Anniversary Gifts for Parents (Updated List)

Our parents have invested the most crucial time of their lives in shaping us as we are. So if it’s your parents’ anniversary you, my friend have stumbled upon the right set of words for ideas. We have enlisted 25 best anniversary gifts for parents here. So hop on!

Gifting is an art. It is a way to express our gratitude and love towards the ones we care about the most. So here list some cool, different ideas that you can follow and choose the right gift for your parents.

Hand-painted portraits

What better gift than family. Need I say more? Trust me I can go on and on with this idea and write a separate article about it because I’m obsessed with capturing moments and relishing them later. A handmade portrait is a gift for a lifetime. This something they will fall in love with and with you too again. Be it a charcoal drawing or a handmade oil portrait but they are worth it. Make sure you record their reactions seeing it for the first time. This is one of the most creative and out of the box anniversary gifts for parents. 

Gifting Nostalgia

Yep, you read it right and now you’re thinking What? So here’s the answer-Photographs. As much as cliche it sounds but no matter how advanced the technology becomes, there is absolutely no match of some captured moments of your lives arranged in a book. Most importantly there are endless things that you can do with it. So some variants of gifting nostalgia are photo printed mugs, water bottles, keychains, and god forbid even T-shirts and bedsheets. But these are all some not so convincing ideas that I gave you. Here’s what you can do. You can scrounge into your parent’s closet and get those rusty photo albums out, recreate them personally or hire someone to do it for you. 

Old School Gifts

Remember when we were in school we used to make customized handmade greeting cards for our teachers, parents and best friends! Guess what? Those efforts ever go out of trend. These handmade gifts are not restricted to just greeting cards. You could paint, draw, carve, cook or even weave. The list doesn’t end. Depending on your skillset and time you can make a handmade customized gift. It could be a dreamcatcher, flower vase, crochet, painted plant pot, bookmark, cupcakes or maybe dinner. Even a small post-it note saying “I love you” will make their day.

Spiritual Gift

A different yet loving anniversary gift for parents. A lot of our parents are firm believers of gods. Their devotion and faith have helped them through tough times. So if your parents are spiritual and start their morning with chants and prayers you should consider gifting an idol or a holy book perhaps. You can also look for various gemstones and herbs if any of your parents believe in astrology. 

Books

If you’re born in a house of bookworms, be an angel in disguise and go to the bookstore. No matter how old your parents are, no matter how many books they have in their library, it is never enough for a reader. If you don’t like any idea from this article and if your parents love books more than you. Don’t think twice, get up ad hit the bookstore.

Sa Re Ga Ma Caravan

This is not a promotion post but genuine advice coming from the bottom of my heart. Yeah, I know these days everyone has a smartphone and all you need to do is instruct it to play the song that you want. But our parents have lived through a time where there used to be transistors and antennas and only All India Radio for entertainment. That small vintage looking speaker has a collection of more than 5000 evergreen old songs from all eras and you can use it as a Bluetooth speaker and FM radio as well. So stop scrolling and order it.

A Pet

This advice is only for selected parents. Having a pet makes a place home. It could be a dog, a cat, a tortoise, a fish or maybe a bird. And let me tell you a secret if you’ve never had a pet before in your house because your mom did not approve? Guess who’s gonna love the pet the most? Your mom! And this is a fact. She is gonna be surprised at first, maybe more astonished than happy but before you know it she is gonna love the pet more than you.

Spa Appointment

If your parents are workaholics, they are always doing something or the other. Please give them a weekend getaway and send them to a spa for some relaxing time. Massage will not only relieve them with the stress from their shoulders but also make them love you more for giving them the most perfect gift.

Accessories

This is the broadest category of gifts that I can suggest because it could be anything. So let me try and list as many things as possible.

Bangles, saree, jewelry, clutch, wallet, footwear, clothes, rings, tie, shawl, jacket, sunglasses, bowtie, cufflinks, sports accessories, kitchen accessories, car accessories, tool-box, jewelry box and I don’t know a lot of things. Now if you’ve received your first salary and you want to buy something for your parents you should surely go get your parents with some accessories.

Vintage 

Remember when Ross gifted Rachel a brooch on her birthday that reminded her of her grandmother and made her feel really special. Guess what? You could do that for your parents too. Anything which was made before you or your parents were born is vintage. You could get a vintage vase, brooch, clock, car, jewelry, pen or maybe a painting. So if you’re parents have a sweet tooth for hoarding old stuff in the house, go and scrounge eBay or an exhibition and you’re good to go.

Gift something they never bought for themselves

My mom always wanted to buy gold jewelry for some reason. She used to read the gold prices every day from the newspaper but never actually went to the jeweler and got something for herself. Until one day my brother gifted her gold earrings with his savings and she was so overwhelmed with happiness. Our parents have sacrificed a great deal for us. Always bought things that we needed the most and never really considering their own wish. So go to your study and do the brainstorming, I’m sure you’ll find the perfect gift. 

Plant 

If you live in a densely populated cum polluted metropolitan city, do consider this option. Having a houseplant has a lot of scientific benefits. For instance, breathing air with more oxygen in it, increase moisture in the air which reduces the chances of you getting the flu. In Fact, you’ll be surprised to know that plants have healing powers, they have this noninvasive, inexpensive way of healing. You can plan and organize a kitchen garden for your mother as well. Organic kitchen farming is so in trend and super healthy. So fellas let’s go green.

Electronic Gadget

There are two advantages of gifting your parents a new piece of gadget. First, it’ll help your parents stay updated with the new technology. Second, you’ll have some special parent-children time teaching them about the new gadget. So depending on their needs you can gift them a tablet, a smartwatch, a smartphone or maybe Alexa.

Plan a family vacation

Who does not love a vacation? Especially when your kids have planned it! So amigos look at your planner, take out those savings from the bank and enjoy a family vacation.

Couple Watches

I know a watch is an accessory but it is a very special accessory. My friend says that there is no watch in the world that can give you enough time with your loved ones. And that is true. And maybe that’s why we gift watches. So that each time someone looks at it in haste or in the middle of the day it’ll remind them of their loved ones. So if you’re confused because I gave you so many options? Go with this one, cos’ the next time when someone will compliment your mom or dad and say “Nice Watch”, they’ll proudly say it’s my baby’s choice.

Gift your parents to their dream destination

My parents just love going to the mountains to breathe fresh air and enjoy the wonders of nature but now that we’ve grown up to be busy adults, we hardly go for family vacations. So me and my brother have decided to send my mommy and daddy on a 3-day trip to Manali. What about you?

Gift something they’re passionate about

Today in this fast-paced world we are always running for one thing or the other that often we don’t do things that make us happy and alive. So talk to your parents about their youth. Get to know them better. Find the thing they’re passionate about and then surprise them with it.

Do twining together

As much as it is super cool to twin together with your best friend, it is equally amazing to twin with mom and dad. This is a personally tried and tested advice and it works amazing with me and mom. I and mom have so many same clothes and its super cool to go out wearing matching clothes. So go shopping together, spend some quality time and stumble upon something you both love on yourself and thank me later.

Express your gratitude in words

We’re the generation where we express our love in front of thousands of people virtually on social media but would rarely do in person. So break the habit. Say out loud and express your love for your parents.

Gift Something Rational

If you’re a pragmatic son and think of securing your parent’s future. You can consider investing in term life insurance or health insurance as a gift for your parents. If not an insurance policy, you can invest in bonds, property or pension plans depending on your preferences.

Photoshoot for a family portrait

I remember as a child, every year on my parent’s wedding anniversary we used to go to a studio and get a family portrait clicked. And then I remember digital cameras and smartphones coming into the picture and that tradition just broke. It kinda broke my heart as well. But on my parent’s 25th anniversary we planned the photoshoot just like old times. Trust me it feels good making new memories.

Medical Health Checkup

Our parents are so used to taking care of themselves that they forget about themselves and before we know it life comes up with a blow. So shower your love and affection for your parents and take them to surprise health checkups at regular intervals. Because prevention is better than cure.

Your Actions

They say that no matter what you do, what you say, people will never forget how you make them feel. And there is no best way to make our parents feel loved than our actions. It could be anything. From helping mom in chores to having a mindblowing Arnab Goswami style discussion with dad. It is always the little things that matter the most. My mom and dad love it when I and my brother accompany them to exercise early in the morning. You could do something which is exclusively you and your dad’s thing. So wakeup and clean the house, cook a meal for mommy and daddy or maybe just go out and have dinner with them.

Conclusion

Time is the best gift you can give to the ones you love the most. The harsh truth of life is that as we grow young our parents grow old. So spend as much time with your parents as you can and that will be the most perfect gift that they’ll cherish forever. There is absolutely no match of handmade gifts and they never go out of fashion. Or you can explore your drive look for photos from old family vacations and get them printed in a photobook. If you want to make a grand gesture with nostalgia you could choose your favorite family moment and get a portrait printed or painted of a suitable size.