Redefining the Golden Anniversary

GeekDad has decided to re-write tradition to create a new list of anniversary gifts. I'm pretty excited about this list - I hate the old one. Mr. Banks and I decided not to follow the theme after we exhausted ourselves on the first theme - paper. Who wants cotton for an anniversary gift? When we started thinking "sweaters and money" we knew it was time to abandon tradition.


Whatever you gift, wrap it like this!

Here's their spin:

Year/Traditional/Modern/Geek

1st/Paper/Clocks/Digital Media Downloads
2nd/Cotton/China/MMORG Gold/Currency
3rd/Leather/Crystal, Glass/Geeky t-shirts
4th/Linen, Silk/Appliances (electrical)/Comic Books
5th/Wood/Silverware/Smartphone

I don't personally do many of these, but I'm on board with this list.


6th/Iron/Wood objects/Board Game
7th/Wool, Copper/Desk sets/Pen & Pencil sets/CAD Software
8th/Bronze/Linens, Lace/Gaming Dice
9th/Pottery, China/Leather goods/Gear Bag
10th/Tin, Aluminum/Diamond jewelry/Tablet Computer

I love board games, and I'm always looking to add to my collection, but CAD software? Not many people (even geeks) will actually want that. And those gaming dice had better be pretty spectacular. I have a sneaking suspicion that tablet computers will be replaced by something better and much cooler in ten years, thus dating this list. Think about ten years ago - 2000. TiVo was, like, the coolest thing ever, and everyone has a DVR now. You can watch TV on your phone now and it's not that big a deal. I think that a broader subject would be better for the 10 year anniversary. Maybe "portable computing device" would be better. I love my netbook - that would have been a great gift. Or maybe a Kindle? I'd marry that thing if I could.


11th/Steel/Fashion jewelry, accessories/Headphones,Portable Speakers
12th/Silk/Pearls, Colored gems/Dedicated Offsite Data Back-up
13th/Lace/Textiles, Furs/LEGO
14th/Ivory/Gold jewelry/Bluetooth Headset
15th/Crystal/Watches/Laptop

I love the 12th anniversary idea. My husband is not romantic in the least, but occasionally he'll do something incredibly sweet like scan an entire photo album and then back it up on several hard drives and offsite and I think "he loves me!". And yay, Legos! Anniversary #14 is a little too specific for me, but I think it's a good idea.


16th/Tourmaline/Silver Holloware/Technical Tools (computer repair, electronics, wiring)
17th/No tradition/Furniture/Gaming Consoles,Accessories
18th/Turquoise/Porcelain/See a Space Launch
19th/Aquamarine/Bronze/Authentic Movie orTV Props
20th/China/Platinum/3D HDTV

I like this segment a lot, but I'd change 20th to "State-of-the-art TV" because I do not want to wear glasses just to watch TV on my couch.


21st/No tradition/Brass, Nickel/Attend a Major Genre Convention
22nd/No tradition/Copper/Home Media Server
23rd/No tradition/Silver plate/UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicle)
24th/Opal/Musical Instruments/Virtual Instruments and Sequencers
25th/Silver/Silver/Desktop Computer

30th/Pearl/Diamond/Geeky Adventure Travel (Vomit Comet, Arecibo)
35th/Coral, Jade/Jade/Home Hardwired for Gigabit Ethernet
40th/Ruby/Ruby/Off-Grid Utilities

I'd gift this - I totally want to watch my husband ride the Vomit Comet.

42nd/No tradition/Improved Real Estate/Towels

I love this - if you can spend 42 years together, you've definitely figured life out, and you'll definitely need towels.


45th/Sapphire/Sapphire/Blue Lasers

50th/Gold/Gold/Near-Earth Space Tourism (Virgin Galactic, Russian Space Program)

55th/Emerald/Emerald/Virtual Reality

60th/Diamond (Yellow)/Diamond/Bionics or Implanted Computing

65th/No tradition/Star Sapphire (Gray)/Medical Rejuvenation

My dad did this (kind of). Many years ago, for my mom's birthday, he went to a department store and bought my mom every age-reversing serum and wrinkle cream they had. She was insulted and he was confused. Gift carefully!


70th/Temporal Correction (Fix a Past Indiscretion)

Tread carefully!


75th/Diamond, Gold/Diamond, Gold/Intergalactic Travel

80th/Oak/Diamond, Pearl/Eternal Life (Ascension to Higher Plane, Brain Transplant to Younger Clone)

This entire list is hilarious. As with all geeky things, it will change as technology gets better. Like I mentioned earlier, 10 years is a loooong time for tech. The gadgets we have now are way better than the ones theorized by Star Trek and Star Wars. Hopefully in 10 years "particle transporter" and "jetpack" will be on the list. WHERE'S MY JETPACK!?

-Kay