60th Diamond Anniversary Gift Ideas

A couple reaching 60 years of marriage is usually in their eighties, and they have been given every vase and photo frame there is. The best 60th anniversary gifts are light to hold, easy to see and hear, and full of their own story. Below are 12 ideas for the diamond year, most of them for the whole family to give together. Our top pick is a song about their marriage, because it gathers six decades into something they can play at the kitchen table any day they like.

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This one was made for another family. Yours would carry their names and your stories.

12 60th anniversary gift ideas

1. A song about 60 years together ($39.90). Tell us where they met, the town where they raised you and the words one of them always says, and Songbond turns it into an original song within 24 hours. Play it for them on a good speaker, not a phone, so every word is clear.
2. A small diamond for the diamond year. A single-stone pendant, a thin band with one small diamond, or a diamond tie tack. Keep it simple and light enough to wear every day. Usually $150 to $600.
3. A large-print photo album. One photo per page, big and clear, with a caption in large type under each: the year, the place, who is in it. Usually $40 to $100.
4. A greeting from the head of state. In the US you can request an anniversary card from the White House for couples married 50 years or more, and in the UK the King sends a card for a 60th. It is free, but ask several weeks ahead.
5. A recording of their story. Sit with them for an afternoon, ask how they met and what the hardest year was, and record it on your phone. It costs nothing, and every grandchild will want a copy.
6. A letter from each decade. Ask one person from every decade of the marriage to write a note: a friend from their first years, a neighbor from the middle ones, a grandchild from this year. Six letters, tied with ribbon.
7. A quilt with a square from every grandchild. Each grandchild decorates a fabric square, and a local quilter sews them together. Expect $150 to $500.
8. Sixty white roses. White looks clean and bright, like the diamond year, and sixty roses make the room smell of the day. Usually $100 to $200.
9. A cut crystal vase. Engrave it with both years and fill it with those roses. Usually $50 to $120.
10. A lunch party at home. Bring the celebration to them: a caterer, folding chairs, and family arriving in shifts so the house is never too loud. The cost depends on the guest list.
11. Their wedding photo, framed for every home. Print a copy for each of their children, so the photo hangs in every house the marriage made. Usually $20 to $40 per copy.
12. A slow drive past the places of their marriage. The church, the first apartment, the hospital where the children were born, the house they lived in longest. A free afternoon they will talk about for weeks.

How to choose a gift for 60 years

At sixty years, energy is the thing to plan around. A gift that asks them to travel, stand for hours or learn new technology may tire them more than it pleases them. Aim for something they can enjoy sitting down, in their own home.

• If travel is hard for them: the lunch party at home, the slow drive or the song.
• If their eyesight or hearing has changed: the large-print album, the roses or the recording played loud and clear.
• If they have more than enough things: the letters from each decade, the head-of-state card or the wedding photo for every home.

Plan the day around their energy

Hold the celebration at lunch, not dinner, when most people in their eighties feel their best. Keep the formal part to twenty minutes: a short toast, the gift, a photo. Seat them in comfortable chairs and let people come to them, rather than asking them to move around the room. If the day will be busy, give the main gift quietly at home the evening before, so they can take it in without an audience. And ask one family member to stay near them all afternoon, to notice when they have had enough.

Give them a song for the diamond year

Create a 60th anniversary song for them from the stories your family remembers. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour if the day has crept up on you.

Also in the Journal: songs for a 60th anniversary and anniversary songs for your parents.