Buy a 17th Year Wedding Anniversary Gift

While the 17th wedding anniversary doesn't garner as much attention as say the 20th or 50th, there are still suggestions regarding appropriate gifts for a 17th year celebration. Furniture is the traditional wedding gift for the 17th anniversary, but you can also give a gift that includes amethyst or citrine, which are the assigned gemstones for the 17th year. If you are celebrating your 17th wedding anniversary, it is important to find a gift that fully represents the love shared between you and your spouse.

Steps

Purchasing Furniture

1. Choose the type of furniture to gift. Try to choose an item which both you and your spouse can use such as a bed or a dinning set. If you have a piece of furniture in your home that hasn't been replaced in a while, try finding a modern replacement or even try refurbishing an antique piece.
   • No type of furniture is off limits. You can replace or revamp patio furniture, bookshelves, home decor, and many other items. Think about the needs and wants of your spouse.
   • You can always personalize furniture to make it extra special. Try adding a plaque, favorite colors or patterns, or married monograms which include the initials of both parties.
2. Consider the current style in your home. Is it traditional with neutral colors, upholstered wood furnishings, and wood floors? Or is it more modern with metal furnishings, concrete or linoleum floorings, and black or white being the predominate color? When purchasing furniture, consider what would go well with your current style.
   • For example, if your home is decorated in early 20th century style, don't buy a piece of furniture that is extremely modern. Alternatively, if your home features modern decor, an antique from the 1800's may clash.
   • Look for common themes in design. Are there certain colors, patterns, or animals that are reoccurring in your home?
3. Explore furniture options based on hobbies. How do you and your spouse spend your free time? What do you really enjoy doing? By answering these questions, you can find a unique way to gift furniture that will be useful and appreciated.
   • For example, if you and your spouse spend much of your time in your pool, pool floats or accessories like a floating bar could be an appropriate gift.
   • Maybe you and your spouse enjoy fishing or other outdoor activities. If so, lawn chairs or seats for a fishing boat would be ideal gifts in honor of a 17th anniversary.
4. Purchase home accents as accessories to furniture. Home accents are a great way to infuse personality and style into a home, so give gifts like wall art, vases, or throw pillows to liven up furniture.
   • Accessories are typically more affordable than large furniture pieces but can be just as useful and thoughtful. Once again, consider personal style when choosing pieces.
5. Give your spouse a small tree to plant. This is more of a humorous option as the card that accompanies it should indicate that this is an opportunity to grow the wood that will one day be used to create your own custom furniture.
   • You can also have a tree planted in your spouse's honor. Not only does it demonstrate longevity, but it helps the environment.

Focusing on the Gemstone

1. Gift a piece of jewelry containing the gemstone. The 17th anniversary gemstone is Amethyst or Citrine. Personalize jewelry by including one or both of the jewels based on personal style and preference.
   • Try a pendant, bracelet, or watch featuring the appropriate gemstone.
   • Update an engagement ring, wedding ring, or other jewelry that is already owned to include the jewel of choice.
2. Personalize accessories with the gemstone. If jewelry isn't an option, try including gemstones in accessories such as cuff links, tie clips, or money clips.
3. Give a geode. A geode is a natural rock which contains beautiful crystals inside. You can find geodes that are made of different stones including amethyst or citrine. Geodes can be found throughout the world but most are found in areas such as the desert, volcanic ash beds, or areas containing limestone.
   • Make the anniversary even more special by taking a trip to one of these sites to search for a geode together.
   • Geodes range in both size and price with some costing as little as $50 and others costing upwards of $8000.
   • Geodes can also be used as home decor which takes care of both the tradition of gifting furniture and the traditional gemstone.

Thinking Outside the Box

1. Create a website dedicated to each other. Make it an ongoing website that will document your time spent together. Include pictures, videos, and stories that define your marriage.
   • Sites such as WordPress or Weebly allow you to easily build a low-cost page that is suited to your needs and tastes.
   • Alternatively, you can find local professionals or online companies (like GoDaddy.com) to create your website for you.
2. Turn back time. Bring back memories and milestones in your marriage by recreating events. Think of the most romantic and happiest moments in your marriage and reenact them. Plan down to the smallest detail: where were you, what was the occasion, what were you wearing, what was said?
   • For instance, take your partner back to the place where your marriage proposal occurred. Instead of asking them to marry you, vow to never be apart from this day forward.
   • Reenact your first date. Go back to the same place, order the same food, do the same activities. Remember to fill your spouse in on the significance of the memory for you; what is memorable to one person, might not be to the next. Either way, it is meaningful to the relationship.
   • Relive the first kiss. Once again, go back to the same place and demonstrate why the memory has had such a lasting impact on you. This is also a great time to create new memories.
3. Have a customized portrait made. What better way to celebrate your life together than to have it immortalized in a work of art? Choose a specific item (whether person or thing) that represents your love for one another, and have it drawn, painted, or sculpted into something you can share.
   • You don't have to go with a traditional drawing or painting of yourselves. Instead think of objects that represent your love: your wedding bands, a customized home portrait, or even an abstract creation will do.
   • Think about the medium of the work of art and what will fit your personal style. Would you prefer a painting, a sculpture, a drawing, or photography?
4. Get a ring tattoo. Definitely non-traditional, but nothing says forever like identical wedding ring tattoos. Choose a symbol or design that represents you and your loved one. Popular items include words or phrases, signs and symbols, important dates, or basic bands.
   • While they are growing in popularity, they always come with a warning: remember, tattoos are forever.
   • The placement of the tattoo on the ring finger makes it both small and intricate to tattoo. Be sure to research your tattoo artist prior to obtaining the tattoo to make sure they have the experience and skill level needed.

Tips

• Remember, it's the thought that counts. Take time to brainstorm the interests of the receiving party to be as thoughtful as possible.
• When gifting furniture, be careful not to impart your tastes on the receiver. Your gift may go unused if that happens.
• Remember these are just helpful suggestions and not inclusive of all the gifts available to give for a 17th wedding anniversary. Even if your idea is not on the list, it might be brilliant.
• Gift certificates can be substituted for picky couples or couples that are difficult to shop for.

Related Articles

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Sources and Citations

See also

• Celebrate a Simple Wedding Anniversary of 25 Years
• Select a Proper Gift for a One Month Anniversary
• Buy a 16th Year Wedding Anniversary Gift
• Celebrate Your Anniversary at Home
• Celebrate a Wedding Anniversary
• Celebrate a Second Wedding Anniversary
• Buy a Seventh Year Wedding Anniversary Gift
• Plan an Anniversary Party
• Choose an Anniversary Gift
• Make Your Wedding Anniversary Memorable

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