Meaningful Anniversary Ideas Don't Have to Cost a Thing

There are some special events that almost demand an exchange of gifts. Birthdays and Christmas immediately come to mind. While deciding what gift to give that special person can be stressful, you can take comfort in knowing buying a gift is what you need to do.

Anniversaries, however, are about remembering and commemorating. The event that triggers them can be happy or sad, personal or professional, private or public. There are as many different ways to celebrate them as there are triggers. That can make it a lot harder to come up with anniversary ideas that appropriately mark the day.

While exchanging gifts is certainly one way you can mark the occasion, it's not the only way. Nor is it always the most appropriate thing to do. Perhaps the most important thing to remember as you try to gather and narrow down anniversary ideas is that in the end all that will matter is that you show you do remember why this particular day has meaning to you and the other person.

In fact, you may be very pleasantly surprised by how many perfect anniversary ideas you come up with when you let go of the idea that you have to buy some sort of gift. Instead of concentrating on that, close your eyes for a moment and concentrate on the earliest days of your relationship with this person.

If it's someone you're romantically involved with, try to recall the details of your first dates. Doing something together that you enjoyed then, going to the same restaurant (or recreating it in your own kitchen if it no longer exists), even playing the same music, can make a new special moment.

The same sort of mental exercise can also help you come up with ideas for celebrating business anniversaries. For example, let's say Friday is the anniversary of the day you hired your very first employee, John Smith. You could do something as small as a "thank you for your hard work" email that goes out to everyone in the company. If it includes a few personal details about how nervous you felt interviewing him, but how you knew the two of you would get along fine when he admitted he wasn't a good golfer, it will help all your employees feel a little more connected, valued and loyal to the firm.

Don't get me wrong; there is a place for candy and flowers in anniversaries as well. Even sad public events, like the death of a princess, or 911 remembrances are appropriately marked by flowers, but where they are gathered and viewed is more important than what kind are bought.
Fortunately for all of us, most of the dates we will want to mark and remember through anniversaries are happy times. Science has proven that good memories have more "sticking" power in our memories and are more easily recalled. That certainly explains why significant others tend to become so upset when anniversaries are not remembered or marked!