Making it to your one-year anniversary with your partner is a big deal, and you deserve to celebrate it. A first-year anniversary calls for the perfect gift and, luckily, you have heaps of options. Here are just a few thoughtful gifts that your significant other is guaranteed to swoon over on your one-year anniversary.
- Memories jar A memories jar is a beautiful gift to give your boyfriend or girlfriend at any time. But it’s even more meaningful on a one-year anniversary! This DIY gift is easy to make and costs next to nothing. Basically, take several different small pieces of colored paper and write down as many happy and funny memories as you can. They might be of when you and your partner first met or a funny story that happened on your first date. Then put all the pieces of paper containing the memories in a mason jar. Decorate the jar however you like and gift it to your partner, telling them to open it and read one memory whenever they need to smile.
- Gratitude jar A gratitude jar is similar to a memories jar except instead of memories, you write down things that you love about your partner on the pieces of paper. Write down all the things you’re grateful for, from their sense of humor to their caring nature. Again, this gift is easy to make yourself and hardly costs a thing to create and is one of the most thoughtful one-year anniversary gifts possible.
- Star map. Star constellation maps are all the rage these days. Though many people gift them for wedding anniversaries, you could definitely organize one to celebrate one year of dating. Just use the date you met (or your first date—whatever makes more sense). You can get maps of the way the stars appeared that magical night online, and then customized with both of your names.
- Customized couple print Couple prints are also super-popular gifts. They’re particularly good to give on a first-year anniversary because a couple print may be the first visual representation that you are actually a couple. Seeing the two of you together in cartoon form on paper can really solidify that things are real between you. It’s a great way to celebrate love that has progressed beyond the point of “casual”.
- Collage of snapshots For this gift, you need to be a little organized. But if you prepare ahead and make a point of taking pictures frequently as you spend time together, it’s a super-easy gift. Take photos of all your fun memories, from date nights to trips away to parties you attend together. Then develop or print all the photos and arrange them in whatever cool and creative way you like. Lots of people like to shape their snapshots in the shape of a giant heart.
- Personalized couple’s book There are endless options online for personalized couple books. Some are generic love books where you just fill in your names and characteristics. Others require you to submit details about your journey together so that the book contains your whole relationship timeline told in a poetic story format. This is another lovely possibility when it comes to one-year anniversary gifts.
- Night or weekend away If you’ve never traveled together, booking a night or weekend away can be a great first step. And by your one-year anniversary, you are probably ready to take that step. Taking initiative and organizing it, especially if it’s at a romantic spot, can be an amazing gift.
- “Our story so far” poster “Our Story So Far” posters are wonderful gifts for married couples but they can also be perfect for couples just going steady. You can include all the exciting milestones that you’ve already made in your relationship. They might include your first date, meeting each other’s families, and even the first “I love you.”
- Couple’s bucket list Many of these gifts focus on celebrating the amazing year you’ve already celebrated together. But a bucket list focuses on the future that you have ahead of you. You can organize a bucket list of places you want to travel to together, activities you want to do, or movies you want to watch. Or you can write out a generic bucket list of things you want to do in life that encompass all of that and more. This is a special gift because it shows that you plan on sticking around for the long haul.
- “Open me when” letters There’s nothing better than a gift that keeps on giving. “Open Me When” letters are letters that you fill out in advance but that your partner can only open in specific circumstances. For example, the envelopes might read “Open me when you can’t sleep”. Or “Open me when we’ve had an argument.” Very cute!
