
Emperor7 |

Calling all romantics!
My wife and I will celebrate our silver anniversary in 27 days and I need some help.
We're likely doing a trip in the summer but I'm hoping for some economical ideas for the BIG DAY. We're having a party for friends and family the night before, and I might steal her away for a day or two away from work and the grown kids afterwards. Still, I want to do something special for her.
Sing a love ballad? - Nope. Unless I want a divorce, and lawsuits from all the people with bleeding ears.
Buy her a Paizo item? - Nope. Alas she gave up gaming years ago.
His and her massages? - Maybe.
Anniversary ring - Maybe, but the one she likes is beaucoup dollars.
Give her nekkid pics of the Paizo staff? - Everyone has those.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to help a loaf like me make his wife feel super special.
Warning - She's shy, not much of a drinker, and difficult to buy gifts for on the best of days.
Thanks for any ideas!
Joe

Freehold DM |

If yours was a happy one, redo your wedding. Get everyone together- if you can't go for bare bones; best man, maid of honor and your parents. See if you can get the same priest/vicar/rabbi/sea captain/Elder God to do the ceremony. For dinner, just recreate the main courses and get a smaller version of the wedding cake, saving the top for later.
See if you can fold in the idea of the album as well- that can be something to pass around the table during dinner.

Emperor7 |

Thanks for the input!
The photo album is a great idea. (Thanks, CF!) I used to write her poems too, back in the day. She still has them.
I might combine the day spa with our two-day getaway. She's kinda shy/reluctant to try new things. (Previous attempts at pampering her with a day spa have met with failure.)
Need to put on my ninja suit and look thru the boxes of old photos whilst she's busy elsewhere. Could combine it with a photo dvd/slideshow for the party.
Keep the ideas coming! :)

Emperor7 |

If yours was a happy one, redo your wedding. Get everyone together- if you can't go for bare bones; best man, maid of honor and your parents. See if you can get the same priest/vicar/rabbi/sea captain/Elder God to do the ceremony. For dinner, just recreate the main courses and get a smaller version of the wedding cake, saving the top for later.
See if you can fold in the idea of the album as well- that can be something to pass around the table during dinner.
Hmmm, small family wedding since she was pregnant but maybe I can dust off the memory box. My dad, since passed, insisted on buying the champagne so I should buy a case for our party.

Emperor7 |

Emperor7 wrote:Michigan.
Ice skating or toboganning, perhaps? ;)
If it were during the summer, I would take a trip to Hell and get some ice cream. :D
I hear the chicken in Frankenmuth is mighty tasty.
Good point!
Yep, was considering rerouting from the casino to Frankenmuth for the short getaway. We're not that big on gambling anyhows, but still checking on the shows downtown that weekend.
And yes, the chicken is tasty!

Emperor7 |

Emperor7, I won't be much use with romantic ideas. I'm lucky if I remember to pick up flowers for my wife once in a while. But please accept my enthusiastic congratulations for making your marriage work so long.
Thanks, and thanks to all!
According to my wife she's still 29, so I guess we were preschool sweethearts. ;)

therealthom |

Here, I'll try. This is too big not to. Besides I can crib notes. Our 25th is only a couple years away.
Getting my wife out for cross-country skiing usually wins points, but I don't think that's big enough for your 25th.
Live theater or classical music concert also wins big points with my spouse.
Your afore-mentioned getaway is a great idea. So's the album. Does she have any old friends she hasn't seen in a while? What about hobbies?

Emperor7 |

Here, I'll try. This is too big not to. Besides I can crib notes. Our 25th is only a couple years away.
Getting my wife out for cross-country skiing usually wins points, but I don't think that's big enough for your 25th.
Live theater or classical music concert also wins big points with my spouse.
Your afore-mentioned getaway is a great idea. So's the album. Does she have any old friends she hasn't seen in a while? What about hobbies?
Maybe I can track down a couple of her old friends for the party. Hmmm... But then she'd ignore me the whole evening. But luv me to death afterwards.... Hmmm...

Emperor7 |

Fake Healer wrote:27 days, Fakey. Practically a lifetime. Emporer7 is on the ball. (I, too, would be doing this last minute.)Congrats. I would offer help but if you are anything like me your anniversary is tomorrow and you forgot to plan anything....I stink at membering.
I really wanted to do Hawaii or the Caribbean but money and her job works against that. She also wants to bring our mostly grown kids with us but I'm thinking 'us' is limited to 2. Kinda like the honeymoon we never had. Still, maybe Toronto in the winter. Brrrr!

Emperor7 |

Congrats Emperor7!
Following the photo album idea, burn a CD with a hit song from every year you've been married. You could put a combo of romantic ones along with some funny choices.
thanks!
I need to keep a pad of paper with songs as they come to mind. I made a slideshow DVD for my mother a couple of years back with Big Band tunes, and it was a big hit. I can combine the DVD with a real photo album so she can enjoy both.

lynora |

I really wanted to do Hawaii or the Caribbean but money and her job works against that. She also wants to bring our mostly grown kids with us but I'm thinking 'us' is limited to 2. Kinda like the honeymoon we never had. Still, maybe Toronto in the winter. Brrrr!
lol. It's not like Toronto in the winter is really any colder than Detroit in the winter. :)
Anyway, congrats, and good luck with the planning. I'm not really much help. I always suck at this stuff. But it sounds like you're already getting lots of good ideas. :)
CourtFool |

Clear empty jar (Hobby store if you do not have one laying around)
Wooden, unfinished numbers (Hobby store again, you will need something to attach double digit years together)
Paint, assorted colors
Blank sticker/label
Paint the wooden numbers whatever colors work best. I think for the best effect, each number should be a different color. Remember for years 10-25 you will have to attach the numbers together. Place wooden numbers in empty jar. Fire up your favorite graphic editor and print out a label that says something like "Best Years of My Life" and attach to the jar.

Emperor7 |

Clear empty jar (Hobby store if you do not have one laying around)
Wooden, unfinished numbers (Hobby store again, you will need something to attach double digit years together)
Paint, assorted colors
Blank sticker/labelPaint the wooden numbers whatever colors work best. I think for the best effect, each number should be a different color. Remember for years 10-25 you will have to attach the numbers together. Place wooden numbers in empty jar. Fire up your favorite graphic editor and print out a label that says something like "Best Years of My Life" and attach to the jar.
Need a big jar. Good one!

Lilith |

First of all, congrats. That's one helluva milestone. A lot of people have already mentioned excellent ideas, and I don't know if you're having a party with lots of people, but if you are, have you considered having a potluck-style gathering where people bring her favorite foods? Yes I'm a sucker for food gifts. My other half brought me home Madras curry powder and a quart of organic chocolate milk and I was ecstatic. :P
Talk to her best friends and family, try to find something that she enjoyed as a child and build on that.

Steven Tindall |

OK as a non-romantic here I am in favor of a tradiutiojnal gift.
The 25th aniversery is silver so I got my parents a silver tea and coffe service with their names and wedding date inscibed on it. Even my dad choked up a little and my mom was completly overjoyed. Soemtimes the tradtional is still the best. I do like CF's ideas and all the others too but tried and true can never go wrong.
Major congrats to both of you, watch out for the lose weight/buff up idea.
SOME women get paranoid about stuff like that and think that the guys cheating on them,it happened to a friend of mine, we were work out buddies and after he lost like 30lbs and his wifes buddies made a off hand comment she became way too hard to deal with but thats neither here nor there again congrats.

Emperor7 |

Thanks for all of the ideas and congrats.
So far -
Sister-in-laws have offered up the house for hors d'oeuvres/drinks. Fancy casual. I'll likely have my son videotape the party.
Photos are being compiled for album and photo DVD. This is going to take a while.
We'll mulling over getaway destination.
It's a bit weird for nostalgia items. We've known each other since we were teenagers. A lot of our old fun places, inlcuding our old neighborhoods, have fallen to urban blight in Detroit. More sadness than happiness on that front. We have managed to keep in touch with a lot of our old friends.
Been thru the mixed desire/reaction about the weight loss before, but I need to do it for health's sake more than studliness.
The memory board is a cool idea. Might be able to make a small scale effort on that. She'd likely figure something was up if her keepsakes disappear. Must be stealthy....

Urizen |

Now if Frankenmuth had a spa in the area, that'd be a +2. :D
Never been there myself, but my dad's originally from detroit and all I ever hear about is 'the chicken is great there' and he always manages to get his latest christmas ornaments from there when presented as gifts. Something about that Michigan Bavaria...

Emperor7 |

Now if Frankenmuth had a spa in the area, that'd be a +2. :D
Never been there myself, but my dad's originally from detroit and all I ever hear about is 'the chicken is great there' and he always manages to get his latest christmas ornaments from there when presented as gifts. Something about that Michigan Bavaria...
I'm sure they have one somewhere up there. Our discussion last nite got cut short by a plumbing problem. Hair and drains do not mix. Duh!