2 year anniversary gifts: 30 cotton and personal ideas for him or her
Thirty ways to mark two years, from a cotton throw to a book with "our 2nd year" on the cover.
30 ideas ·
Two years is when you stop counting in months. The newness has turned into a shared life: a place that feels like both of yours, friends who think of you as a pair, and a few habits you'd never admit to anyone else. A 2 year anniversary gift should celebrate the everyday life you're making together.
The traditional 2nd anniversary gift is cotton: soft on its own, but woven together its threads are surprisingly strong, a bit like two people two years in. The modern gift is china, and the flower is lily of the valley. These 30 ideas cover cotton gifts, gifts made of words, ideas for him, ideas for her, ideas for a boyfriend or girlfriend, and things to do together.
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.
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
Cotton anniversary gifts
Cotton is everyday and comfortable, which is the point. These are cotton gifts with something of the two of you woven in.
- A soft cotton throw stitched with your wedding date, for the sofa you share.
- New cotton sheets for two, the good kind you'd never buy for yourselves.
- A pair of cotton robes embroidered with your initials.
- A cotton cushion cover printed with a photo from your wedding day.
- Cotton pajamas for a lazy Sunday, with breakfast in bed to go with them.
- A cotton T-shirt printed with an inside joke only the two of you get.
- A cotton tote printed with a map of the neighborhood where you met.
Two years in words
Cotton is comfortable. The words are what make it yours.
- A book of reasons with "our 2nd year" on the cover: fifty reasons from two years, one per page, with the two of you illustrated on the front.
- Two letters, one for each year, about the moments you remember most.
- A list of twenty-four small things, one from every month you've been married.
- Your wedding vows embroidered on a cotton handkerchief, or printed on cotton paper and framed.
- A jar of folded notes for year three, one for every week.
- A photo book of your two years, with a caption in your handwriting under every picture.
Cotton anniversary gifts for him
Two years in, you know what he'd never think to buy himself.
- A book of fifty reasons you love him, for the bedside table.
- A good cotton shirt or a soft hoodie, with a note tucked in the pocket.
- A cotton rope hammock for the yard, with a promise of lazy Sundays in it.
- Tickets to see his team, and a new cotton cap to wear to the game.
- Cotton boxers printed with your face, if that's your sense of humor.
Cotton anniversary gifts for her
Two years in, the gifts she'll love show you've been paying attention.
- A book of what you love about her, from your wedding day to now.
- A cotton robe and slippers, with breakfast in bed on the morning.
- Lily of the valley, the 2nd anniversary flower, delivered with a card in your handwriting.
- A china teacup or mug painted with your names, for the modern gift.
- A weekend with nothing planned, fresh cotton sheets and her favorite breakfast delivered.
For a boyfriend or girlfriend, two years in
Not married? Two years together is still worth marking properly.
- A book of fifty reasons you love them, written from your two years together.
- A scrapbook of your two years, with the tickets, photos and a caption for each.
- Your first date, recreated two years on.
- The cotton hoodie of yours they always steal, washed, folded and officially theirs.
Things to do on your second anniversary
- A pottery class to make your own china, for the modern gift.
- A picnic on a cotton blanket at the place you had your first date.
- A night away in a hotel with the softest cotton sheets you can find.
What the 2nd anniversary stands for
Cotton is soft and comfortable, but it's strong when it's woven, which is the idea behind the 2nd: two lives becoming one shared, everyday one. China, the modern gift, is about making a home, and lily of the valley, the year's flower, stands for happiness and humility.
None of it needs to be literal. A cotton throw is lovely, but the date stitched in the corner is the gift.
Whatever you choose, give it with words. Two years is enough to have real 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 2nd year" on the cover, the two of you illustrated in the style you choose.
Marking a different year? See paper anniversary gifts for your first, 3 year anniversary gifts for your third, and every year from paper to diamond in our anniversary gifts by year.
Questions people ask
What is the traditional 2nd anniversary gift?+
Cotton, because it's soft but strong when woven together. The modern gift is china, and the flower is lily of the valley.
What is a good cotton anniversary gift for him?+
A good cotton shirt with a note in the pocket, a cotton rope hammock for the yard, or a book of fifty reasons you love him with "our 2nd year" on the cover.
What should I get my wife for our 2nd anniversary?+
A cotton robe with breakfast in bed, lily of the valley with a card in your handwriting, or fifty reasons you love her in a book, written from your two years together.
What do you get a boyfriend or girlfriend for a 2 year anniversary?+
Something about your two years: a scrapbook of your dates so far, your first date recreated, or a book of fifty reasons you love them, written from the time you've had together.
