My husband and I decided before we were married not to give each other gifts for our anniversaries. Instead, we decided to take the money that would have been spent on gifts and use it to do something extra special together – to create new memories by getting away alone for a day or two.
We came up with a system that works very well. We take turns planning the event. I take the odd years and he plans the even years. It can be as simple as dinner and a movie and a night away in a free hotel. Sometimes we make it more elaborate. One year we went to Orlando for a weekend. Another year our dinner was at a private table in the wine cellar of a nice downtown restaurant.
Every 5th year, we do something really special. These trips we plan together. Instead of a day or two, we plan a getaway for a week or more. For our 5th anniversary we went on a Caribbean cruise. Our tenth was that Italy trip I mentioned. As I said before, these big trips only happen because we plan well in advance. We’re planning on Costa Rica for our 15th, and England, Scotland and Ireland for our 20th. Right now, it sounds so far off and so far out of reach, but then again, so did Italy.
Habits for a Happy Home 
What a great system! I like taking turns 🙂 and the extra special trips by fives. Wow so much to look forward to. Love, love the photo.
I love that picture too. It is one of my favorites. We’re relaxing in a park in Rome (insert nostalgic sigh here). It always makes me think of the picnics that Father Tim and Cynthia take in Mitford 🙂
Ah. That mental picture made me smile just as much as this one! Love it.
We have a 15 year coming up this summer and had agreed we’d do a frugal in-town celebration. Swap houses with my mom – go out to dinner, to a movie, sleep in, go to breakfast…
Just the two of us for say 48 hrs – wow! But your ideas do make me want to hop on the train outta town 🙂
I like this, too! We have been inspired to start planning (and saving) for our 20th which is only a couple of years away.
We don’t do gifts either,just cards, unless it’s something handmade like a scrapbook or playlist of favorite songs.
We usually plan together, but it would be fun to take turns. Our day falls at Thanksgiving and we have 3 b-days and Christmas all within a month of it, so planning ahead is the only way to make it happen.
We decided not to plan together because I have a tendency to take over, and he has a tendency to let me 🙂 This way, we both have to break out of our comfort zones a bit. His schemes are not usually very elaborate, but they are always fun.
And I know what you mean about the timing of your anniversary. Ours falls right in the middle of spring break for much of the country and the weather isn’t always cooperative in March, so we’ve become comfortable with the idea of occasionally celebrating at a different time of year. For example, Ireland is cold and not very green in March, so that trip will probably happen later in the year.
That sounds fantastic!! Thanks for the wonderful ideas! My husband and I really NEED to take some time for us.
We did Disneyworld for our 5th. At the time, we had a toddler. I’m sure some people thought we were awful parents, going to Disney and leaving our little girl home with Grandma, but this was OUR trip! We had a great time, it was like a second honeymoon. (We did take all our kids to Disney years later. =) Another time, we went away just for the weekend and went to a water park. Two thirty-somethings playing like teenagers! Going away together refreshes our relationship and reminds us we are lovers as well as parents.
By the way, we are planning a trip to Charleson for our 20th this year. Anyone been there and have ideas about where to stay and eat? =)
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