Sentimental Gifts for Your Wife

A wife who has built a home, a family or a career has usually given far more than she has been thanked for. The most sentimental gifts for a wife honor that whole life: her mother, her children, her own history and the small things she does that nobody sees. Here are 12 ideas, from free to a real splurge, that work for any occasion. Our top pick is a song about her, because it puts into words what she has been carrying.

Hear a Songbond song for yourself

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

12 sentimental gift ideas for your wife

1. A song about her ($39.90). Share her nickname, the stories the kids tell about her and what she did the year everything went wrong, and Songbond turns it into an original song within 24 hours. You can ask for changes until it sounds like her.
2. A family stone, reset. If her grandmother's ring sits in a drawer because the setting feels dated, have a jeweler reset the stone into something she will wear every day. Usually $150 to $600.
3. A print of the things the kids have said. The funny lines, the sweet ones and the one from the car that everyone still quotes, each with a name and an age. Usually $30 to $60.
4. A piece of her wedding dress, remade. A seamstress can turn fabric from the dress into a small pillow, a christening bonnet or an ornament. Usually $80 to $250.
5. Her grandmother's china, completed. Track down the missing pieces of the pattern she inherited, one plate or cup at a time. Usually $30 to $150.
6. A favorite family photo, painted. Hand a painter the photo she keeps on her phone's lock screen. Usually $100 to $400.
7. A thank-you letter for the things nobody sees. The packed lunches, the appointments, the birthday cards she remembers for your side of the family. List them, one by one. Free.
8. The perfume she wore when you met. Even a discontinued scent can often be found from collectors online. Usually $40 to $120.
9. Her recipes, bound for the kids. Type up the dishes she makes, add a photo of her at the stove, and print a copy for each child. Usually $40 to $80.
10. A garden bed of her mother's favorite flowers. Plant it where she can see it from the kitchen window. Usually $40 to $120.
11. A pendant with each child's initial. Small letters on one fine chain, worn close. Usually $60 to $200.
12. A map of your life together. Every town and house, the place you married and the hospital where the children were born, drawn on one page. Usually $40 to $100.

How to choose for your wife

Think about which part of her life she talks about most, and start there. A gift that honors the people she loves often means more than one about her alone.

• If she is the family's memory keeper: the kids' sayings, the recipe book or the map.
• If she is close to her mother or grandmother: the reset stone, the china or the garden bed.
• If she carries more than her share: the thank-you letter or the song.

What to put in a song for your wife

From the stories people send us, the details that make a song land are small and specific. Words like loving, kind and thoughtful are true of most wives, and they make a weak song. What makes it hers is the thing only your family knows: the name she gives the dog, the phrase she says right before she wins an argument, the song she sings badly while cooking. Write down five of those before you order. If the children are old enough, ask each of them for one too.

Give your wife a song about her

Create a song for your wife from the details that make her who she is. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: anniversary songs for your wife and songs about the day we met.