The day o my first wedding anniversary is drawing very close. Far too close, and despite a month of thinking really bloody hard about it, my mind is permanently blank about what to get my wife. Well, I say blank, but it's not. It seems to alternate between something small and stupid (think personalised, pink spork) and something expensive (think red netbook).

Anyway, after deciding to actually ask her a) what she wanted or at least b) give me an idea of budget, I am still confused. I don't even know if the budget she gave me ("about 25 or 30 quid") is the proper budget, or just a "woman test" to use against me when I spend that amount and she hands me something way more expensive because she thought I would guess that she wanted me to spend more.

Gah.

And the worst bit, I need it to be in my hands by Friday, so any ordering has to be next day and today.

Ladies, gentlemen. Your ideas please.

Dirty weekend to somewhere with a beauty spa – that way you don't get accused of buying something for the both of you.

As your firs anniversary is your Paper one why not get tickets to a show/gig/event?

They're made of paper and could well fall within your budget 😉

Good point, budget rules out dirty weekends. Unless the "dirty" bit is cos you're sleeping under a bridge, I suppose.

(Although the 25-30 is a limit she's set, for all I know you may well be a well-paid merchant banker…)

(Although the 25-30 is a limit trap she's set, for all I know you may well be a well-paid merchant banker…)

lol@CaptJon – too true. Take her budget and multiply by 1.5.

You see the confusion? You feel the annoyance of how hard this is?

Just had a call and have been told that "tickets" are made of paper… Or, I could just buy something and _wrap_ it in paper, with both options being acceptable under the traditional rules.

A weekend away is already on the cards, but I have no idea whether getting tickets for a show would be a plan or not.

A book?

Subscription to Grazia?

How a bout a dartboard? The cheaper ones are made of compressed paper!
Maybe not

However, Paper is the traditional theme, the modern is Plastic or Clocks and of course pearls are the associated gemstone.

You could offer to give her a pearl necklace for your anniversary. That would be a present you could both enjoy.

But back onto paper, why not write her a poem / love letter / etc. on fancy paper?