There are heaps of wonderful golden wedding anniversary gift ideas to choose from. But when it comes to buying gifts for your friends the question you should be deciding on first, is the scale of your budget. Gold or gold plated items are the most obvious choice and there are a number of options available to suit a variety of budgets. Solid gold will, of course, be far more expensive that a gold plated item, but there are also a huge number of other gifts available if you’re prepared to take a less than traditional route.
First, however we’ll be looking at traditional 50th anniversary gifts because there are plenty of people who prefer to stick with more customary anniversary gifts.
Traditional golden wedding anniversary gifts for friends
Every wedding anniversary is special, but the joy that accompanies a golden wedding anniversary can’t be beaten. Spending fifty years as man and wife is a clear representation of their togetherness and also stands for the longevity and permanence of a successful marriage. There must be a number of people reading this that look forward to such an important event. When it’s your friends who are celebrating a golden anniversary you want to pick a gift that reflects your respect and fondness of them both.
Gold cufflinks or a gold necklace will be very much appreciated by the anniversary couple. But you may feel this is a little too personal. In which case you might want to consider dinnerware with attractive gold detailing, glasses with golden rims, a bottle of wine from a vineyard with gold in the name, a gold anniversary plaque with a meaningful message, gold anniversary plates, trinkets and an assortment of golden anniversary linked ornaments.
However, if you want your gift to be a little different, consider straying away from the traditional theme of gold. A great way of conveying your emotions and expressing your love for the couple is with a gift you’ve made yourself. It’s all too easy to pop to the store or look online for a suitable gift. Making golden wedding anniversary gifts for friends will mean your gift is 100% unique. And the fact that you’ve spent time and energy making something will touch the couple’s heart. Unless of course you really haven’t got a crafty bone in your body. In which case you might be better advised to get someone more artistically minded to make a gift for you.
White Glazed Rose Earrings
- Real miniature white rose petals combined with 24k gold.
- Each pair features 16 brilliant synthetic diamonds.
- These earrings are intricately detailed.
Gold-Dipped Poker Cards
- A playable deck of poker cards dipped in 24 karat gold.
- Presented in an elegant high quality case made from cherry-wood.
- The deck is produced to tournament grade standards.
Ideas for homemade golden wedding anniversary gifts for friends
A 50th wedding anniversary is also referred to as a golden wedding anniversary. Hence the theme is gold. This is why many people who know the celebrating couple will be looking for gifts that feature gold. However, not everyone has the budget to be giving anniversary gifts made entirely of gold. But there are ways you can feature the theme, without making a great big hole in your bank balance.
- A golden photo frame – Get hold of a simple frame, and paint it gold. You might even have one hanging around at home that’s only gathering dust. Add some gold glitter and sequins, and maybe even a few gold leaves cut out of card. Add the names of the couple and the date of their marriage, and fill the frame with a picture of the couple on their wedding day.
- A golden basket of gifts – Find an old basket and spray it with gold paint. Then fill it with gifts that have been wrapped in gold wrapping paper. Your golden gift basket can contain whatever gifts you think your friends will enjoy. And to make this gift traditional just requires gold wrapping paper. You can include chocolates, cookies, cakes, pasta, dry ingredients for making a special meal, coffee and tea bags, seed packets for the garden, beauty products, in fact most small items are suitable for giving as part of an anniversary gift basket.
- Homemade chocolates – Making chocolates at home is actually much easier than you think. You could make 50 individual truffles as it’s their 50th anniversary. Or make the chocolates in the shape of a number 50. To keep in with the theme you can decorate your chocolates with gold dust or edible gold leaf. Wrap the chocolates in gold paper and tie the present up with a length of gold ribbon.
Many golden anniversary couples won’t be looking for more stuff that will clutter their home. No disrespect intended to those who are thinking of buying them a gift for their home. Before you splash the cash you might want to consider the gift of an experience. As we’re sure there is still plenty of room in their memory bank for more special memories.
Tips on choosing the perfect 50th wedding anniversary gift for a couple of friends
Some golden anniversary couples will use a gift registry to convey to friends and family the gifts that will be appreciated. This is a particularly useful idea if a grand anniversary party is in the plan. However, for many couples this won’t be necessary, which leaves people to their own devices when it comes to choosing a gift. Let’s help with a few ideas, and how to go about choosing the right one.
- A golden wedding anniversary present for friends should be in keeping with the couple’s lifestyle, wants, and needs. Glassware and dinnerware are always going to be welcome – see trending dinnerware on Amazon.
- Consider the age of the couple, because as we all know, tastes change as a person gets older. An older couple may not be in the market for the latest gadgets and gizmos.
- Speak to family members, and other friends, to try and get an idea of the things they’d like, and also to check what other people are buying. Nobody wants to receive duplicate gifts and have to fret over exchanging one of them.
- Think about what the couple enjoy doing, and choose a gift that will be useful. They might enjoy travelling, walking around botanical gardens, listening to live music, opera, or theatre.
- If there are a few of you struggling to come up with a suitable gift, why not pool your funds and consider getting something more extravagant? A gold dipped rose for the lady and a set of golf dipped poker cards for the long suffering husband.
A great way to say happy anniversary is with the gift of flowers
Marking special occasions with the gift of flowers is an age old tradition. Flowers and plants can be used to convey a variety of emotions and messages. And many significant anniversary years have a particular plant as one of the themes. For a golden anniversary the flower is a violet. Not the easiest of choices to incorporate into an anniversary gift, and certainly not the kind of flower to be made into a bouquet. Instead you could give your friends a living plant for their garden. If they have an area in their garden that is shady the violet will flourish. And every year the couple will be reminded of your friendship, as your gift continues to grow.
If you think the conditions aren’t right for violets there are still plenty of flower varieties that are aptly named to make them the perfect 50th wedding anniversary gift for your friends.
Golden wedding anniversary plants
- Rhododendron ‘Golden Wedding’
- Hosta ‘Golden Anniversary’
- Fuchsia ‘Golden Anniversary’
- Clematis ‘Golden Harvest’
- Rose ‘Happy Golden Wedding’
Picking plants for people isn’t always easy, and if you’re not all that sure about the growing conditions in their home you’ll be better off buying them gift certificates for a local garden center. Go along with them and talk to the experts, and help the couple choose their own anniversary plants. Living plants are a wonderful gift to give as they will act as a constant reminder of the couples wedding day. Unless of course, neither of the couple aren’t renowned for their gardening prowess.
Golden wedding anniversary gifts for friends should be symbolic
Reaching a 50th wedding anniversary is a significant and remarkable social achievement. Giving the anniversary couple a gift is a way to express your pride in such a long-lasting union. Love and goodwill can be showcased with the right kind of gift. If you want your gift to stand out from the crowd then add a spot of personalization. The gift could be engraved or printed with a special message, or with the couples names and date of their anniversary.
We hope that some of our ideas have given you some food for thought. But if you’re still struggling take a look at some of our other pages. So far we’ve included special golden wedding anniversary gift, and a page full of anniversary ideas. We’d also love to hear from any readers who have ideas that worked a treat, so we can share them with our troubled gift givers.