MAIN Home Life Entertaining 50th Anniversary Party

• Instead of gold go for a large frame that can hold a collage. Gather up a collection of pictures of the couple from family and friends, include some pictures of the wedding and other anniversaries if you can. Arrange them on a sheet of gold colored poster board cut to fit the frame.

• Fitting 50 years worth of memories in one frame may be difficult. You can expand it into a memory book. Have everyone who knows the couple write a few lines about them. You can do this by email...it makes the rest easier.
  
  When you have the quotes collected, just print them out. Either make a book to hold them - you can have them bound at most local office supply stores or print shops - or get a journal and paste them into the book. Supplement the quotes with some of the pictures you have or that others have contributed. If you are giving the anniversary party, you may consider having one of these momentos made for each guest and giving them as favors.

• Try doing a bit of detective work and find out the name of the song they danced their first dance to. 1954 is not so long ago that you won't be able to find a copy of the song on a CD or at least some sheet music for a talented friend or family member to play for the first dance at the reception.


• Find out where the anniversary couple spent their honeymoon and plan a second (or third...) trip back as a gift. If the destination is expensive, join with others and make this a group or family present. This is especially appropriate for couples who choose to renew their vows on the Golden Anniversary!

Many couples who reach their 50th wedding anniversary are no longer collecting jewelry. Some are even beginning to distribute what they do have to daughters and granddaughters. Don't give up - there are plenty of other golden gifts that still will be appreciated.

Goblets for toasting can be engraved with the wedding date and the anniversary date. They will rate a place of honor in any home.

As a gift for the couple who love their garden, you have a wealth of golden and yellow options. There are so many houseplants, shrubs and trees to choose from.

You can always arrange a bouquet of 50 yellow flowers for the couple—a very impressive and very budget wise option. Spring anniversaries offer yellow daffodils, jonquils or tulips to make a stunning gift. Daffodils and jonquils represent caring and yellow tulips are associated with endless love.

Yellow roses which symbolize friendship, joy and happiness are beautiful for any season. Violets, the sign of faithfulness, are the traditional flower associated with this anniversary and make a perfect accent for golden or yellow floral arrangements.

No matter what the gift, if it is given with love, it will always be an appropriate choice!