6 year anniversary gifts: 30 iron, sugar and personal ideas for him or her
Thirty ways to mark six years, from a cast-iron pan to a book with "our 6th year" on the cover.
30 ideas ·
Six years is the point where a marriage stops feeling new and starts feeling solid. You've moved past the first-anniversary milestones into a life that's properly shared: the routines, the in-jokes, the way you both know who's driving home.
The traditional 6th anniversary gift is iron, the usual choice in the US. In the UK and much of the Commonwealth it's sugar instead. The modern gift is wood, the gemstone is amethyst and the flower is the calla lily. These 30 ideas cover iron, sugar and wood, gifts made of words, ideas for him, ideas for her and experiences for your sixth.
Writing the card? Our guide to what to write in an anniversary card has messages for every milestone, and 100 reasons I love you has plenty to borrow from.
Make it a book: Years of Reasons holds fifty reasons, one per page, written from your memories and illustrated to look like your people. Start yours
Iron anniversary gifts
Iron is strong and lasts for generations if you look after it. It's a good picture of six years.
- A cast-iron pan, with a card holding the recipe for the first meal you cooked in your first home.
- A wrought-iron arch or bench for the garden, for evenings with nowhere to be.
- An iron house sign with your family name and the year you married.
- Iron candle holders for the table where you have your anniversary dinner.
- An iron bottle opener engraved with your wedding date, for the first drink of the evening.
- Iron hooks by the front door, one for each of you, with your initials stamped on them.
Sugar anniversary gifts
If you follow the UK list, sugar is the gift: something sweet, for a love that's stayed sweet.
- A box of chocolates from the place you went on your honeymoon, or the closest you can find.
- A jar of their favorite candy with a folded note wrapped around every sixth piece.
- Homemade fudge or cookies, labeled with the date you met.
- A cake-decorating class for two, ending with a cake you take home.
- A dessert crawl: one sweet thing in each of the places that matter to you, in one evening.
Wood anniversary gifts
Wood, the modern 6th anniversary gift, is warm and grows stronger every year.
- A wooden recipe box filled with the dishes you've cooked together, with the story behind each.
- A wooden photo frame engraved with the coordinates of the place you married.
- A hand-carved spoon or cutting board with your initials burned into the handle.
Six years in words
Iron and sugar are the theme. The words are what make it yours.
- A book of reasons with "our 6th year" on the cover: fifty reasons from six years, one per page, with the two of you illustrated on the front.
- Six letters, one for each year, about the moment you'd keep from it.
- A list of the six things they do that make your life easier, which they probably think you never noticed.
- A booklet of love coupons for your seventh year: a morning to sleep in, a night off, a dinner you cook.
- A set of open-when letters for the year ahead: open when you miss me, when you can't sleep, when you need a laugh.
- Your wedding vows, with a note under each about a time they kept it without knowing.
6 year anniversary gifts for him
Six years in, you know what he'd love and never buy himself.
- A book of fifty reasons you love him, for the bedside table.
- A cast-iron grill pan or Dutch oven, with a night where he cooks and you do the dishes.
- A day doing his favorite thing, planned by you, with nothing for him to organize.
6 year anniversary gifts for her
Six years in, the gifts she'll love show you still notice.
- A book of what you love about her, from your wedding day to now.
- Amethyst earrings or a pendant, for the 6th anniversary gemstone.
- Calla lilies, the 6th anniversary flower, delivered on the morning of your anniversary.
Experiences for your sixth anniversary
- A blacksmithing class for two, where you each make the other something out of iron.
- A road trip to somewhere you've both been meaning to go, with a playlist of your six years.
- A night in the hotel where you spent your wedding night, or the closest thing to it.
- A dinner at the restaurant from your first date, with the same order and dessert to share.
What the 6th anniversary stands for
Iron is strong and holds its shape under pressure, and it lasts for generations: the idea behind the 6th is a marriage that's become sturdy. Sugar, on the UK list, stands for the sweetness that's still there. Wood, the modern gift, grows stronger every year, the amethyst is said to stand for peace and the calla lily for devotion.
None of it needs to be literal. A cast-iron pan is lovely, but the recipe card tucked inside is the gift.
Whatever you choose, give it with words. Six years is a lot of stories, and a short note telling one will outlast almost anything you can buy. If you want the words to be the gift, Years of Reasons puts fifty reasons in a book with "our 6th year" on the cover, the two of you illustrated in the style you choose.
Marking a different year? See 5 year anniversary gifts for your fifth, 7 year anniversary gifts for your seventh, ideas for him in our anniversary gifts for him and for her in our anniversary gifts for her, and every year from paper to diamond in our anniversary gifts by year.
Questions people ask
What is the traditional 6th anniversary gift?+
Iron in the US, and sugar in the UK and much of the Commonwealth. The modern gift is wood, the gemstone is amethyst and the flower is the calla lily.
What should I get my husband for our 6th anniversary?+
Something about your six years: a book of fifty reasons you love him with "our 6th year" on the cover, a cast-iron pan with the recipe from your first home, or a blacksmithing class for the two of you.
What should I get my wife for our 6th anniversary?+
Amethyst earrings, calla lilies on the morning of your anniversary, a box of chocolates from where you honeymooned, or fifty reasons you love her in a book, written from your six years together.
Is the 6th anniversary iron or sugar?+
Both, depending on where you are. US lists give iron, and UK lists give sugar. Pick whichever suits the two of you, or put them together: a cast-iron pan and the ingredients for their favorite dessert make a good evening in.
