The Year of Cotton: A DIY 2nd Anniversary Gift Basket
It is hard to believe that my hubby and I have been married two years already! It seemed like just yesterday that we were deep in wedding crafts, making our invitations, and stuffing our welcome boxes for guests. Both years, we have planned a special weekend to remember that beautiful fall day, but I always like to do a gift as well.
Growing up, I always remember hearing about the traditional and modern lists for anniversary gifts. Although sometimes these gift themes might be impractical or even seen as outdated, I love things that have a long tradition. The first year anniversary gift is paper, so last year we did a weekend getaway and wrote each other cards. This year, the traditional gift was cotton.
Recently, my hubby had mentioned wanting and needing a few things that I knew were made of cotton and I thought it would be fun to put together a DIY gift basket using cotton as the theme!
To start, I picked up a wood half crate at Michaels. I know it’s wood and not cotton, but I liked the look of it! I guess you could really take the theme to the next level with a cotton gifting container.
Next, I filled up the basket with cotton goodies that I knew my hubby needed or would enjoy. I admit that while many of the items were 100% cotton, I did have to cheat a little a get a few items that had a small percent of another material. The goal was at least to be majority cotton here!
Here are some ideas:
Cotton Sleep Pants (JCPenny)- My husband wanted lighter weight sleep pants that are also perfect for lounging around as the weather cools down. He loved these and already ordered another pair!
Cotton T-Shirt- Sports shirts tend to have a shelf life and start to get a little warn out. Grab a 100% cotton t-shirt with your hubby’s favorite sports team, a trendy graphic t-shirt, or even something plain jane.
Cotton Zip Up Hoodie (Old Navy)- Recently, my hubby had a beloved zip up go to sweatshirt heaven when it finally lost its zipper. He wanted a new one that had a little warmth built in and I looked no further than Old Navy to find a new one at a great price. Keep a look out for holiday sales to get them at the lowest price.
Dress Socks (JCPenny)- I don’t know about your household, but I swear the dryer eats socks! Dress socks are almost always a yearly need and it’s great to find a pack with a variety of basic colors. I bought a pack of brown, black, and dark gray.
Dish Cloths (Target)- Sometimes all you need to do is listen for gift ideas. My hubby pointed out in the weeks leading up to our anniversary that most of our dish cloths had seen better days. A pack of 100% cotton dish cloths from Target was the perfect add to the basket that was also practical— something I knew he’d appreciate.
Travel-Sized Q-Tips- We love taking trips and are in the midst of planning our next adventures! We both need q-tips on the road and I thought, why not toss in this cotton goodie in travel sized form to round out the basket.
No idea is a bad one! Dream up whatever cotton items might make the most sense for your partner!
Now, to make this extra special and personal, I used stickers to spell out COTTON on shipping tags. I love using these. I used them for our boutonnieres and to make a DIY advent calendar last year, among many other uses I’ve found for them! I then layered them on top of some kraft paper tags that I had stocked in my craft room.
Take for example, “O”, I said how much I love my hubby’s optimistic view of life. He’s always got a glass half full attitude and works to see the best in everyone.
Using twine and mini clothespins, I attached them to the front of the crate and gave him the the basket of goodies! He loved it!
Do you use the suggested gift themes for anniversaries? I’d love to hear what you’ve done for other years!
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