5th anniversary wood gift ideas: for the two of you, for him and for her

Five years in, most couples have the kitchen things and the picture frames. What is still missing is something that is only about the two of you. Wood is the traditional material for a fifth anniversary, and it is what we work with every day in our family workshop. Below are the wooden gifts we make for the occasion, what to engrave on them and when to order. You can also see them together in our 5th anniversary gifts.

The short answer

For a gift to both of you, choose a family established sign with your first names and your wedding date. For her, engrave the song from your first dance on a wooden record. For him, give an album for the trips you take together. Whatever you choose, put the wedding date on it: it says five years today and keeps counting.

Why wood for the fifth anniversary

In the US, the classic anniversary list gives each milestone a material: paper for the first year, wood for the fifth, tin for the tenth, silver for the twenty-fifth and gold for the fiftieth. The usual reading of the fifth is easy to like: after five years a marriage has put down roots, and wood is a material that holds up.

It also narrows the search: something in wood that carries your own story. Every piece below is made to order with your names or your date on it.

For the two of you: your names and your date

The family established sign is built around a couple: both first names with a small raised heart between them, your family name in large script and your wedding date beneath, all inside a thin raised outline. The raised 3D letters sit on a stained wood board, in 12 wood colors and 8 letter colors, with a sawtooth hanger on the back.

Hang it where you both pass every day: the entryway, above the sofa or over the bed. It comes in Medium, 22.8 × 9.5 in (58 × 24 cm), and Large, 27.5 × 12.6 in (70 × 32 cm), from $79. For more styles and wording, see our family name sign ideas.

Fifth anniversary gifts for her

The song from your first dance is the obvious choice, and a good one. Our custom song record is a Baltic birch record with the lyrics laser-engraved in a spiral. The center carries a header of your choice, such as "Our Song", your wedding date and the artist and song. You name the song and we look up the lyrics.

It comes in five diameters, from 7.8 to 15.7 in (20 to 40 cm), and four wood colors: Golden Hazelnut, Natural, Jacobean and Black. Records start at $59. The song record with QR code, from $64, adds a code to the mirror center that plays the song when she scans it. More ideas are in our guide to song lyrics gifts.

Fifth anniversary gifts for him

If he would rather collect trips than things, give him the Adventure Book: your names, the words "adventure book" and a hand-drawn mountain engraved on a wooden cover, with blank pages inside for instant photos, ticket stubs and a line about where you were. Fill the first pages with one photo from each of your five years and leave the rest for the next five.

The cover wording can change, so "adventure book" can become "5 years of adventures". It has wooden front and back covers, a vegan leather spine and metal screw posts, in Small (8.65 × 6 in) or Large (12.15 × 8.6 in), with a Jacobean, Hazelnut or Natural cover, from $44.99. Swap them if you like: the record suits him as well as the book suits her.

From the family: a gift for their fifth

Parents and grown children often want to mark the day together. A framed family name sign with the year of the wedding, such as "The Walker Family" and "Est. 2021", gives the couple their shared name in raised black script on a white backer, inside a wood frame in Jacobean, Hazelnut, Black or Natural. It comes in the same two sizes as the established sign, from $79.

If the family gathers for the anniversary, bring a photo book to the dinner too. The classic names and date photo book has the couple's names and wedding date engraved on its wooden cover; everyone adds a photo and a note, and the couple takes it home full.

What to engrave

Three things make a fifth anniversary gift read as one:

• Your names. Both first names, "Emma & Jack", or the family name you share, "The Walkers". A plural family name takes no apostrophe.
• The wedding date. The full date, "June 12, 2021", or the year, "Est. 2021". It says five years today and still reads right at fifty.
• "5 years". Put it where the design leaves you free words: the header of the song record ("5 years of our song"), the cover wording of the Adventure Book, or the title of A Tale of Our Love photo book, which reads "A TALE OF OUR LOVE" unless you type your own, such as "FIVE YEARS OF US".

We engrave and cut exactly what you type, so write every line as it should read and check the spelling twice.

When to order

Every piece is made to order in 1–3 business days and ships free with FedEx or UPS express to the US, Canada, the UK and the EU, arriving in about 3–4 business days, so most orders are at your door within about a week. For a set date like an anniversary, we suggest ordering 3–4 weeks ahead, which leaves room for a proof. A proof adds about a day, plus up to 48 hours if you take the full window to reply.

Need it sooner? Choose Rush order & express shipping at checkout. We make your order in 1 business day and ship it express the next business day; delivery then takes 2–3 business days. Delivery dates are the carrier's estimates. We can't be responsible for carrier delays.

Questions

What is the traditional 5th anniversary gift?

Wood. On the traditional US anniversary list, wood marks the fifth year, between paper for the first and tin for the tenth. Anything made of wood fits; one with your names or your date on it tends to stay on display.

Which anniversary is the wood anniversary?

The fifth. Wood is the traditional material for five years of marriage, so a wood anniversary gift and a fifth anniversary gift are the same thing.

What is the modern 5th anniversary gift?

Silverware, on the modern US list. If you would like to honor both, choose wood with a touch of silver: our song record can have a silver mirror center.

Which parts are wood?

The song record is Baltic birch, with a gold or silver mirror center or a matte black wood one. The unframed name signs are stained wood boards with raised 3D letters, and the framed sign has a wood frame and a wood back. The photo books have engraved wooden front and back covers, a vegan leather spine and metal screw posts.

Do you make a 5th anniversary photo book?

Not one with a 5 on the cover; our numbered anniversary book is the 50th anniversary photo memory book. For a fifth, choose a book whose title you write yourself, such as A Tale of Our Love, and fill the first pages with a photo from each year.

Can I see the design before you make it?

Yes. Ask for a free digital proof and we email it within a business day. You have 48 hours to approve it or ask for changes; if we don't hear back, we go ahead with the proof you saw so your order keeps moving.

Can you send it straight to them?

Yes. Add a gift message at checkout, and we put it on a card and leave the prices out of the package.

5th anniversary gifts · All anniversary gifts · Song records · Family name signs

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