Anniversary Gifts › 40th › Parents

40th Anniversary Gift Ideas For Parents

Choosing a 40th anniversary gift for your parents is fun, you want a present that celebrates their 40 years of marriage and want it to be something that they will love.

Traditionally your 40th wedding anniversary is celebrated with the gift of ruby, but that doesn't mean you have to buy rubies! They are expensive and do you really think your Mom and Dad would want rubies from you?

Original Newspaper From Wedding Day in 1978

$59.99

Framed 40th Anniversary Newspaper

$39.99

40th Anniversary Framed Map

$69.95

Personalized Anniversary Newspaper Book

$99.99

Original Newspaper From Wedding Day in 1978

$59.99

Personalized Family Tree Canvas

$59.99

personalized 40th Anniversary year plate

Personalized 40th Anniversary Plate

$35.95

Personalized Anniversary Year Vase

$59.95

Personalized Leather Frame

$24.99

Because We Fell In Love

$64.99

Personalized Canvas Art

$64.99

40th Anniversary Gift Basket

$94.45

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Ruby Themed Anniversary Gift Ideas

Just because your Mom and Dad may not want rubies from you, they will love a ruby themed gift instead. When you have been married for 40 years you will want someone to acknowledge it with a well thought gift.

What Do Your Parents Love?

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

Do they love sports?
Gardening?
Vacations?
What is it that they love doing together?

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!

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 families 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 photobook 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!
Here are some lovely anniversary photobooks currently available from Amazon:

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 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

40th Anniversary Mugs

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!

Personalized Gifts

Then and Now Anniversary Frame

If your parents like a gift that is unusual it is worth heading over to Personal Creations

You could have a personalized anniversary frame with the years of your marriage and space for a that was then and then this is now photo.

They also have beautiful anniversary throws, 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.

It's the kind of place that you may end up finding something you will love too!

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.

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.

Renewing Vows

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.

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

Help on how to plan a vow renewal ceremony.