40 years of marriage
Ruby Anniversary: Gift Ideas for 40 Years of Marriage
The ruby anniversary celebrates forty years of marriage. Four decades together: the wedding, the homes, often children and grandchildren, the careers, the trips and countless shared habits.
Forty years is a milestone families like to celebrate, and a gift worthy of the occasion takes some thought. Here is what rubies stand for, gift ideas that follow the tradition, and others that tell your forty years together.
Why ruby for the fortieth anniversary?
The ruby's deep red has long been associated with passion and love. It is also one of the hardest gemstones, just below diamond, which is why tradition sees it as the stone of a love that has kept its fire and stood up to time.
On the list, ruby comes after coral for the thirty-fifth anniversary and before sapphire for the forty-fifth and gold for the fiftieth. It is one of the few years where the traditional and modern lists agree.
Red is easy to bring into a celebration, so you do not need to buy a gemstone to honor the tradition: red roses, a bottle of red wine, a red dress or tie for the party all count.
Ruby anniversary gift ideas
A comic book of your forty years
Four decades told in 24 comic pages, with both of your faces as the characters: the wedding, the family, the homes and the stories your loved ones could tell by heart.
Discover the couple comic bookRuby jewelry
A ring, a pendant, earrings or cufflinks set with a ruby and engraved with the wedding date. The classic ruby anniversary gift, for him or for her.
Forty red roses
One rose for each year of marriage, delivered on the morning of the anniversary. Simple, and it follows the tradition to the letter.
A bottle from your wedding year
A red wine or a port from the year you married, if you can find one, or a large bottle of a red you both love, to open at the anniversary dinner.
Ruby red glassware
A set of red glasses or a red glass vase, engraved with your names, for the toasts of the decade ahead.
A trip for two
Go back to the honeymoon destination, or visit a place you have always wanted to see. Forty years is a good reason to finally take that trip.
A comic book to tell the story of your forty years of marriage
Forty years of marriage is a lot to tell, and our AI scriptwriter helps you choose: how you met, the wedding, the big chapters and the little habits that make your couple. You chat for about ten minutes, send one photo of each of you, and both of your faces become comic characters in a 24-page comic book. You choose the tone, from sweet to cheeky, say what to leave out, and write the dedication. A comic book to read together first, then to pass around the family table.
How is your personalised comic book made?
No form to fill in: you tell our AI scriptwriter about your couple and it turns it into a personalised comic book.
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Step 1
Tell us about your couple
Your photos, nicknames, habits, jokes and memories: our AI scriptwriter asks the right questions, in about ten minutes.
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Step 2
Approve the script
Our AI scriptwriter writes a 24-page comic book: one short funny story per habit. Something to change? Just ask.
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Step 3
See the free preview
The cover and the first page are generated with your faces, before you pay anything.
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Step 4
Order, the AI creates the rest
The other pages are generated as soon as you order, and you can retouch them for free before printing.
Free retouches before printing
Once your comic book is ordered, you can have any page you don't like changed, for free, up to 10 retouches.
- You see every page before it is printed.
- Something to change? Describe it in a few words.
- The AI redoes the page with your change.
- Nothing is printed until you approve your comic book.
How to celebrate your ruby anniversary
Ruby anniversaries are often celebrated with family: a dinner or a party with children, grandchildren and old friends, sometimes planned as a surprise. A vow renewal, a trip for two or a dinner at the place where you held your wedding reception are also popular. Adding red to the table, from roses to wine, is the easiest way to follow the tradition.
Traditional anniversary gifts by year
| Years of marriage | Traditional gift |
|---|---|
| 1 year | Paper |
| 2 years | Cotton |
| 3 years | Leather |
| 4 years | Fruit & flowers |
| 5 years | Wood |
| 6 years | Iron |
| 7 years | Wool or copper |
| 8 years | Bronze |
| 9 years | Pottery |
| 10 years | Tin or aluminum |
| 11 years | Steel |
| 12 years | Silk or linen |
| 13 years | Lace |
| 14 years | Ivory |
| 15 years | Crystal |
| 20 years | China |
| 25 years | Silver |
| 30 years | Pearl |
| 35 years | Coral |
| 40 years | Ruby |
| 45 years | Sapphire |
| 50 years | Gold |
| 55 years | Emerald |
| 60 years | Diamond |
What people ask us about this anniversary.