10th Anniversary Gift Ideas for Your Husband

Ten years married, and he has probably told you he does not need anything. That usually means he does not want you to fuss, not that nothing would make him happy. A good 10th anniversary gift for a husband is something he will use or keep, with a clear reason it came from you. Our top pick is a song about your ten years, because most husbands have never had anyone put their story into words.

Listen to a song Songbond made

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

11 10th anniversary gift ideas for your husband

1. A song about your ten years ($39.90). You share how you met, the joke only the two of you get and the moment you knew he was the one. Songbond turns it into an original song, ready within 24 hours, and it plays in the truck as easily as at dinner.
2. A tintype portrait of the two of you. A tintype is an old photo process printed on a thin metal plate, and it fits the tin year exactly. Some photographers still make them in a single sitting, usually for $75 to $250.
3. A vintage-style tin sign with your family name. Your last name and the year you married, for the garage, the shed or the basement bar. Usually $30 to $70.
4. An engraved aluminum wallet. Slim, hard to break and made for the front pocket. Engrave your wedding date on the inside plate. $25 to $60.
5. Aluminum camp cookware. If he likes to fish, hike or camp, a light pot and pan set is a tin-year gift he will actually pack. $50 to $200.
6. A band with a black diamond. Diamonds are the modern 10th gift. A plain band with one small black stone is a way to give one to a man who would never wear a sparkly ring. Usually $200 to $800.
7. The tool he keeps looking at. The saw, the drill set or the good wrench he picks up at the store and puts back. $80 to $300.
8. Better seats than usual. Tickets to his team, in the section you normally walk past. Add parking and a meal so the day costs him nothing. $100 to $400.
9. A night away with his friends. Book the cabin or the fishing trip, tell his friends and clear the calendar. You handle home that weekend. $150 to $500.
10. His mother's recipe, cooked for him. Ask his mom or his sister for the dish he grew up on, and make it for your anniversary dinner. If his mother is gone, ask whoever still has the recipe card.
11. A tin of the sweets he loved as a boy. The candy his grandparents kept by the kitchen door, packed into a tin with a short note. Small, funny and usually $15 to $40.

How to pick the right one for him

Watch what he does on a free Saturday. That tells you more than anything he says when you ask what he wants. If he spends it outside, go for gear or a trip. If he spends it fixing things, go for the tool. If he spends it with you and the kids, go for something that marks the ten years.

• If he is quiet about feelings: the song, played in the car when it is just the two of you.
• If he is practical: the wallet, the tool or the cookware.
• If he needs a break: the night away or the better seats.

How to give a song to a man who hates a fuss

Do not play it at a party with everyone watching. Most husbands would rather hear something this personal alone first. Play it in the car on the way to dinner, or send it to his phone while he is at work with one line: this one is about us. Let him listen twice before you say anything. If he goes quiet, that is usually a good sign. If you want a bigger moment, save it for later, once he has heard it on his own terms.

Order his 10th anniversary song

Make a 10th anniversary song for your husband. Tell us about your ten years and his song is ready within 24 hours. Running late? Express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: songs for a 10th anniversary and an anniversary song for your husband.