Gift ideas
Paper anniversary gift ideas
Year one is paper. That sounds limiting until you count how much of a first year ends up written down, printed or ticketed. Here are the ideas we'd give, including the honest version of how a CD fits in.
Short answer
The traditional first anniversary gift is paper. A good paper anniversary gift puts your first year on the page: a handwritten letter, a photo book, a map print of where you met, framed tickets, or a mixtape CD of your year in songs with a printed tracklist and liner notes you write yourself.
A paper anniversary gift doesn’t have to be stationery. The best first anniversary gifts take something from the year (a song, a place, a ticket, a sentence) and put it on paper so it can’t get lost in a phone.
What is the traditional first anniversary gift?
Paper is the traditional first anniversary gift. The traditional list of wedding anniversary gifts gives one material to each year, and the first three run paper, cotton, leather:
| Anniversary | Traditional gift | Easy way in |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Paper | Letters, prints, photo books, a printed tracklist |
| 2nd | Cotton | A printed tote or blanket, cotton sheets |
| 3rd | Leather | A wallet, a strap, a bound journal |
Nobody has to follow it, and plenty of couples don’t. It’s useful for one reason: it gives you a constraint, and a constraint makes a gift easier to think up. Paper also suits a first year. You’ve probably collected more of it than you realize: receipts, ticket stubs, the wedding invitation, notes stuck to the fridge.
Is a mixtape CD a paper anniversary gift?
A mixtape CD is partly a paper anniversary gift: the disc itself is plastic, but the cover, the printed tracklist and the liner notes are paper, and that’s the part of a mixtape people reread. A mix of your first year in songs, with a paper insert listing every track, fits the paper anniversary tradition better than most things sold under the label.
Build it as your year in songs
Put the songs in the order they happened. The first date, the first trip, the song from the wedding or the first dance, the song that was always on while you cooked, and whatever you both have stuck in your heads this month. One CD holds about 18 to 22 songs, roughly one or two for each month. Our anniversary songs list fills the gaps.
Write the liner notes yourself
This is where the paper comes in. On a card, or on the back of the insert, write a line for each track: the date, the place and why it’s there. “Track 4: the drive back from your sister’s, the night the car heater broke.” It takes an hour, and it’s the part that gets kept.
If you’re making the whole thing yourself, our free CD sleeve template prints a paper sleeve with your title and tracklist that you cut and fold, and the CD case template prints a jewel case insert with room for notes.
Rather not burn it yourself? We’ll burn your anniversary playlist to a custom CD with a printed tracklist inside, or with a photo of the two of you as the cover.
What are other paper anniversary gift ideas?
Other paper anniversary gift ideas include twelve letters, one for each month, a map print of where you met, a photo book of the first year, and framed tickets.
Twelve letters, one for each month
Write a short letter about each month of the year: what happened, what you remember, what you didn’t say at the time. Bundle them with string. It costs you time instead of money, which is the point.
A map print of where you met
A framed street map with the spot marked: the bar, the campus, the friend’s kitchen. Add the date underneath. You can make one from a printed map and a frame from a craft store.
A photo book of the first year
Choose 30 to 50 photos, put them in order and caption each one by hand or in print. It turns a camera roll nobody scrolls into something that sits on the coffee table.
Framed tickets and keepsakes
Concert tickets, boarding passes, the wedding invitation, the menu from your first dinner out. Frame them together in a box frame. If your tickets were digital, print them; they still count.
A book with notes in the margins
Give a copy of a book you love and underline the lines that made you think of them, with a note in the margin. It’s paper, and it gets reread.
A jigsaw of your photo
A puzzle printed from one of your photos is cardboard, so it qualifies, and it gives you an evening together working it out.
Paper flowers
A bouquet folded from paper, or from pages of sheet music or a map, lasts longer than the real thing. It works well alongside one of the ideas above.
What's a good first anniversary gift for him or for her?
A good first anniversary gift for him is a mixtape for his car with the liner notes in the case; for her, try twelve letters or a photo book with a mix CD in the back cover. Every idea above works for anyone:
- An anniversary gift for him: the mixtape for his car, with the liner notes tucked in the case. Our love songs for him list and the guide to sentimental gifts for your boyfriend have more.
- An anniversary gift for your girlfriend or wife: the twelve letters, or a photo book with a mix CD in the back cover. Start with love songs for her.
- A 1 year anniversary gift when you’re dating: the paper tradition is a wedding one, but nobody minds it borrowed. A first year of dating has just as many ticket stubs.
Need a title for the mix? Our mixtape names list has a section of love titles.
Questions people ask
What is the traditional 1st anniversary gift?
The traditional 1st anniversary gift is paper. On the traditional list of wedding anniversary gifts, the second year is cotton and the third is leather. Letters, prints, books, photo albums and printed keepsakes all count.
What counts as a paper anniversary gift?
A paper anniversary gift is anything made of paper or built around it: a handwritten letter, a photo book, a map print of where you met, framed tickets or a wedding invitation, a book with notes in the margins, or a CD with a printed paper tracklist and liner notes.
Is a mixtape CD a paper anniversary gift?
A mixtape CD is partly a paper anniversary gift. The disc itself is plastic, but the cover, the printed tracklist and any liner notes you write are paper, and that's where the meaning sits. Pair it with a handwritten note about each song and it fits the tradition comfortably.
What should I get for a 1 year anniversary if we're not married?
The paper tradition comes from weddings, but it works just as well for a year of dating. A letter about your first year, a mix of the songs from it, or a photo book of the year are all good one-year anniversary gifts for a boyfriend or girlfriend.
What songs go on a first anniversary mixtape?
A first anniversary mixtape holds the songs from your year, in the order they happened: your first date, your first trip, your wedding or first dance, and whatever was playing in the kitchen this month. About 18 to 22 songs fill one CD.
What is the 2nd anniversary gift?
Cotton is the traditional second anniversary gift, followed by leather for the third. Some couples keep a running tradition alongside it, like a new mix CD of the year's songs every anniversary.