If your anniversary is coming up, you might feel a lot of pressure to make your anniversary perfectly memorable and romantic for your wife. Luckily, to make most wives happy, you don’t really need to spend a lot of money or do anything ridiculous. Think about how she’s always made your anniversary extra special, and try to reciprocate those feelings. The best way to make your wife happy on your anniversary is to find a creative, personal way to show her how important she is to you and how much you love her. To do that, start with the things that make your wife special.

Consider Everything About Your Wife

When it comes right down to it, what are the things about your wife that you find really special? What makes her the person you want to spend your life with? Start by writing all of these things down. Now you have your first gift and a jumping off place! On your anniversary, read out to your wife everything you wrote down on this list. If you have been going through a hard time in your marriage, you can even write down all of the reasons that your marriage is worth so much to you and all of the things you plan to work together on to make it work.

Hopefully, this list will also get you thinking about what sorts of things your wife might really love for her anniversary. For example:

Does She Love Glamour?

For the woman who loves glamour and romance, plan an anniversary that makes her feel like a star. Start the day with breakfast in bed. Make sure she doesn’t have to lift a finger to do any chores that day or for the whole weekend.

 

Surprise her with small anniversary gifts all around the house throughout the day. Leave a jewelry box next to her alarm clock so it will be the first thing she wakes up to in the morning. Leave love notes around the house: on the mirror of her vanity, on her dresser, in her car, etc.
If she loves to shop, take her shopping and have her pick out a whole new outfit to wear for your anniversary dinner.

 

If your anniversary falls on a work day, have flowers sent to her office in the morning and surprise her during lunchtime by arriving at her office to take her out to lunch or bring her a picnic lunch and take her to the park.

Is She the Sporty Type?

If your partner is more the athletic, motivated, high-energy type, plan a whole day or a whole trip of interesting activities. Surprise her with plane tickets to go to some interesting location she has always wanted to visit. For example, if she loves to ski, take her to Aspen. If she loves to hike, take her to the Grand Canyon.

 

If you don’t have a very big budget, discover new things in your own town that she might enjoy, including activities she’s never tried before. Ideas might include:

• Hiking or biking a trail or park you’ve never visited.
• If you are near the beach, take a surfing lesson.
• Arrange for a tour from an expert or park ranger of a local area. For example, if you live near the beach, take a whale watching trip. If you live by a mountain, sign up for a ranger-led tour.
• Take the dogs to the dog park and then have a picnic in the park afterwards.
• Depending on the possibilities in your area, try rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, water skiing, horseback riding, spelunking, rafting, kayaking, camping, etc.

 

Regardless of the level of intensity of your trip, you can still surprise her with new gear, or take her on a shopping trip to stock up on new and interesting supplies together.

Is She the Creative Type?

For the woman who loves DIY projects and getting creative, plan a day that’s all about culture and art. Take her to an interesting museum in your area, especially if you can find one you’ve never been to before. For example, some cities have very specific museums like artisan and folk art museums or museums focused on specific local communities like indigenous communities or immigrant communities.

 

Next, sign both of you up for a class in learning a new kind of craft. If she has something particular she has been wanting to learn, check with local museums, community colleges, and independent artists to find out about classes. If she hasn’t mentioned anything in particular, read up on local classes and just pick something she might find interesting.

 

If you are not normally the creative type, try to get involved in her hobbies. Take her to the craft or art supply store and tell her you want her to teach you how to make something. This will probably end up leading to a very silly finished project and you can both enjoy the goofy process of trying to teach someone something new.

The Most Important Thing is…

Just think about what makes her unique! With all the years you and your wife have spent together, just remember which things have made her smile. And pay attention to any big hints she has dropped! There’s nothing wrong with getting her that fancy new piece of jewelry she’s been hinting about.