• 58 gift ideas

What Should I Get My Girlfriend for Our One Year Anniversary

First-year paper gifts like tickets, a letter or printed photos, or your first date again: one idea a press.

What Should I Get My Girlfriend for Our One Year Anniversary

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  1. Printed tickets to a show next monthPaper is the traditional first-anniversary gift, and a ticket gives you both a date.

Next step Questions for the anniversary dinner

All 58 gift ideas

Paper, the first-year tradition 16

  • A blank journal with the first page written by you Date it, write what this year was, and leave the other pages to her.
  • A book of dates for year two, one page a week Write a plan on each page and let her tear out this week's.
  • A card that says what changed since you met her Three true sentences beat a printed verse.
  • A comic strip of how you met Six panels, stick figures allowed; fold it into the card.
  • A crossword with clues only she can answer Draw the grid by hand or with a puzzle maker; the answers are your year.
  • A film poster of your first year, starring her A title, a tagline, and the date you met as the release day.
  • A jigsaw of your best photo of the year Cardboard is paper enough; do it together that evening.
  • A strip of photos from a booth, taken that day Pull two serious faces and two silly ones; she keeps the strip.
  • The newspaper front page from the day you met Look for that day's paper in a library archive and print the front page for her wall.
  • Next year's calendar with your dates marked Her birthday, the anniversary and one surprise she has to wait for.
  • Printed tickets to a show next month Paper is the traditional first-anniversary gift, and a ticket gives you both a date.
  • Prints of the photos that only live on your phones Choose your favorites, print them small, and put them in a box she can go through.
  • The recipe of the first meal you cooked her, on a card Write it by hand, mistakes included, then cook it again that night.
  • Train or plane tickets inside the card Paper in the best sense: somewhere to go together.
  • Twelve notes, one about each month you have had One memory to a note, tied in order from the first month to this one.
  • Twelve paper flowers, one for each month Fold them from a map of your city or the pages of a book she has two of.

For the first year 17

  • A bracelet with the date inside The date you met on the inside, where only she knows it is.
  • A class in the thing she keeps saying she wants to learn Pottery, a language, climbing: book the first lesson and go with her.
  • A day off together, booked without telling her Clear it with her work first if you can, then plan a slow morning.
  • A day planned hour by hour, with her told only what to wear Morning, afternoon and evening, each with one thing she loves.
  • A key to your place, on a keyring she will like Only if you are ready for it; it says more than jewelry does.
  • A large framed print of the two of you The photo she already uses as her lock screen is the one.
  • A necklace with one small stone for one year Plain enough for every day; add a stone next year if she likes the idea.
  • A short film cut from the clips on your phone A few seconds from each month, in order, set to a song she likes.
  • A weekend away, the first trip you plan alone Somewhere a short drive off; book it, pack the snacks, tell her the dates.
  • Carnations, the flower listed for a first anniversary Lists of anniversary flowers give the carnation for year one; pick her color.
  • The first photo of you two, retaken in the same spot Print the pair side by side.
  • Flowers sent to her work with a card in your handwriting Write the card yourself and take it to the florist.
  • The meal from your first date, cooked at home Cook the dishes you both ordered, and set the table properly.
  • The thing she pointed at months ago and forgot Scroll back through your messages and photos; it shows you were listening.
  • Tickets to the artist you first bonded over If they are not touring, find the nearest thing and explain the joke.
  • Your first date again: same place, same order Book the same table if you can and wear what you wore.
  • Your ten best days of the year, read to her at dinner Write the list alone, then ask for hers.

A place revisited 7

  • The exact spot where you first spoke Go back, stand there, and tell her what you were thinking that day.
  • The first film you saw together, watched again Same snacks; this time you can talk through it.
  • Her hometown, with her as the tour guide Her school, her street, the shop she went to; you carry the bags.
  • The place of your first kiss, at the same hour Bring a flask and a blanket if it was outdoors.
  • The place where you first said I love you The café, the car, the kitchen: go back, and say it again.
  • The trip you talked about on an early date, booked The one you both said you would do some day.
  • The walk from your first date, step for step Same route, slower, with a stop where you first held hands.

For six months or a monthly date 9

  • A drawing of her pet Trace a photo if you cannot draw; she will keep it anyway.
  • A note in her bag that she finds later Hide it where she will reach during the day.
  • A walk and an ice cream, phones away Unhurried and cheap; a monthly date should not need a budget.
  • Breakfast out before work An early table makes an ordinary weekday feel like an occasion.
  • Her favorite dessert with a candle for each month Six candles for six months; sing if you dare.
  • Her usual takeout order, cooked by you Find a recipe for the dish she always picks and practice it once first.
  • One flower for each month so far Let the bunch grow by one stem at each monthly date.
  • The thing at her place you promised to fix, fixed The shelf, the bike, the dripping tap: bring the tools.
  • Your sweatshirt she already borrows, made hers Wash it, fold it, and hand it over with a bow.

For two years or more 9

  • 2nd year: something cotton, such as a soft throw Cotton is the traditional second-year gift on the US list.
  • 3rd year: something leather, such as a bag Leather is the traditional third-year gift.
  • 4th year: a small fruit tree in a pot Fruit and flowers are the traditional fourth-year gift on the US list.
  • 5th year: something wooden, such as a jewelry box Wood is the traditional fifth-year gift.
  • A better version of something she uses every day Her headphones, her bag, her kitchen knife: notice what is worn out.
  • A photo from every anniversary so far, in one frame Leave an empty window for next year's.
  • A piece of art for the home you share Choose it together or risk it alone; either way it hangs where you both see it.
  • A trip to somewhere neither of you has been After a few years, a new place gives you a story you do not already share.
  • A watch or a necklace handed down in your family For a relationship that has lasted; tell her whose it was.

How it works

For a one year anniversary the old custom is paper: tickets, a letter, a book of dates. These ideas for your girlfriend start there, then a place revisited, things you make, a monthly date and later years.

Read the full guide

Paper for the first year

Nothing stops a couple who are dating from borrowing the paper custom of a first wedding anniversary. Paper is cheap, so the thought has to carry it: printed tickets to a show next month, twelve notes about the twelve months, or prints of the photos that only live on your phones.

Go back, or make something

A year gives you places of your own. Your first date again, in the same order, cannot be bought by anyone else. Nor can a thing you made: a comic strip of how you met, or your ten best days of the year, read to her at dinner.

  • Write the date you met somewhere on whatever you give; years from now it is the part she will look for.
  • Book any table or ticket early, and tell her only what to wear.

Questions and answers

What is the traditional gift for a one year anniversary?

Paper. The custom belongs to wedding anniversaries: the traditional US list gives paper for the first year, and the UK list cotton or paper. The flower listed for the year is the carnation.

What should I get my girlfriend for our anniversary in year two or later?

The traditional US wedding list goes on: cotton for the second year, leather for the third, fruit and flowers for the fourth, wood for the fifth. Or leave the list and book a trip to somewhere neither of you has been.

What should I get my girlfriend for our 6 month anniversary?

Keep it small: her favorite dessert with a candle for each month, a note in her bag that she finds later, or breakfast out before work. Save the big gesture for the year.

What can I make my girlfriend for our one year anniversary?

Twelve paper flowers, one for each month; a crossword with clues only she can answer; a film poster of your first year, starring her; or the meal from your first date, cooked at home.

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