1st Anniversary Party Ideas

Mini Notepads

Mini Notepads are another inexpensive gift that can come in different colors, patterns, and can even be customized to have a message of your choosing on them! These will come in handy for work, school, grocery lists, etc.

Small Desserts

Bake or buy small desserts such as cookies, brownies, or cupcakes and wrap them up in colored tissue paper and tie them off with a cute ribbon or string. These ideas are delectable!

Photo Booth Pictures

Rent a photo booth or set up a place in the room where guests are able to get their photos taken throughout the night. Print them out and give the photos out as memorable favors to take home with them.

Paper Card Surprises

Putting flower seeds inside a paper thank you card is a cute idea to show your thanks to your guests. Once at home, your guests can plant the flower, vegetable, or herb that they will always associate with the anniversary party.

Paper Bookmarks

Paper Bookmarks can be made out of cardstock paper or simply bought online or at your local party supply store. Include a cute quote about love or perhaps a photo of the married couple along with their wedding date on the bookmark.

3. Couple’s Interests

For casual and upbeat 1st anniversary party ideas, you could feature the couple’s favorite sports team than as a favor you could hand out custom refrigerator magnets with the team’s logo along with a clever phrase such as “Thank you for rooting for us!” with the anniversary date below it.

These are great 1st anniversary party idea favors because it showcases the couple's marriage for the last year. Another charming example would be if the couple is interested in cooking.

You could make miniature cheesecake or pairs of cookies and wrap them up in colored tissue paper that matches the event décor.

Attach a small card that is labeled with a saying like “Thank you for making our lives sweeter!” or a small photo of you and your spouse attached to the card.

4. Mixed CDs

Married couples sometimes have a number of songs that define their relationship or their wedding. You could burn CDs with these songs to pass out to guests as anniversary favors. Although CDs are a thing of the past, having a mixed CD is still a very sweet flavor still great for 1st anniversary party ideas.

5. Wedding Anniversary Games

Necking

If your guests are not afraid to get close and personal, necking is a hilarious game for both onlookers and players. Have each coupled line up across from one another.

One partner holds an object under their chin while the other tries to retrieve that object from their partner (with their neck) without dropping it.

No hands in this game--get close and get competitive! A round of applause and endless laughter will erupt for the last pair standing.

In the Dark

In the Dark is an entertaining game for larger parties with open spaces. During this game, players will blindfold themselves and use some of their other senses (sound, touch, smell) to find their partner.

Make sure you assign a volunteer spotter or two in order to prevent potential accidents among the blindfolded group. The first person to find their partner wins!

The Year Of The..?

Write down the years 1-15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 55, 60, 70, and 75 on pieces of paper and ask participants to guess what symbol represents a particular group of anniversary years.

These are great for 1st anniversary party ideas for games, as they get newlyweds thinking about preparations for anniversary parties to come.

Throne (Musical Chairs)

While musical chairs may seem childish, it is always a fun and exciting game if prizes are involved. Count the number of participants and remove enough chairs so that there’s exactly one less chair than the number of guests playing.

Then start up the music! Once it stops, everybody scrambles to take a seat.

The last person left standing is knocked out of the game. Take away a chair each round and play until there is only one person left to crown the winner! Once a winner is chosen, offer a bottle of wine or a small gift card for the win. No one can refuse a nice token of appreciation!

Desert Island

Each couple playing is given a sheet of paper that symbolizes their piece of the island. Then, each couple must answer questions about their spouse. When a wrong answer is given, fold the paper in half to “shrink the island!” The pair with the least amount of folds by the end is the winner!

This game is a personalized trivia game and is a great option for couples of any age. It pushes couples to work together and reminisce about past memories.

It also is a great opportunity to learn more about your partner if you get a question wrong. Everyone wins in some way!

Newlywed Games

The Newlywed Game is played by asking each couple individually a set of questions either about themselves or their spouse. Each couple will write down their answers, which are subsequently compared to their spouse’s answers.

The couple that gets the most answers correct wins. This game is similar to Desert Island but can be reconfigured.

If your guests know a lot about you and your spouse, you could ask them questions about your relationship and marriage. If your bridesmaids, groomsman, and parents attend your anniversary party this game will quickly become competitive and work seamlessly.

Name That Year

Create a timeline and a word bank of significant life events consisting of the anniversary couple’s life (their dating life and events since they’ve gotten married). Have guests try to place these events in order with the correct year.

If the couple hasn’t been together long, or you’d like to make the game even more challenging, task them with guessing the month too. These activities show who really knows the couple the best!

6. Decorations

Every party has decorations to bring it to life, and a 1st anniversary party is no exception! Decorate your party how you see fit, and you can even make a lot of them on your own!

Welcome Sign

Put a welcome sign around or inside of your house or wherever your venue is to greet your guests right away. You could even put one by your food and drinks to let your guests help themselves!