Celebrating an anniversary is a super exciting and meaningful occasion. Every single year that passes since your wedding is an achievement and a landmark. For many couples, it illustrates the incredible strength of their love. No matter how great your relationship, however, it can be difficult to come up with creative anniversary ideas to celebrate.
It can be hard to come up with a game plan for celebrating such a momentous occasion. An anniversary is different from a regular holiday, because it’s up to the couple to decide and designate what sort of traditions they want to start.
Thankfully, there are plenty of fun and special ways to spend your big day. Keep reading for plenty of ideas for anniversary activities.
What if we don’t like to do a lot on our anniversary?
If you two don’t usually like to do a lot on your anniversary, that’s totally okay! For some couples, just an offhand “Happy Anniversary” is the best celebration of all. After all, once you’re living your lives together, every single day is a continuation of your love– for some people, the year markers just don’t matter. That being said, there are still great, low-key ways to celebrate. You can spend the evening cuddled up on the couch with a movie you’ve been meaning to see! If you have to work, you could meet up for a quick bite during your lunch break to celebrate.These ideas aren’t anything particularly extravagant, but they are special.Classic Ways to Celebrate an Anniversary
If you’re willing to try something fun, there are a lot of ways to celebrate the big day. If you’re not looking to be too bold, there are always the most classic anniversary celebration ideas. If these pique your interest, then not to worry– classics are mainstays for a reason, and celebrating your anniversary is never too cliche! Even if it’s nothing crazy, your partner will surely celebrate any thought or plan you make for your anniversary. Thankfully, these tried and true classic anniversary activities are super fun and exciting ways to celebrate your big day!A Delicious Meal
One of the best ways to celebrate your anniversary is to go out for a delicious dinner! This a wonderful and romantic occasion that you guys can enjoy. Whether it’s just your local pizza joint or the fanciest restaurant in town, get on the phone to make that reservation before it’s too late! If eating out isn’t your thing, you can cook a special meal together! Go to the grocery store and pick out some of your favorite ingredients. Then go home and collaborate to make a masterpiece that you can enjoy over a glass of wine after. What could be more romantic than that?Sweet Surprises
If you’re more like dessert people, then reminisce about your long-eaten wedding cake over a shared sweet treat, like another cake, chocolates, or ice cream. This is a wonderful way to savor life’s good things on a day celebrating the best thing– your marriage! Another opportunity for a sugar high is to go out to a big brunch! Brunches offer a variety of sweet and savory foods, but it’s a great way to stuff yourself to the brim and to enjoy each other’s company. Brunch menus are typically served on weekends, most notably Sunday mornings.Getting Some Fresh Air
For an outdoorsy couple, doing something outside is the perfect way to celebrate your anniversary. One sweet way to celebrate is to have a lovely outdoor picnic. While picnics may seem antiquated, they are coming back in style, especially as you can get more and more reusable gear and high-tech coolers! You could also combine a love of food and fresh air by going on a tour or a vineyard or to an outdoor brewery. This is so much fun and even more and more vineyards and breweries are offering this option.Taking a Quick Trip
If you two are in desperate need of an adventure, you could always take a nice weekend trip to a spa, a B&B, or even camping! Driving a few hours out of your usual setting can work wonders on you, from your mental health to your relationship. To really surprise your spouse, you could even plan a larger trip for a big anniversary! From Paris to Peru, there are a ton of romantic locales that are just a plane ride away. However, this plan obviously needs some extra planning ahead of time, usually about 6 months ahead. That being said, all of the work you put in will surely make this anniversary unforgettable.Anniversary Ideas Based on the Season
One way to decide how to spend your anniversary is what time of year it is! If you chose to got married at a particular time of the year due to the weather in your location or proximity to a holiday, then you luckily have an early basis for celebrating your anniversary every year. However, that does not mean that you can’t think outside of the box for celebrating your anniversary– you certainly don’t have to go to the beach every single July. It can just be a good place to start to think of relevant or fun activities.Springtime Sweethearts
Now that everything is blooming, one great spring anniversary activity is to go to a farmer’s market and shop for beautiful flowers and fresh produce! Farmer’s markets are absolutely having a resurgence, to the benefit of all of us! You could also use the delicious snacks you pick up for a picnic. Another lovely thing to do in spring is to take in some beauty at an art museum. Walking through a museum is probably one of the most romantic things imaginable! Be sure to stop at each piece and talk about your thoughts about it in full. There’s no better way to get to know each other!Summer Lovers
One great place to spend your anniversary is the beach! A beach day can be cathartic and incredibly romantic, especially if you don’t get to go very often. Be sure to wear your sunscreen! For a middle-of-the-week anniversary where you only have an evening, you can go catch a drive-in movie! Though it may sound super retro, the drive-in movie theatre is coming back in hot. Drive-ins are easily locatable now and play awesome movies, from classics to new releases!Autumn Anniversary
For many people, autumn is the best season of the year because of the temperate weather, spectacularly changing leaves, and myriad of activities. One of the most popular fall festivities is to go apple picking or to a pumpkin patch! These are so timely in the fall and can have some super fun results, like making your own apple pie or carving your own Jack-o-Lanterns! For something a bit more on the spooky side, you should definitely catch a haunted house! Haunted houses are some of the most fun things to do if you like horror and being scared. They are usually offered in October, around Halloween, so if that’s near your anniversary, definitely check it out!Winter Celebration
While you may be moaning and groaning about the difficulty of the cold weather, there are actually a ton of fun things to do in winter! One of the most obvious ones would be to grab a delicious hot chocolate to-go and walk around in the snow, making snowmen and having snowball fights! You could also go ice skating! Whether your nearest rink is indoor or outdoor, ice skating is a fun activity that it’s not too hard to get the hang of. And if you’re having a hard time standing up in your skates, at least you’ll have each other to cling to for support!Anniversary Ideas for Long-Distance Couples
However, none of these anniversary activity ideas may sound suitable for a long-distance couple. Being in an LDR is one of the hardest things you can do– if you’re undergoing the struggle, that means the person must be really worth it.
Thankfully, there are still cute, romantic anniversary ideas that you can do apart, whether it be in separate rooms, cities, or countries. It doesn’t matter if you’re celebrating just a few months of distance dating or if you’re in a long-distance marriage– all anniversaries are worth celebrating!
A Lovely Letter
The lost art of letter-writing is one of the most beautiful ways to tap into your most romantic impulses and to celebrate your anniversary. Writing a long letter to a loved one is a wonderful opportunity to tell them just how much you love them and how strong your love truly is. You could also truss up your letter in a fun way, whether through colorful pens or silly stickers. This is such a sweet and personal touch that will surely speak to your lover!Matching Meals
You could also cook the same meal at the same time, and then get on video chat and eat it together! This is just like you are eating something that you cooked together. You could also laugh about what aspects of the dish seemed to come out different in both of your interpretations!
If neither of you are very into the idea of cooking, you could always order the same meal from a chain restaurant or franchise that’s in both of your areas! This is a great way to find a common anniversary activity and put your own LDR spin on it.