Anniversary

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of what to get my fiance for our 4 yr anniversary that is in August. The only thing is that we are just moving into our first apartment together next month and we do not have a lot of money to spend.

I usually make things.

Perhaps you could do a photobook, or a photo collage with a special poem on it?

Make him breakfast or dinner.

Make a Love coupon book. For example
This coupon is good for one 10 minute back massage.
This coupon is good for one breakfast in bed.
This coupon is good for a hug.
This coupon is good for 30 minutes without TV or any distractions. Just one on one.
You get the picture.

Plan a board game night or a movie night where you buy one of his favorite movies.

I did a cheesy balloon game where there were 18 balloons with messages on them. He had to pop them all to get the messages. Another thing I did for our first wedding anniversary was, I made a wooden box then put decorated index cards 100 of them. Each index card had a reason why I loved him. He cherishes that box to this day. My husband is the type who values something made over something that is bought in a store. I even hand make my cards for him. He gets a good laugh out of them

^ Those are all wonderful ideas! Think I may have to take that coupon book idea... I've given home-made coupons before, but a book full of them could be fun.

Take away :) I got a lot of my ideas from lovingyou.com . They have a lot of inventive ideas that don't require a lot of money.

I love those ideas, too, Amanda! I've done something similar to the 100 reasons why I love you.. I wrote them all out on white paper, and cut them out/folded them (like little pieces of confetti) after decorating them with marker. Then I put them in an envelope and gave them to Jason for on his trip to Alaska... he loved them!

How exciting, my fiance and I's anniversary is coming up at the end of August and I'm looking for ideas as well. As opposed to spending my money on material things, or receiving material gifts, I would rather spend my money on activities that I, my fiance or together with a group of friends/family can participate in and where happy, lasting memories can be created. I'm leaning towards renting a cabin for a few days, inviting a few close friends, barbecuing, going to the lake and all that fun stuff. It's something we both enjoy, the only problem is to actually put that idea into action, haha.

Making him something (love coupons, breakfast/supper, a photo collage or other) is a great idea and usually always successful. It'll be cheaper money-wise but will also show you put a lot of effort, thought and time into your gift, which guys typically appreciate more. Several year ago I made my fiance love coupons ranging from "This coupon is good for one hot bath with all the candles, bubbles and pampering", to "This coupon is good for one cuddle while watching a movie of your choosing", to "This coupon is good for one romantic weekend getaway" to other more personal things. I also chose to include expiration dates reading "Expiration date: None", "Expiration date: Redeemable anytime" and "Expiration date: To be used as soon as possible" just for fun. He loved them and still has them tucked away in his dresser.

Or perhaps as opposed to a gift there is an activity that he enjoys quit a lot that you do as well or would be interested in participating with him in. What kind of activities do you like to do together? There are a lot of activities you can do together that are fun and cheap/free. For example (some of these are my own interests and others are just random ideas):

- If you like biking, hiking or rollerblading, explore local trails, a park, back roads or other areas together. You can even pack yourselves a picnic.

- I'm not sure if you have a means of transportation but if you have the means and the time then maybe you want to get away even just for the day, such as to a local lake/beach for example. You could even pack a lunch. If you have more than just a day, if you have the weekend, you could go camping for example, if either of you are interested in that sort of thing and you have the supplies (tent, sleeping bag, cooler, etc.).

- Cook breakfast or supper together. Make your favorite shared meal or try something new. You can spice things up by setting the mood, with candles and music, and dressing up for the occasion, just for fun. Or perhaps you want to go out to eat, you could go to your favorite sit down restaurant or try something new and even make it formal dress.

- Check your local paper/flyers or online in your local area to see if there is a festival of some kind (folk, food, music, etc.) or if there is some other event (a rodeo, fair, charity, etc.) that is going on that day that is cheap or free admission. Bring some extra spending money for some snacks and drinks, or pack them yourself, and activities if any. You could even check out any local bands playing in your area. Tickets for local bands are usually cheap.

- Have a "house warming" party and invite your close friends/family, if possible (if I remember correctly you and your fiance will be moving into your first place together). You can serve appetizers and drinks or actually prepare a sit down meal. If cost for food and drinks is a problem you could tell them it's like a pot luck and ask them to bring something over as well for dinner.

Some of these ideas might not prove doable depending where you live, if transportation would be a problem, etc. They're just examples and something to get you started thinking about. You've got plenty of time. :)

^^ I love all your ideas, expecialy the 'house warming" party thing...though I may use that for other than our anniversary. Also we do not drive, but do have a lot of busses and trains close by and we both live near the beach now as well as will when we finally move. Not much for camping or hiking here and have already done the "love coupons" before...which went over pretty well.