Anniversary gift ideas for your husband or wife
Flowers fade and perfume runs out. The anniversary gifts people keep are the ones that hold your story. Here are ideas for your husband or wife, from a few thousand naira to a proper keepsake, plus a few that cost nothing at all.
Gifts they'll actually keep
- 1
A photobook of your years together
The wedding, the first flat, the trips, the ordinary Sundays. Hundreds of photos that only live on your phones, gathered into one book you can both hold. The traditional first-anniversary gift is paper, and this is paper you'll keep for life. Photobooks start at ₦52,000 for a mini hardcover. See every size and price.
- 2
The wedding photo you never framed
For a lot of couples, the best photos are still sitting on the photographer's flash drive. Pick the one you both love and frame it for the living room, or for their office desk. A small frame starts at ₦7,500 (5×7); a 16×24 statement piece above the sofa is ₦32,000. The fifth anniversary is traditionally wood, so an oak frame fits that year perfectly.
- 3
A page in your own words
Add a page of words to your photobook: a short letter, a line from your vows, the date you met and what you thought of each other. It's the page they'll turn back to. Most people say more in writing than they ever manage out loud.
- 4
Then and now
Two frames side by side: your very first photo together, and one from this year. It's simple, it makes everyone who visits smile, and it gets better every year you add to it.
- 5
Photos from the people who were there
Start the book, then share a link in the family WhatsApp group so relatives and friends can send in the photos you don't have: the ones from the back of the church, the reception, the aunty who took 400 pictures. They can send photos but can't change the book. Just use a group your partner isn't in, so the surprise stays a surprise.
- 6
A pocket-sized copy
A mini photobook fits in a handbag or a desk drawer at work. Make one big book for home and a mini they can carry, or give minis to both sets of parents. They'll love it just as much.
Ideas that cost nothing
- Go back to where you had your first date, and order the same thing.
- Write a handwritten letter and hide it somewhere they'll find it during the day.
- Cook the jollof, the pepper soup or the small chops from your wedding menu.
- Put the phones away for an evening and go through your wedding photos together.
The best gifts often combine the two: the letter goes inside the book, and the dinner ends with the frame.
By budget
From ₦7,500
A framed 5×7 of your favourite photo, for their desk.
From ₦52,000
A 20-page mini hardcover photobook of your story.
The big one
A regular hardcover book for the coffee table (from ₦80,000), or a 16×24 frame for the wall (₦32,000).
Don't leave it to the last minute
Designing takes a few minutes, but printing and delivery across Lagos usually take 3–5 working days, so order at least a week before the date. You can send it to any address in Lagos, including their office, if you want it to arrive as a surprise. Not sure which size to frame? Our frame size guide will help, and for a wedding album see wedding photobooks.