Best 40th Anniversary Gift Ideas For Parents

40th Anniversary Gifts are traditionally celebrated with ruby gifts but when you are looking for a gift for your parents you may want something a bit more personal.

You want a gift that is both thoughtful and also that fits in with the Ruby theme, that celebrates their 40 years of marriage and it definitely wants to be a gift that they will love.

Here we have lots of gift ideas that we are sure they will love:

  • Ruby Anniversary Gift Ideas
  • Gifts to remember 40 years of marriage
  • Personalized gifts for your Mom and Dad
  • 40th Anniversary cruise
  • 40th Anniversary party and vow renewal ideas

Ruby Anniversary Gift Ideas for your Parents

With both the traditional and modern 40th Anniversary gift being Ruby it has to be included in the list even if it doesn't seem the most obvious of gifts for your parents.

Ruby Heart Necklace

This stunning Ruby and Diamond heart necklace would be a beautiful and thoughtful 40th Anniversary gift for your Mom.

If there are a few of you joining together to buy their gift this would be perfect as the heart represents how much you love her and the gift box can be engraved with your own Happy Anniversary message.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts Store.

Engraved Ruby Vase

This crystal vase, engraved with your Happy Anniversary message and decorated with a ruby Swarovski crystal is the perfect gift for your parents to celebrate their Ruby Anniversary.

You know they will treasure it and it will have pride of place for years to come. 

Plus, you can also include a beautiful bouquet of flowers to make it even more special.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts Store.

Ruby Anniversary Photo Album

A personalized 40th Anniversary album filled with lots of favorite photos from the past 40 years will make a unique Anniversary gift that your parents will have lots of fun looking over and reminiscing.

Ask friends and family for copies of their favorite photos of your parents so you can add them to the album. Your Mom and Dad may not have seen some of them which will make it even more special.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts Store

Ruby Anniversary Coffee Mugs

A matching set of 40th Ruby Anniversary mugs is a fun start to their day, made even more perfect if you are including a great cup of coffee too!

These mugs can be personalized with their names and then on the back with your own message.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts store

Ruby Themed Anniversary Gift Basket

ruby anniversary gift basket

If you are unable to be with your parents on their Anniversary a gift basket is a wonderful way for them to know that you are thinking of them.

Our Ruby themed Anniversary gift basket is filled with lots of yummy treats and comes in a ruby red basket and gift bow. 

Add your own Anniversary message so they know it's from you!

Available to order on our Anniversary Gifts store here

40th Anniversary Toast

Married for four decades is a wonderful long time and worthy of big celebrations. We are sure you and your parents will want to celebrate their special day with a toast and it will be even more special if it is in their own personalized glasses.

These Crystal champagne glasses are engraved with their Wedding Date and your own message to both of them.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts store here 

Engraved Red Wine Glasses

Not everyone likes to drink sparkling wine and if your parent's love their red wine then a personalized set of Red Wine glasses would be perfect.

Especially since red wine is just the right color for a Ruby anniversary.

You could combine this set of glasses with a lovey bottle of red wine from their Wedding year forty years ago or a case of their favorite Red wine.

Available to buy in our Anniversary Gifts Store.

Anniversary Gifts to Celebrate 40 Years

Personalized 40th Anniversary Gifts

You could have a personalized anniversary frame 

They also have beautiful anniversary vases, glasses (yes they have them in ruby red), pictures, jewelry, items for the home and all sorts of unusual gifts that your parents will love.

Wall Art

 New art for your parent's home is a gift that they will be able to enjoy every day and will be something that you can choose to fit with your parent's tastes.

If they have a favorite artist we are sure they would love to own another piece, even if it is a copy.

Or you could look to commission a local artist to paint them, their home, the family or even their pets.

Equally a unique piece of Art that represents their love and time together will be a lovely way to show their love over the last forty years.

How Do You Choose The Best 40th Anniversary Gift?

40th anniversary gifts

The first thing to do is think about the kind of people your parents are and what they like.

There is no point buying them the best seats to see a great musical if they don't really want to go, and trust me we should know! Years ago we bought the best seats we could afford for Les Miserables for my parents and my Dad ended up giving them to someone he worked with. It wasn't that they didn't want to see the musical, they still do, it was too much of an effort for my Dad! He likes the quiet life! Though not sure it's been that quiet after that :)

The thing to also remember is that this is a big milestone Anniversary and not many couples get the chance to celebrate forty years together, so even if it is just a token to the traditional gift of rubies it is worth embracing it and make a big deal out of it.

If you have brothers and sisters it might be a good idea to include them in choosing and buying the gift. This way you will be able to buy a more expensive gift together.

If you want to buy a really big gift that maybe your parents have hinted at, you may need to ask friends and other family members to join in.

Sentimental Gifts

40 years is a big celebration and this is a lovely time to show your Mom and Dad how much they mean to you.

  • You could do this by taking them out to dinner but why not give them something that they will treasure, a book full of happy memories from the past 40 years.
  • A photo book can be a combined effort from all of their family and friends, ask them for a copy of their favorite photo or a handwritten memory and collate them as one big book of their marriage.You may find you will need more than one volume!

40th Anniversary Family Tree

This is a great gift for your parent's 40th anniversary as it is unique to them. This is their family tree and where they are the central figures of your family.

You get to add the names to this canvas and as new members come into your family there will be spaces for them.

personalized family treePersonalized Family Tree

Or we have this fab Personalized Family Tree available to buy in our store.

40th Anniversary Themed Gifts

As well as rubies there are also some fun presents that are completely geared towards your 40th.

Here are the ones that you probably need to see!

40th Anniversary Mugs, T-shirts, Beer Steins And Lots More

If you want a gift for your parents that they can use everyday and that reminds them of this anniversary then you need to check out Zazzle.

There are a ton of designs to choose from and you can have it printed on nearly anything!

Also worth looking at the designs you can personalize with their photos!

40th Anniversary Cruise

Let's start with the biggie and the idea of a cruise. This maybe something that your parents have spoken about for years or there may be places that they want to visit. Check out the anniversary cruise guide for tips on how to find great cruises at a fraction of the normal price.

There is also a Ruby Princess cruise ship which if it fits into where your parents would like to go would be perfect. 

This is the gift that you will probably want as many people as possible to join in! Quite a few cruise specialists have gift vouchers and giftcards to make this easier.

40th Anniversary Vacation Ideas

If you would like to treat your parents to a trip of a lifetime for their 40th Anniversary how about using rubies as the theme.

Not only are rubies stunning they also come from some of the most beautiful countries in the world, however at the moment it is not advisable to travel to some of these countries so we have listed these with travel advice available from the US government website.

  • Sri Lanka
  • Thailand
  • Cambodia
  • Vietnam
  • Kenya
  • Madagascar
  • Burma (also known as Myanmar) is the origin of some of the most sort after rubies in the world, however at the moment the US government advises against travel there due to civil unrest.


40th Anniversary Party for your Parents

Big milestone Anniversaries need to be celebrated in style, with the type of party being one that you know your parents will love.

If it has come down to you to plan the party try and get as many people to help as possible, as the more other people feel involved in the planning of the party the more they will want it to be a big success.

It could be a party at home, a family lunch or dinner, or even a big party at a local hotel. You know your parents best and know what they will enjoy the most.

To help you we have put together free checklists and guides to hopefully take some of the stress out of the organizing.

  1. Print of your own copy of the Free Anniversary Party checklist
  2. Check out the guides on Anniversary party planning
  3. And also guides for where to find the best 40th Anniversary party decorations
  4. Plus Free printable 40th Anniversary invitations.

Renewing Vows

40th anniversary vow renewals

Photo by Camp Darby

A lot of couples like to celebrate their big anniversaries by renewing their vows. Your parents may want to do the same, but you need to ask and make sure they do before you plan everything! You could always check with your Dad to start with and suggest that it would be a romantic thing to do as they are celebrating 40 years together, plus you know your mom would love it even more if she thought your Dad had thought about it.

They may have only had a small wedding ceremony or this time would like to have an intimate vow renewal on a beautiful beach.

Check out our help on how to plan a vow renewal ceremony.

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