13 years ago today I married the funniest guy I could find.
In 13 years we have had major
ups and major downs.
He’s the only person on the planet
that can make me laugh when I am furious.
And the one that happens to be a big softy,
even though he doesn’t openly admit it. ;)
Little did we know where life would take
us all those years ago. Sometimes it seems
like foooooorever ago. Hello oldest child that is 11
and in 6th grade. Wow.
Other times it feels like it was just yesterday.
Saying yes. Happily. On the best day of my life.
Why yes, I was the ripe ol’ age of 20 when we got married.
And it was 1998, so go easy on my dress.
On to the good stuff: over our 13 years, we have been pretty darn creative with presents. My very favorites weren’t the ones that cost a lot of money (though those are nice too). The gifts that I love are the sentimental ones. For example:
Anniversary Gifts:
Josh sent me on a candy bar treasure hunt for our 9th anniversary.
Probably $10 total- but so sweet.
I wanted to share an idea with you that I did for our 8th that he still talks about:
ON THE HOUR
Since Josh works an office job and has a commute, if our anniversary isn’t on a weekend we usually don’t get to spend it together. For our 8th anniversary I sent him with a bag full of gifts, one for every hour “on the :08.” So 8:08am he opened #1, 9:08am he opened #2, etc. That year he happened to be coaching flag football for our nephews so most of the gifts had to do with that: a coach clipboard, whistle, Gatorade holders, etc. They don’t have to be huge presents- it’s just fun to have something little to open every hour. He’s pretty impatient and said he was tempted to open them all at once but actually held out and waited until the 8 of every hour.
Have you done anything creative to celebrate your anniversary?
Check out my other gift ideas and printables.
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Happy Anniversary!
Great Job on making marriage work!
Thanks so much!
I love your ideas. We also try to do simple, yet thoughtful gifts. This year for our 8th anniversary I filled our bedroom with 8 balloons each tied with special messages. My hubby was so surprised! Here is my post and a picture: http://bugger-dixonline.blogspot.com/2011/05/8-years-and-growing.html
Jenny- after reading your post I headed out to get 13 balloons. ;) We celebrated over the weekend but thought he would enjoy this today. I’m tying 13 of my favorite stories together. Thanks for the inspiration!
We are celebrating our 24th anniversary on Monday. I made books with 100 reasons why I love him twice. Once in college before we married and again about 10 years ago. I also gave him a nice leather journal for his bedside table and everyday I list one thing he did that day that makes me love him even more. Your ballon idea is awesome and I think I’ll do it this way- 24 ballons in 1 bedroom!!
I love your ideas Sherry- so much fun! Thanks for the comment. Happy 24th!!
Happy Anniversary! Our 3rd Anniversary is today as well ;-) Enjoy!
Happy Anniversary Alli- great day to get married! :)
This is sooo sweet! Happy Anniversary!!!
Thanks Monica!
Happy Anniversary!
We’ve been married 4 years… for the 1st we went back to the exact same hotel we stayed at on our wedding night, same room too! So fun! For the 2nd we took a little trip to explore a place we’d both never been, and then had dinner where we got engaged. For the third we planned small little dinner date, and picked out a gift we both really wanted for our home. This year, I planned a surprise anniversary date to the same restaurant where we spent our first anniversary. we’re all about traditions here!
I’m a traditions kinda girl myself. They are so sentimental! Love what you guys have done. Thanks for sharing!
How adorable are you two?? Congrats on 13 years! What sweet Anniversary gift ideas. Love those. Hope you both enjoy your day and many, many more years of happiness! Happy Anniversary!
Thanks Alyson- back when we were young and skinny. ;)
Happy Anniversary! You look beautiful on your wedding day! (we celebrated our 12th yesterday!)
Jo-Anna
Thanks Jo-Anna! Happy (day late) Anniversary to you!
That is such a clever fun idea!! You are so creative Mique. Happy Anniversary
Thanks Tasha! You are so creative too. ;)
Happy Anniversary! I would love the candy hunt and on the hour is so clever!
Thanks Christie- the candy bar one was fun. His little messages made me laugh so hard. And were very sweet too. It’s the little things that count, right? :)
It is our anniversary today as well, 8 years! We switch off planning our anniversary activity. Last year my husband planned a picnic breakfast and fishing. This year I planned a night out in Park City with dinner and massages. It shares the load and keeps it exciting!
Happy Anniversary!! Today seems to be a popular day. We actually switch off and on who is in charge as well. The last few years we haven’t been as good about it. Your plan for today sounds fantastic- hope you two have a great one!
Happy Anniversary! I love the on the hour gift idea – saving that for future reference. Something fun I did once was 12 days of Valentine’s (instead of Christmas), with things like Day 12: 12 reasons I love you with the Riesen candies, Day 9: 9 of our inside jokes with Laffy Taffy, etc.
That’s adorable Tam- love it! I’ll have to remember for another time. Thanks for sharing!
Happy anniversary! 13 years ago I became a mother-in-law (or some might think monster-in-law.) I love you both tons and am proud that you make it work, in the hard times as well as the good times!
XOXO, mom
Crazy that it’s been 13 yrs. Thanks for making our day amazing Mom. It really was everything I ever dreamed of- all credit to you. People still talk about it. Love you! xo
Oh, how SWEET!!! You guys are adorable! Love these ideas! We’ll be celebrating our 15th at the end of the month.
You are so sweet Bridget- seeing a comment from you makes me smile every time. Happy 15 yrs at the end of the month!!
I love your blog post and just tweeted you. Re creative anniversary celebrations, without sounding like a ‘pitch,’ we’re actually getting a LOT of users using http://www.myTab.co to plan, be gifted travel cash from friends/family and save cash for their anniversary trip. Mainly for the milestone anniversaries i.e. 20, 30, 40s etc. Just a really nice way to not categorize a typical vacation but make it more meaningful since it’s anniversary related.
As a single mother (well, I have a spaniel so that counts as a child, yes?), I love hearing anniversary tales, especially from friends I went to school with who now have grown up kids….where as I’m yet again, a mom of a dog! :)
Brilliant blog – great fan :)
Super cute with the :08 presents! I’ll have to try that one :) Happy Anniversary!!~
Thanks Erin!
Happy Anniversary!! This is such a cute idea!! I love it!
Thanks Danielle!
Happy Anniversary!!!!!!!
My hubby and I were 20 also – we technically couldn’t even drink the wine at the head table (but the reception hall graciously looked the other way :) )
We’ve been married 11 years now – married in 2000 – and I always have to share that with others who married young because we all share a special set of experiences marrying at a young age :) …like being flat broke, for one! Congrats to you and have many, many more happy anniversaries together! (personally, we are hoping to be able to celebrate a 75th anniversary :D )
Jenny- getting married at 20 I thought I was so mature (HA!!!!!). We don’t drink but on our cruise Josh was excited that I could get a kids drink pass (b/c I was under 21) and we didn’t have to pay for any sodas the whole trip. There have been many lessons that we’ve learned together. Here’s to hoping for the 75th anniversary. Thanks for the sweet comment! :)
Yeah, we don’t really drink either (me occasionally)… its more of a celebratory glass of something-or-other from a tall, skinny bottle :)
Yes, one advantage is learning (and maturing) together. Happy 75th anniversary a bit in advance! hehe
My husband and I also married young. I was 19 and he was 18 (in his 19th year). :)
We are now celebrating our 3 year anniversary and we have a little 5 month old boy!
I am so happy I married young. Its precious. I’m hoping we get to celebrate our 75th anniversary too!!!! :D
These gifts make me think of a couple gifts me & my boyfriend have shared.
For valentine’s day one year, he sent me on a scavenger hunt around town. He hid hearts of paper in places that were special to us [most of them were on our college campus where me met] with sweet messages, small gifts [or notes about corresponding gifts if he thought the gifts were too pricey to leave laying around town lol] and clues to where to find the next note. The last note led me to where he was waiting to meet me for the rest of our date.
Another gift I gave to him, was for awhile we lived on opposite ends of the country, so I made him an advent calendar until I moved to see him. Each day he opened up a little baggie with a small present & a note.
I agree that these type of gifts are definitely some of the best, and most memorable!!
Linda
That is such a great gift idea! Happy anniversary!
that is SUCH a cute idea! my 5th anniversary is in october and i think i need to remember this one. you are so creative. (and i love the wedding pic!)
Thanks Lyndsey!! xo
Happy Anniversary Mique! Your ‘on the hour’ gift idea is such a lovely idea. This year for my husband’s 30th birthday I did something similar and gave him 30 small gifts (including a few vouchers for things like sleep-ins etc – which are like gold in our house!!)
… My favourite gifts are like yours though and are the ones we have been creative with and put a lot of thought into. Two in particular come to mind… one year my husband built me a wooden box to store all my art supplies in… it took him hours and hours to make and was such a special gift for me. The other was a year when we were particularly strapped for cash and so agreed to presents under $20… I painted the letters “I LOVE YOU” – on large pieces of paper – one letter to each piece of paper, and then I had friends take photos of me in front of places of special significance to us. I then had the photos developed and I gave them to him in a card.
Wishing you a wonderful day. H xo
Hana- I LOVE your ideas! So fun! And 30 small gifts? That’s a ton of work but I’m sure he loved every minute of it. Thanks for the comment!
My hubby’s next birthday is his 25th and I have been trying to come up with something great to do for him, this might just be it. He made my birthday this year, amazing! So, I feel a little pressure to make his good too. Thanks for the great idea!
Yay Kim! That’s awesome. We have also done quite a few scavenger hunts for each other around our city. I have a friend who sends a card a day for a month until Valentine’s day to her husband at work- that might be fun too! Let me know what you end up doing. ;)
followed a link to your blog and read the post about your anniversary . My son and daughter in law also celebrated their anniversary yesterday. It was their 13th too. Love your blog and am subscribing so I can read more.
LIz- it seems like our anniversary is a popular one (several people have mentioned it was their anniversary too!)- but what are the chances that it was the same day and year!? Thanks for subscribing!
I LOVE this idea! Our 8th anniversary is coming up…one week from today and I just might have to use this! What a fun and creative way to celebrate! Thank you for providing so much inspiration through your blog and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!
I really love your 8 “on the hour” gift idea! How cute are you??? I wish you and your hubby the best!
xo
Thanks sweet Tracy!! xoxo
Haven’t done anything too creative but you have inspired me to give it a try. By the way, we’ve been married 13 years as well with 2 kids and the oldest just turned 12. We started a little later than you though. I was 27 when we got married. And…there is nothing wrong with your dress. It was very pretty. Thanks for the ideas.
Awww Maggie you’re so sweet. Thanks for saying the dress was pretty. I thought so at the time. ;) Glad I could inspire you to try something creative- let me know what you do!
This is SUCH a cute idea. :] I love doing gifts like this. I found this post via Tatertots and Jello, where I too posted a gift idea for my hubs. It was for his birthday but could totally work for Anniversaries as well. I did a book that included 24 reasons why I love him (he turned 24) and made it so I can add a reason every year. I’ll definitely have to steal your idea for when we celebrate future anniversaries. Thanks for sharing this cute idea. :]
I love this idea. It is my 6th anniversary tomorrow and I only wish I saw this earlier!
What a great idea! I am definitely pinning it! Happy Anniversary to you both!
That is soooooo stinkin sweet! What a thoughtful idea! I love it when married couples think of great ideas such as these for eachother instead of boring ol’ anniversary gifts. Good for you, Mique!!!
What a cute idea! I try to come up with inexpensive ways to celebrate my marriage often and it can be hard to keep it fresh. This is one idea I will definitely have to try. Congrats on 13 years and here’s to many, many more!
That candy bar treasure hunt is one of the most romantic things I’ve ever seen… :´) what a guy you are married to :-)
I married my bear 1999 :-)
Im in 6th grade and i need a 1 week Ann. Gift for her shes all so in 6th
This is such a fabulous idea! Our 2nd anniversary will be this next June, and I’m sure hubby will have to work. What a neat way to make it a fun and special day for him!
I love to do things like this and love this idea. I will be using this for him. His days are stressful and this would be fun for him.
Great idea and keep up the good work.
Quite the contrary… I love your dress! There might be prettier/fancier things out there these days, but yours looks stunning!
Maybe I should mention you also look like my 7th grade teacher :) So beautiful.
Love these anniversary ideas. I’m single, but I love collecting a huge database of ideas for my future partner :)
I was searching for something unique for my almost 8 year olds birthday and found your presents on the 8th of the hour idea on pintrest. Clicked to get more details and saw a photo of Josh. Didn’t recognize him at first, just thought he looked ruggedly handsome and familiar somehow. Such a delightful surprise to find it is my husbands cousin! I’m Scott Beal’s wife. Great blog. So fun to stumble upon you. You will have to tell Yvonne hi for me. And Josh too!
Thanks for your idea of gifts on the hour! I am getting married in June. It’s an evening wedding, and I might try these little hourly gifts for him throughout the day. Would be so much fun!
My husband & I just celebrated out 2nd anniversary yesterday. I sent my husband on a scavenger hunt that started at the front door of our house and ended at the best hotel in our metro area. He had to follow directions exactly, which included what to wear, who to call for clues or where to find clues, where to go, what to pickup, and driving directions. He enjoyed every minute of it and was super excited when he arrived at the door of our themed hotel room, which I decorated with wickless tealight candles, rose petals, and a copy of our marriage certificate and marriage vows. It was so fun to plan and just as fun for him to participate in.
Hi, I just came across your blog.. And even our anniversary is on 22nd august :) lovely ideas.. We ll be completing 2 years this year..
Too cute! I love the ideas :) can you tell me how the candy scavenger hunt worked specifiacally? That’s an awesome idea, and my hubby is a sweet tooth. Would love to try that.
That is adorable! Thanks for sharing. You are too cute, and such an inspiration! My Hubby and I are going strong at 8 years. :) xoxo
I found your blog while looking for something interesting to make with a package of white chocolate chips, and will be making your Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies.
This Anniversary gift is precious, and I wanted to say that I love your wedding dress!
That is too cute. Me and my boyfriend will have been together for 6 yrs this October. I really like the gifts on every hour one. I think I might try that one this year or even in the future. Me and my boyfriend always end up just going out to eat at a nice restaurant or this past year he actually cooked a nice dinner for the 2 of us.
I’m going to use your idea this year – my husband will be out of state this year on a business trip. Thanks for sharing.
My creative idea to share is I sent my husband on a scavenger hunt. The original idea I had read about was to send him to all the places that mattered to us – our first date, place we met, etc. I couldn’t do that as we met in college (now 6 hrs. away from where we live) so I sent him to meaningful places in the town we live in. Our first apartment where the couple who lived in it were more than happy to help “hand out” his clue when asked. Our church, a friends house (because friends are important to our relationship!), a local charity we support etc. The first clue was a rose left in his car at work – he had to go on his journey and meet me at a restaurant for dinner. After dinner I gave him his next clue (which really surprised him) and sent him off again. Finally he ended up at home for dessert. He told me that was one of the most memorable anniversaries we ever had.
Well, I just found this and noticed the date. Happy 14TH anniversary!
My husband and I are about to celebrate our 8th anniversary (we are high school sweethearts who got married at 21) and I’m going to use your idea for gifts on the :08! You’ve inspired me and I am truly grateful!! Thank you!!
I love your dress dont hate on it. I want it when I get married!
LOVE this idea! I feel like such an old lady but my husband and I were both married at 18 in 1985 and I love him more today than I ever did but less than I will tomorrow *lol* he calls me his lil corny doll when I say that. Anyway, I wanted to share something that my husband did that made me cry and still does today. About 3 years ago our anniversary was hijacked by my husband’s battle with cancer but he found a way to make it special. He picked up some rocks out of our garden and with a sharpie he wrote little sentiments on them about why he loved me, everything from because of “the way I still stick my pinky finger in his coffee in the morning and giggle as I tell him that I’m adding sweetness to it” to because of my willingness to put my career on hold to follow him in the military and stay home to raise our kids. Then he had me drive around town to places that I go everyday or most everday (work, post office, bank, favorite thrift store, etc.) and leave one there so when I pass by even if I can’t see it all the time, I know it’s there.
So, speaking of our children, my son is marrying the girl of his and my dreams *wink*, and my husband and I are sending them on a honeymoon so I am going to do this for them and have the gifts waiting in their hotel. Probably won’t do it hour by hour but maybe one at night and one for morning of each day.
Thank you so much for this idea!
Le
Great idea! I have an anniv. coming up this month and I just might steal this idea.
okay, 15 month anniversary today, his bday tomorrow and valentines day next week, I have no gifts for him, for any day, i don’t know what to do…….I feel horrible about it, and I want to give him something special but I don’t know what to give him, Can someone help me, I’m broke so I have to make him something.. Any advice would be appreciated
Hey, i know this is a bit late, but maybe you can filed it away for another special occasion. I was in the same boat as you! Valentines day and I was broke AND my fiance wasn’t even here, he was in Brazil! :( But if your guy is kind of geeky, he will enjoy this gift. I went to this website: http://cartoon.pho.to/
you can make your photos into cartoons for free here and make a comic book of your life together! My guy LOVED it and said it was the perfect gift because it didn’t cost anything but was soo sentimental :) I find the best gifts always come from the heart <3
Love this idea! I’m going to do it for my sister’s 50th birthday. Thank you for sharing.
I sent a card for each year of their. My brother turned 60 this year I sent 60 cards. I did think ahead.and purchased a few every moth the year befoe. I also signed and stamped rhem as I purchased them. The cards came from e erywhere, but a good portion came fro the Dollar Store. My brother callex amd said it was one of the funnest gifts he received. Thankfully all arrived on the same day.