Maybe you and your spouse have reached 40 years of marriage, or maybe it's a couple you know who are celebrating their anniversary. Whether you are wanting to find the perfect gift on a budget or to give a more personalized and meaningful gift, there are several creative homemade gift ideas to consider. Keep in mind that a 40th anniversary is often considered the "ruby" anniversary.
Gift Baskets
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You can create your own personalized gift basket for the couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Since the 40th-anniversary theme is ruby, create a ruby-colored basket theme. For example, your gift basket can be red. Consider adding a bottle of ruby port wine to your basket, which is a wine aged in barrels for up to three years, often served with dessert. You can even bake your own desserts to add to your basket, such as cupcakes, using dark-red food coloring to give your cakes the ruby color. This is also a good homemade gift idea to make for your significant other.
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Photo Collage
If you are unable to find a photo frame with 40 picture slots, you can also create your own photo collage using a poster board. Find a ruby-colored poster board large enough to fit 40 photographs. The average size of a poster board is 18 by 24 inches. If you do not wish to glue original photographs to the poster board, scan and print your pictures using glossy photo paper. Use scissors to carefully cut the pictures from the paper. Make sure you find photos from the couple's dating days, engagement or wedding, events most memorable to them. Once you have cut your desired pictures, paste your photos to the board. Arrange the photos on your poster board in any way you wish. Do not be afraid to overlap photos. For a sturdier collage, glue the poster board to a large piece of cardboard or plywood.
Romantic Playlist
Whether you are wanting to burn a CD for someone celebrating their 40th anniversary or you wanting to give the CD to your own spouse, be creative with your play list. One idea might be to choose romantic tunes from each year the couple has been married. Alternatively, burn popular love songs from the year they dated or songs that were special to them from that time.
Flower Arrangement
Select flowers from your own garden or purchase different flowers from a florist. You can use a variety of red-colored flowers to symbolize the 40th year. To personalize the arrangement, find a clear flower vase and paint your own designs or meaningful words.