What to buy for 35th Anniversary?

July 27, 2005 2:21 AM

35th Anniversary present? Help!

So my parents have been married 35 years, apparently that's the CORAL anniversary. I can't afford a cruise to the Great Barrier Reef so other suggestions are needed.

Not looking for anything grandiose, would prefer several smaller ideas, personal touches and the like.

posted by snowgoon to Human Relations (9 answers total)

Go digging through the family photographs, and their siblings' photographs, and scan a big stack of them, slap them together like a slide show (make the delay slow) in iMovie or whatever and assemble a soundtrack of songs that were cool when they were young. Burn the whole thing to DVD. Any old Super 9 movies in the closet? Have those converted and put them in too.
posted by planetkyoto at 2:54 AM on July 27, 2005

Very good idea, planetkyoto. Small objects of significance can go a long way, too. I am particularly fond of door knobs to places that people have lived before. These are the kind of gifts that really stop the heart, so use with respect and responsibility. I'm looking forward to this thread.
posted by squirrel at 4:36 AM on July 27, 2005

You might try finding something they like and then getting them a gift that goes throughout the year. For instance, if they love good fresh fruit you could get them a fruit of the month club subscription. There are lots of different clubs like this, for instance flowers, plants, vegetables, gourment cookies, steaks, wine, coffee, tea, chocolate, and more. I got my wife a fruit of the month plan from Harry and David for Mother's day and it has been great.
posted by bove at 5:20 AM on July 27, 2005

Or perhaps T-Shirt of the Month! Sorry, couldn't resist.

Seriously, I think I'd stick with the sentimental like planetkyoto up there. A lot of times, parents are overjoyed to just get a nice photo of you in a nice frame. They can be strange that way. I'd definitely kick it up a couple of notches sinces they've stuck together for so long (as they say, you don't see that much nowadays).

Since it's coral and you don't have handy access to dead sea creatures, how about treating it like an acronym? Five different presents, each one starting with one of the letters of "coral." If they like to guess about their presents, you can let them in on the letters and see if they can guess what you might've gotten them that starts with the letter.

Unfortunately, it's a little too early in the morning for me to think of good things to go with the letters, but perhaps one of our other, more caffeinated Mefiers can come up with some things...
posted by Moondoggie at 6:45 AM on July 27, 2005

Super 9? You know what I mean. #FED5D7 looks like a good coral-ly background color.
posted by planetkyoto at 6:48 AM on July 27, 2005

You could get them a gift certificate for some good steak, and pretend you thought it was corral anniversary?
posted by dagnyscott at 6:56 AM on July 27, 2005

On the food theme, a big hamper with lots of posh foods and treats; my parents loved this on one of their significant anniversaries. Maybe include coral earrings and/or cufflinks on top.
posted by carter at 9:24 AM on July 27, 2005

heh. dagnyscott funny.
posted by netsirk at 1:33 PM on July 27, 2005

For my parent's 40th, I wrote them a letter saying how much I appreciated them being my parents. It was better than anything I could have purchased and only cost me my time. Link if you want to read it.
posted by karmaville at 10:53 PM on July 28, 2005