How To Celebrate Your Anniversary in the Winter

Choosing to get married on a winter day, while the air is crisp and a blanket of snow outside complements the pristine beauty of the bride, is an undeniably magical decision. Even years later, as you celebrate your anniversary, you and your partner get to enjoy the season together. Here are our tips on how to celebrate your anniversary in the winter this year.

First: Decide Whether or Not To Theme the Celebration

Anniversaries, much like weddings and birthdays, can have themes! Taking advantage of the season to celebrate a winter-themed anniversary is a fun way to differentiate this year from any other, or possibly create a new tradition. However, not everyone had a deep love for the season they were married in, so decide whether a theme is right for you.

Pros of a Winter Theme

Frankly, the cold is fun! If you live in the northern US, the wedding was most likely on a chilly day and the changing seasons are a welcome reminder of that important time. Winter themes like shared hot cocoa, walks to your favorite restaurant while bundled up, and even snowball fights bring back endless memories during a winter anniversary. If you and your partner have a deep love for snowy days, lean into it on your anniversary!

Avoiding a Winter Theme

If you don’t love the snow all that much, there are still options for anniversaries in the winter that don’t focus on the season. It’s easy to have a formal, refined anniversary celebration without dealing with too much of the cold outdoors. Winter doesn’t have to define your anniversary activities or your style of celebration.

Next, Pick the Location

Anniversaries aren’t always date nights, but when they are, it’s important to pick a location. In doing so, you need to decide if you’ll be celebrating just as a pair, as a family, or even among friends. There’s no right way to enjoy your anniversary, so go wherever you’d like. Here are just a few ideas on where to start.

Indoor Anniversary Ideas

Indoor anniversaries in the winter are a fantastic way to escape the chill, and luckily, there are things to do that match everyone’s tastes.

Eating out at your favorite diner or enjoying a meal at a new restaurant is always a solid option for date nights like these. You can also go out and do an activity together, whether it’s at a wine tasting, an escape room, or even a roller rink! Catching a new movie or theatrical performance is also a great way to stay warm indoors while simply enjoying each other’s company.

Outdoor Anniversary Ideas

With winter comes a vast array of outdoor anniversary ideas. If you and your partner adore the chilly outdoors, consider taking your anniversary somewhere like the national parks. For example, Yellowstone National Park features multiple breathtaking tours during the season.

If you prefer to stay closer to home, look for a chance to find your inner child again together. Ice skating, snowball fights, and even building a snowman are all fun ways to bond on your anniversary.

Then, Choose the Gifts

Exchanging gifts is one of the most exciting parts of an anniversary for many people. The act of gift giving conveys powerful messages and brings comfort and security to all kinds of relationships. At times gift giving can be difficult, but here are two tips to make gift giving for your winter anniversary easier.

Share a Budget

As with any anniversary, winter or not, it’s important to share a budget before buying gifts. Grand gestures are a high-risk, high-reward scenario, as spending more than your partner has a chance to embarrass them. The best way to avoid this is to communicate beforehand and plan on a gift budget that fits your incomes and feels right to you both.

Mind the Weather

When buying gifts to celebrate your anniversary in the winter, it’s important to consider the weather for whatever gift you buy. If your gift exchange happens outside, you want to be sure that the wind or snow won’t damage the gift or the experience of opening it. For example, if your partner is an avid reader, give books as a gift away from where the snow will get them and provide a place for the book to go as you both head home.

Avoid Being Overshadowed by the Holidays

One downside of winter anniversaries is that there’s a lot happening in the final months of the year, so if your anniversary happens to fall in November or December, there is some celebratory competition. It’s much harder to cherish your anniversary when it’s overshadowed by everything else going on. That’s why it’s crucial to put in the effort and ensure that the anniversary stands apart from any other party going on in your lives.

Distinguish Anniversary Gifts From Holiday Gifts

Among the worst things you can do as a gift-giver is say that one gift covers both occasions. By giving an anniversary gift as a holiday gift or vice versa, you lower the emotional value of both. The last thing you want to do is make someone feel like the anniversary just isn’t that important to you.

Find ways to distinguish the gifts. If your anniversary is on a holiday, step away from the group gift exchange to hand-deliver the anniversary gift. Make a point of saying exactly what it’s celebrating, or better yet, include a card with that message. You can also give the anniversary present over a dinner date to add to its romantic impact.

Announce and Enjoy the Anniversary Separately

Whether you are celebrating your own anniversary or congratulating someone on theirs, make sure to celebrate the event separately from discussion of holidays. When posting on social media, don’t hide anniversary mentions in a post about get-togethers or festivities. Instead, make a separate post, send out unique cards, or renew your vows away from the other celebrations so that the anniversary holds its own importance.

At Crystal Central, we are proud to help you celebrate your relationship and show your partner how much you appreciate them. For a gift that’s winter anniversary-friendly and conveys exactly what you want to say, look to crystal! Whether you’re looking to buy for your own celebration or searching for 50^th wedding anniversary gifts for parents, our team is happy to provide you with customized engraving and elegant designs that capture the magic of a winter anniversary.