third it is crystal or glass. This is a clear shift from utility items like paper, cotton, leather to fancy decorative things.

Fourth anniversaries are marked with appliances rather than fruit or flowers, and we give silverware as a fifth anniversary gift instead of wood. Wood still remains on the list, however, for the sixth anniversary (instead of candy or iron). And, quite often, the wood is in the form of figures or some sort of antique, rather than wood for the fire or a chair made of wood for sitting.

The seventh anniversary gift typically reflects our increasing focus on business in the form of desk sets instead of Wool and copper. For the eighth anniversary, bronze or pottery are out and the trend is for linens and lace that reflect our increased sense of luxury. And leather has taken the place of gifts made from willow for the ninth anniversary.

Traditionally, luxury gifts like jewelry would appear on the list only on the 25th anniversary. In modern times, however, we mark the 10th anniversary with diamond jewelry. While the jewelry doesn't have to be anything extravagant, it does signify that it is considered quite an accomplishment for a couple to stay together for ten years, given the increase in divorce rates.

Modern anniversary gifts continue in a vein of being more expensive than their traditional counterparts continuing on up. The 11th anniversary is marked by fashion jewelry, the twelfth by pearls (the 30th in tradition), 13th by textiles or furs, the 14th by gold jewelry, and the 15th by watches. Many people get matching "his" and "her" watches.

There is a skip to the 20th anniversary from the 15th as far as gift giving goes, and for the 20th it is platinum. But after that the modern anniversary gifts start to fall back in line a little bit with the more traditional, even though traditionally the 20th was a gift of china. For both 25th anniversaries, the gift is silver, but at the 30th there is some difference: modern is diamond and traditional is pearl. The last variance comes at the 35th. Modern gift giving is jade while traditional was coral.

For the rest of the anniversary gifts, the modern etiquette has not changed much from the traditional etiquette. We still give ruby for the 40th, sapphire for the 45th, gold for the 50th, emerald for the 55th and diamond for the 60th.