100+ anniversary date ideas for every couple and every budget

Anniversary date ideas: 7 Creative memories to make together

Whether you’ve been married for a year or dating for several, your anniversary is a big day that deserves to be celebrated! But sometimes, coming up with new and exciting ways to commemorate the occasion can be tricky.

No worries, we’ve got you! Here are more than 100 anniversary date ideas that span all sorts of settings, budgets and interests.

 

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First anniversary date ideas  

  • Re-create your first date or a favorite early date. 
  • Host a fancy feast and invite your best man and maid of honor!
  • Thaw your wedding cake (if you froze a slice of it) and share it for dessert. 
  • Create a mini-photo album of your fave moments throughout the year. 
  • Start a year-by-year anniversary album—one couple selfie every anniversary.
  • Take a photo of yourselves holding your wedding portrait. Then every year after take a photo of yourselves holding the portrait you took the year before.  
  • Create a “calendar” of your first year with one picture or special moment representing each month. 

Second anniversary date ideas  

  • Road-trip for two hours from home and explore whatever there is to explore: state parks, roadside attractions, cabins in the woods, dive bars. 
  • Find pairs of things to surprise your partner with—cute salt and pepper shakers, matching T-shirts, that kind of thing. Antique stores are great for this!
  • Make your own movie double feature—you pick one and your partner picks one. 
  • Create your own bucket list of things you want to do together in the upcoming year.
  • Make a scrapbook (virtual or physical) of your favorite moments so far. 
  • Go to a pottery class and make a family heirloom.
  • Pick a country and (virtually) travel there. Make the cuisine, play the music and cap things off with a famous movie about that place.
Anniversary date ideas: 7 Creative memories to make together

Third anniversary date ideas  

  • Make a three-course meal at home! Get as fancy (or not fancy) as you want.
  • Go to a magic show—three is the magic number, after all. 
  • Go on a three-part date: appetizers at one place, dinner at the next, then ice cream for dessert. 
  • Have each of you pick three things to surprise each other with during the date. It could be big things or small things, like a printout of a favorite picture or a favorite candy. 
  • Make a three-layer cake together—bonus points if each layer is a different flavor.
  • Take a three-mile hike and bring a picnic along.
  • Take a tour of memorable places on foot or on bikes and talk about your memories along the way.

Fourth anniversary date ideas  

  • Take a trip somewhere that’s four hours away. That’s far enough that the landscape may change, and you may run into a major city. 
  • Your relationship is old enough to go to preschool! Take part in some fun preschool activities. Swing on swings at the park, do some finger painting and don’t forget nap time. 
  • Commemorate the year of your (relationship’s) birth. Get four unpainted, wooden cubes from an art store and paint the numbers of the year you got together on them. 
  • Involve your pets! If you have a furry friend, dress them up in festive gear and go for a long walk or to the dog park.
  • Visit a day spa and get a massage, or just hang out in the spa all day! 
  • Set up a make-your-own sundae bar and invite a few friends to toast the occasion.

Fifth anniversary date ideas  

  • Go all-in on traditional. Five years is the wood anniversary! Make something together out of wood—a birdhouse, perhaps?
  • Get a fancy five-course dinner (or make one!). 
  • Train for a 5k and run it together.
  • Write letters to each other, saying how much your love has grown and sharing your plans or hopes for the future.
  • Think ahead to the holidays and pick out an ornament for your tree.
  • Go to an antique store and each pick out something that represents your relationship.
  • Plant a tree or flowers—maybe five of them? Flowers look especially good in clusters.
  • Get matching tattoos to commemorate the occasion!
  • Weekend getaway—even if it’s only to a hotel in town. Five years is worth something a little above and beyond a one-evening date. 
  • Go camping and stargaze. Be sure to bring some delicious food that you can cook over a campfire.
Anniversary date ideas: 7 Creative memories to make together

Tenth anniversary date ideas  

  • Re-create your first date in a fancier way! Get a blowout at the salon beforehand. Make reservations at a posh Italian spot instead of a pizza place.
  • Curate a playlist with 10 songs—one for each year you’ve been together. 
  • Go to 10 of your favorite spots together, or you could each pick five that are especially meaningful. Maybe it’s the spot you had your first kiss or the place you said “I love you” for the first time.  
  • Make a list of 10 things you love about each other.  
  • Do a tenth-anniversary photo shoot with a pro photographer.
  • Plan an anniversary trip to a place you’d both like to see because of a TV show you watch together.
  • Have a dance party at home with your favorite songs from the year you first paired up.

Just-for-fun anniversary date ideas  

  • Go to a local diner or coffee shop and do a crossword puzzle or play a card game. 
  • Amusement park! Live like a kid again, together! 
  • Get old-school portraits taken at the mall or department store. Dress up or dress in matching outfits if you’re extra.  
  • Try a low-stakes sport, like pickleball. Loser pays for anniversary dinner or drinks after. 😉  
  • Go on a breakfast-for-dinner date. Make your own or stop by a local diner or pancake house. 
  • Frisbee golf! Winner buys ice cream afterwards.
  • Draw each other! Don’t show the other person until both of you are done.

Romantic anniversary date ideas  

  • Spend the night at a bed and breakfast, even if it’s a staycation. Extra points if it has an in-room hot tub. 😁
  • Rent an outdoor projection screen (or just use a TV indoors) and put on a slide show of memories from your years together.
  • Renew your vows in front of family and friends.
  • Book a couples massage or create your own couples massage at home.
  • Have a candlelit dinner together. If the weather is nice outside, dine on the patio!
  • Re-create your first date together. If you’re not in the same city you were on your first date, find ways to re-create it where you live now.
  • Go out together and dance the night away.
Anniversary date ideas: 7 Creative memories to make together

Unique anniversary date ideas  

  • Plan a scavenger hunt that takes you to places that are important or significant to your relationship.
  • Take a class together to learn something new, like cooking a specific dish or painting.
  • Design a piece of jewelry for each of you together that you can keep to remember the date.
  • Find a fun, quirky restaurant to eat at together, like a brunch place that has llamas.
  • Two words: matching tattoos!
  • Go to the zoo and give each other animal names, backstories and hopes and dreams for the future.
  • Have a progressive date night where you go to a different restaurant or lounge for each course of your dinner.

Inexpensive anniversary date ideas  

  • Explore the local farmers market with a cup of your favorite coffee.
  • Hike or bike one mile for every year that you’ve been together.
  • Take fun (free) anniversary pictures with a friend who doesn’t mind tagging along.
  • Be tourists in your hometown by visiting a local landmark or other inexpensive tourist trap.
  • Visit a local museum and then enjoy a picnic afterwards.
  • Go on a brew tour at a local brewery.
  • Plan your dream vacation while sipping tropical cocktails.

At-home anniversary date ideas  

  • Cook your favorite meal together and bake something yummy for dessert.
  • If cooking’s not your thing, set the table elegantly with candles and order takeout from your favorite place.
  • Surprise your partner with a homemade banner that displays the year you first got together.
  • Grab a stack of your favorite games and have a board game marathon.
  • Have an old-fashioned cocktail hour on your deck or porch.
  • Pop some popcorn, grab your favorite toppings and have a movie marathon.
  • Have a breakfast-for-dinner date. Or, if that’s not your thing, how about a dinner-for-breakfast date?

Last-minute anniversary date ideas  

  • Have a dessert-making contest with whatever ingredients you have in your kitchen.
  • Plan a picnic at the park or in your backyard.
  • Do a show-and-tell with something that’s meaningful from your relationship.
  • Check out a local food truck and go on a walk after you eat.
  • Pull up a restaurant ratings app and visit a highly rated restaurant you’ve never been to before.
  • Have a little friendly competition at a local axe-throwing place, bowling alley or go-kart track.
  • Find some live music that’s happening near you and go enjoy the show.

Winter anniversary date ideas  

  • Take a drive together and enjoy the holiday lights.
  • Visit a park or arboretum that’s dressed in twinkle lights and take a romantic stroll through the winter wonderland.
  • Go skiing or sledding together and enjoy hot chocolate afterwards to warm up.
  • Stay in and have a hot cocoa bar, each of you picking a couple of favorite toppings.
  • Bake sugar cookies together in your favorite wintery shapes.
  • Have a cozy coffee date at the first coffee shop you visited together.
  • Snuggle under some blankets and watch the latest Hallmark movie.

Spring anniversary date ideas  

  • Go on a walk in a park and pack a surprise picnic.
  • Explore a local botanical garden or somewhere else that’s known for flowers.
  • Find an outdoor concert or show and enjoy some entertainment al fresco.
  • Grab your putters and hit the local miniature golf course. Winner picks dinner!
  • Go to a garden center and pick out some seeds to start (or grow) your garden.
  • Find a park with some wide-open space and fly kites together.
  • Go for a ride in a hot-air balloon.

Summer anniversary date ideas  

  • Pack a cooler with some uniquely flavored sodas and visit a local drive-in movie theater.
  • If you’re near a beach, go to the beach! If not, plan a trip to a beachy destination, or just sip a tropical drink and think beachy thoughts together.
  • Go bird-watching together and see who can find the most interesting bird.
  • Visit your local farmers market and make a meal with some delicious fresh produce.
  • Find a baseball game that’s happening near you and go cheer on the home team.
  • Splash around at a local swimming pool or water park.
  • If you’re not outdoorsy people, soak up some air conditioning and enjoy your favorite meal together at home.

Fall anniversary date ideas  

  • Go fruit-picking together with whatever’s in season. (Pro tip: When you post your photos, caption them “So glad I picked you!”)
  • Go on a hike to enjoy the fall colors.
  • Collect fall leaves and make a craft together.
  • Go watch a high school football game together.
  • Roast marshmallows and sip cider together by a firepit.
  • Bake your favorite fall-specific pie.
  • Carve or paint pumpkins with something significant to your relationship.

 

We hope these anniversary date ideas help you and your one and only come up with fun ways to celebrate your amazing relationship! 💕

 

Need more anniversary ideas? We’ve got more here!