There is no "traditional" 16th anniversary gift: I need ideas.

March 12, 2010 10:06 AM

There is no "traditional" anniversary gift for the 16th anniversary. I need some ideas.

Wife here. Our 16th anniversary is on May 1. Neither of us has any use for the entire engagement/wedding/anniversary romantic-industrial complex. So hubby and I have had a tradition of goofing on "traditional" anniversary gifts; we compete to see who can come up with the most off-the-wall/sarcastic variation.

Examples: For the first anniversary, the traditional gift is "paper." I wrote him a love letter on a roll of toilet paper. For the fourth anniversary, the traditional gift is "flowers." He gave me a beautifully wrapped, heavy gift that I opened to find 5-pound bags of wheat, corn, and rye flour. For the fifth ("wood") anniversary, I gave him a copy of "Hollywood Rat Race" by Ed Wood, Jr. Etc.

We've got the 20th, 25th, and 30th anniversaries covered -- "tradition" dictates china, silver, and pearls respectively. But what can we do to continue the theme for the years in between, starting with the 16th anniversary?

(Anonymized because I can probably be recognized by this question and I don't want to be linked to my username. Throwaway email: [e-mail].)

posted by anonymous to Human Relations (17 answers total)

traditional eighth is bronze and pottery - maybe get him twice the amount?

the traditional UK 16th is holloware - maybe some sort of Halloween skew?
posted by Lucinda at 10:09 AM on March 12, 2010

1) start goofing on the "modern" gift list.

2) goof on there being "nothing"

3) goof on the idea of a "sweet 16"? Or on the number 16?
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:10 AM on March 12, 2010

Throw him a sweet 16 party. Bake a cake in the shape of a Ferrari.
posted by bondcliff at 10:10 AM on March 12, 2010 [3 favorites]

This list says that the traditional sixteenth anniversary gift is "silver holloware." (Apparently that means something like a bowl, as opposed to flatware.)
posted by cider at 10:12 AM on March 12, 2010

If 16th anniversary is "silver holloware" then your gift is clear: a bag of silver-coloured balloons. That he has to blow up himself.
posted by LN at 10:16 AM on March 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

Write him a sonnet in hexadecimal or hexspeak (using only the letters A-F)
posted by nightwood at 10:17 AM on March 12, 2010 [2 favorites]

Sulfur's atomic number is 16. While it's not the most romantic element, you could perhaps go to a hot springs or, for a cheaper option, some cool matchbooks? I know the bookstore here sells ones with amazing reproductions of 20th century paperback covers. Or maybe matchbox cars?
posted by bibliowench at 10:17 AM on March 12, 2010 [4 favorites]

A really cool candle (you know, 16 Candles)

Or Candy (Sweet 16)
posted by sandra_s at 11:10 AM on March 12, 2010 [1 favorite]

My old, old list of traditional anniversary gifts (I received it from a friend as part of my wedding gift 15 years ago) says "silver holloware" for 16.

17: Furniture
18: Porcelain
19: no traditional on my list; modern states bronze
posted by cooker girl at 11:55 AM on March 12, 2010

10+5+1
Tin +Wood+Paper=?
posted by MsMolly at 12:24 PM on March 12, 2010

16=4 squared. So...four square objects of some kind!
posted by Jabberwocky at 1:46 PM on March 12, 2010

Your marriage is now old enough to drive in most US States. A [toy|RC|real] car? A fun rental car? A racing school experience?
posted by knile at 2:02 PM on March 12, 2010

knile's suggestion will also come in handy five years from now, when your marriage is 21 and will be old enough to drink.
posted by madcaptenor at 2:18 PM on March 12, 2010

Playing off of madcaptenor, if your SO likes Scotch, find a 16-year-old Scotch. This is partly inspired by this question on the green about things that are 18. And a search for the year 1994 on ebay leads me to think of other collectible things from that year: baseball cards, coins...
posted by knile at 2:22 PM on March 12, 2010

My wife and I celebrate periodic table anniversaries. This year is our beryllium anniversary. Our 16th would be sulfur. You need to find a gift that contains the appropriate element. It's fun!
posted by signalnine at 6:51 PM on March 13, 2010 [2 favorites]

Oh, I see bibliowench has that idea covered. Anyway, try it out, it's pretty neat.
posted by signalnine at 6:52 PM on March 13, 2010

signalnine: Two years from now, it's going to be awkward when one of you gives a diamond and the other one gives a pencil.
posted by madcaptenor at 8:08 PM on March 13, 2010 [2 favorites]