Shopping for anniversary gifts is like looking for shoes for a friend. You may think the style of the shoe looks fine and fits you, but it may not be what your friend would wear to a dance. So what are the best gifts to help a married couple celebrate a wedding anniversary?

Let’s face it. Being happily married for any length of time is an accomplishment. We are living in difficult times when the beauty of marriage seems to be losing its appeal. Newspapers and magazines, TV news and talk radio show example after example of marriages and fidelity ending up in affairs, cheating and unhappiness. When a husband or wife reads or hears these messages, it is easy to get discouraged or even doubt one another.

Sociologists like those at the National Marriage Project of Rutgers University say that 40-50% of first marriages end up in separation, marriage break ups and divorce. Celebrating a married couples’ faithfulness to each other is important for them and for their family.

What Was He Thinking? Why Didn’t She Change Her Thoughts?

If you watch TV or read the newspapers, it is easy to learn of a long-time married couple that breaks up, or the husband has an affair, or irreconcilable differences. It happens to politicians, celebrities and even family members. You might ask, “Why?” or “How Could They?” Somewhere, somehow, thoughts and beliefs of the husband or wife or both affected how they behaved and what they said or did to each other.

When friends or family members celebrates their wedding anniversary, they show their love for each other. Communicating this love really begins in the mind, when husbands and wives think positive thoughts about their marriage. With the negative influence of modern society, each married couple needs a positive reminder of how to be strong in living out the promises made on their wedding day.

A Marriage Stays Happy with Right Thinking

According to many psychologists, including William James, James Allen and others, our thoughts shape our lives. When we repeat a thought over and over in our minds, it becomes a belief and we accept it as truth. That belief becomes woven into a chain and our beliefs guide our actions.

Now, the thing is, we did not choose every thought that we have. Many of our thoughts came from family and friends. Much of the time, they inherited their thoughts from their families and friends.

An excellent wedding anniversary gift helps married couples believe that their marriage is getting better, that God is there to help them, and that they have the gifts to become and stay best friends for life.

Three Cords of Marriage

An uplifting way to affirm a married couple is to help them believe that God is the third strand, the third cord in their marriage. Think of a rope, braided from cords. The sturdier the cords and the more tightly they are woven together, the stronger the rope is. The question becomes, which makes a better life line: a rope made of fluffy cotton, or a cable braided from steel fibers? Which one would you use to climb the mountain of marriage after celebrating an anniversary?

This is where inspirational anniversary gifts can make a difference for every married couple. A wedding anniversary with positive thoughts, expressed by a poem and in a prayer are very welcome. All you need to do is to find a poem that will help the neutralize negative thoughts of the past and affirm present and future for many more happy wedding anniversaries to come.

Dave Pipitone is a professional communicator and creator of the My 3 Strands for Marriage wedding anniversary poem, an inspiring anniversary gift. For more information, visit www.my3strands.com.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Easily the best way to find Anniversary Gifts is to obtain a copy of the free Guide “Gift Ideas They Love” which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas.

See pictures of gifts, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at:

Best Anniversary Gift Ideas

A wedding anniversary is a joyous occasion in a couple’s life as a celebration of the love and commitment that they have for each other. An anniversary gift basket is an ideal gift which is much more personal than a store-bought item. You can incorporate all the symbols that are associated with each anniversary to create a gift basket that conveys your best wishes to the happy couple.

The fourth wedding anniversary traditional gift is fruit or flowers to symbolize the prosperity and health of the union and the contemporary is appliances. This anniversary’s color is blue or green, while the flower is the geranium, which symbolizes comfort and gentility. The violet is also associated with this anniversary, a symbol of faithfulness and modesty.

You could make a fruit or bouquet anniversary basket, or you might want to make a gardener’s gift basket, including seeds, a handheld hoe, and a small shovel. You can also make a traditional basket that includes fruit- and flower-scented items, such as candles or bath accessories. You can incorporate blue or green colored items throughout the basket or trim it with blue or green ribbon. For an appliance gift basket, you might purchase an electric mixer with mixing bowls and include measuring cups, measuring spoons, and some cake mix as well as some recipes. This can also be trimmed in blue or green. You can scatter violets throughout your basket and a single geranium blossom can be added as a nice final touch.

To celebrate the fifth wedding anniversary, the traditional gift is wood that symbolizes that marriage is strong and enduring. The contemporary gift is silverware to symbolize the bonds that have been made by sharing meals together as a couple and as a family. This anniversary’s color is blue, pink, or turquoise. The daisy is the flower for this anniversary and symbolizes innocence, loyal love and purity. The pansy is also associated with the fifth anniversary and represents love.

For a traditional gift basket, you can include wooden items such as wall decorations, an antique-looking bread box or potato bin, or other wooden furnishings for the couple’s home. You could also create a gift basket based on trees, such as a sapling, gardening utensils, and an art print of a tree or a forest. You can trim the basket with whichever one of the three colors blends with the items inside. For a contemporary basket, you could include silverware as well as other silver items, such as shakers, napkin rings, and candlestick holders to add a touch of elegance to any dining room table. You can also include blue, pink, or turquoise napkins and a daisy or pansy centerpiece that includes smaller flowers that match the color of these napkins to complete your dining gift basket.

The sixth anniversary traditional gift is candy, which symbolizes the sweetness of the union, or iron, which represents the sturdiness of the relationship. The contemporary gift is wood, which also represents durability. The flowers associated with this anniversary are the Calla lily, which represents purity and happiness, and the tulip, which symbolizes love and charity. White is the color for the sixth anniversary.

For a traditional gift basket, you could create a candy lover’s dream with a wide assortment of chocolates and other types of candy, or purchase small iron-cased figurines. There are many wooden items that you could include, such as wooden figurines, a cutting board, wooden spoons, or a wood etching. You could also base your wood gift basket on trees, including a picture of a tree or a forest. Choosing a wooden basket, trimming it with bright white ribbon, and adding a combination of different colored lilies and tulips can make your basket colorful and vibrant.

These are just a few of the many ways that you can create your own anniversary gift basket. Have fun and do not be afraid of combining the traditional with the contemporary, as well as mixing the different colors and flowers. Let your imagination be your guide.

We have baby gift baskets that are cute and practical. Perfect for the newborn and new moms. For more information, visit this article on baby gift baskets.

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Easily the best way to find Anniversary Gifts is to obtain a copy of the free Guide “Gift Ideas They Love” which describes with illustrations hundreds of specially selected gift ideas.

See pictures of gifts, along with customer comments, more details and special pricing at:

Best Anniversary Gift Ideas