9 year anniversary gifts: 30 pottery, willow and leather ideas for him or her
Thirty ways to mark nine years, from handmade mugs to a book with "our 9th year" on the cover.
30 ideas ·
Nine years sits just before the big one, and it often gets less fuss than it deserves. By now you've weathered moves, jobs, losses and the ordinary weeks that make up most of a life. That's worth marking on its own, not just as the warm-up to ten.
The traditional 9th anniversary gift is pottery or willow, and the modern gift is leather. The gemstone is lapis lazuli, and the flower is often given as the poppy or the bird of paradise. These 30 ideas cover pottery, willow and leather, gifts made of words, ideas for him, ideas for her and experiences for your ninth.
Writing the card? Our guide to what to write in an anniversary card has messages for every milestone, and deep reasons why I love you has plenty to borrow for nine years in.
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
Pottery anniversary gifts
Pottery starts as soft clay and is made strong by fire. Nine years in, that rings true.
- A pottery class for two, where you each make the other a mug.
- A pair of handmade mugs with your initials pressed into the base, for the coffee you have together every morning.
- A ceramic dish pressed with both your fingerprints, for rings and keys by the door.
- A hand-thrown vase from a local potter, filled with flowers on the morning of your anniversary.
- A paint-your-own-pottery date, with a plate that says your wedding date when it comes out of the kiln.
- A ceramic planter with a cutting from a plant you've kept alive for nine years.
Willow anniversary gifts
Willow bends without breaking, which is why it shares the traditional 9th anniversary gift with pottery.
- A willow tree planted in the backyard, or a small one in a pot if you rent.
- A woven willow picnic basket, packed for a lunch in the place you got engaged.
- A willow heart or wreath for the front door, with your initials on a tag.
- A willow log basket by the fireplace, with a note: for nine more winters.
Leather anniversary gifts
Leather, the modern 9th anniversary gift, wears in and gets better with age.
- A leather journal with your first entry already written: what nine years with them has been like.
- A leather watch strap engraved on the inside with your wedding date.
- A leather weekend bag, packed for a night away you've already booked.
- A leather-bound album of your wedding photos alongside one from each year since.
- A leather key holder for the keys to your home, stamped with your initials.
Nine years in words
Pottery and leather are the theme. The words are what make it yours.
- A book of reasons with "our 9th year" on the cover: fifty reasons from nine years, one per page, with the two of you illustrated on the front.
- Nine letters, one for each year, about the moment you'd keep from it.
- A handmade ceramic jar of folded notes, one memory for every month of your tenth year.
- A set of open-when letters for the year ahead: open when we've argued, when you can't sleep, when you've had a win.
- Your wedding vows, with a note under each about a time they kept it without knowing.
9 year anniversary gifts for him
Nine 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 leather wallet or belt that will outlast the one he's had for years, with a note tucked inside.
- A day doing his favorite thing, planned by you, with nothing for him to organize.
9 year anniversary gifts for her
Nine 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.
- Lapis lazuli earrings or a pendant, for the 9th anniversary gemstone.
- A handmade ceramic jewelry dish from a potter she loves, with a ring or necklace waiting in it.
Experiences for your ninth anniversary
- A weekend at a craft retreat: pottery, weaving or leatherwork, with long dinners in between.
- A walk by a river lined with willows, ending at the restaurant from your first date.
- A night in the hotel where you spent your wedding night, or the closest thing to it.
- A trip to the place you've both said "one day" about for nine years.
What the 9th anniversary stands for
Pottery is soft clay made strong in a kiln, and willow bends in a storm without snapping: the idea behind the 9th is a marriage that's flexible and has been through the fire. Leather, the modern gift, wears in and softens with age. Lapis lazuli has long been said to stand for wisdom and truth.
None of it needs to be literal. A handmade mug is lovely, but the note in the bottom of it is the gift.
Whatever you choose, give it with words. Nine 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 9th year" on the cover, the two of you illustrated in the style you choose.
Marking a different year? See 8 year anniversary gifts for your eighth, 10 year anniversary gifts for your tenth, 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 9th anniversary gift?+
Pottery or willow. The modern gift is leather, the gemstone is lapis lazuli, and the flower is often given as the poppy or the bird of paradise.
What should I get my husband for our 9th anniversary?+
Something about your nine years: a book of fifty reasons you love him with "our 9th year" on the cover, a leather wallet with a note inside, or a pottery class where you make each other a mug.
What should I get my wife for our 9th anniversary?+
Lapis lazuli earrings, a handmade ceramic jewelry dish, a willow tree planted where she'll see it, or fifty reasons you love her in a book, written from your nine years together.
What does the 9th anniversary symbolize?+
Strength and flexibility. Pottery is made strong by fire and willow bends without breaking, much like a marriage nine years in. Leather, the modern gift, stands for something that gets better with age.
