The 50th Anniversary Gift Is Gold
The traditional fiftieth anniversary gift is gold, on the American and British lists alike. Emily Post called the golden wedding "a quite sacred event" in 1922, and described it as a large family dinner "to which all the children and grandchildren are bidden".
What Does the 50th Anniversary Gift Mean?
A golden anniversary is usually a family occasion, as it already was when Post wrote. The guests, she wrote, were expected to bring "presents made of gold". The modern version is less literal: the best golden anniversary gifts are about the fifty years of family, with a touch of gold somewhere in them. The 50th is one of the eight anniversaries in Emily Post’s Etiquette (1922), the oldest widely read American list.
Checked against Emily Post, Wikipedia and Hallmark on .
What Are Good 50th Anniversary Gift Ideas?
- A portrait of every generation. Children and grandchildren in one picture, the gift most golden couples say they wanted.
- Gold jewelry, engraved. The two dates, fifty years apart.
- Fifty letters. One from each person in the family, or one for each year, bound together.
- The wedding photo, restored. Cleaned up, reprinted large and framed.
- A gold-rimmed set for the dinner. Glasses or plates for the family meal itself.
- A recording of their story. An afternoon interviewing them about how they met, saved for the grandchildren.
What We Make for the 50th
Our family portrait takes one group photo of up to six people and paints everyone, faces kept, in a real art style, printed as a framed canvas, a canvas or a puzzle. For a touch of gold, the engraved portrait pendant comes gold plated over stainless steel (it is plated, not solid gold), with one face drawn as fine line art.
50th Anniversary Questions
What is the traditional 50th anniversary gift? +
Gold, on the American and British lists alike. Emily Post listed the golden wedding in 1922 and described it as a family dinner with the children and grandchildren.
Is the gold pendant solid gold? +
No. It is gold plated over stainless steel, on a gold-toned 18 inch chain. We do not sell solid gold.
How many people can be in the family portrait? +
Up to six people from one group photo. For a bigger family, the usual answer is one portrait per branch.
Other Anniversaries
- 1st: paper
- 2nd: cotton
- 3rd: leather
- 4th: fruit and flowers
- 5th: wood
- 6th: iron
- 7th: wool, copper
- 8th: bronze
- 9th: pottery
- 10th: tin, aluminum
- 11th: steel
- 12th: silk
- 25th: silver
Every year from the 1st to the 60th, with the US and UK lists side by side, is on the anniversary gifts by year page.