If you've visited my blog lately you'll see that I'm running a special celebration. If you haven't visited in a while, then you
might like to get over there and join in the fun - there's a cyber party going on, a lot of guests, and a lot of
giveaways.
So what am I celebrating? Well the clue is in the title of
this blog - I have 40 guests helping me
and my DH Steve (aka the Babe Magnet) celebrate a very special wedding
anniversary. Our 40th.
(Yes, I really was a
child bride – I can’t possibly be old enough to have a wedding anniversary with
a Ruby in it! ) Well, yes, I admit it, we will have been married for 40 years
on July 14th (and all the jokes about the storming of the Bastille were done at
our wedding back then.)
Anyway - I thought it
was something worth celebrating and I’m
running a cyber party on my blog. So I'm asking friends – hopefully 40 of them!
- if they'll contribute a small blog
post – maybe a giveaway if they want.
So that's the public celebration - but people keep asking me
if we are going to have special anniversary presents. And of course, because
this is our 'Ruby Wedding' - they want
to know if I'm going to be showered in rubies!
Er - well, the problem is that I'm not very fond of
rubies. We've looked at jewellery but I haven't seen anything (rubies or not)
that I like specially. And the Babe
Magnet isn't a jewellery wearing sort of
man. So finding a special gift is really
quite a task.
And a party? Apart from the one on my blog – are we going to
hold a big party to celebrate? Well, we thought about it but getting everyone together in the summer – in
July when we are both really busy with the RNA conference and Writers’ Holiday at Caerleon as going to be tricky. Besides, one big celebration
and it would all be over. So instead we’ve
made a list – 40 lovely things that we both want to do , some big, some small, m– and we’ve spread that
out over some months so that we have something to look forward to and enjoy through
this special year. Last week we had a
weekend away in a lovely Yorkshire town. We have two great theatre trips booked . . . . I’m really looking forward to it.
But this made me think about writing romance – and about my heroes and heroines.
If they got to their wedding anniversary, what would they give each other as
gifts? I know red roses, jewellery, gold . .. that sort of thing is
traditional, but are they really special, really personal to the one they
love? What would make a gift really
special?
I had a look at some of the sites about wedding anniversary
gifts and found these sorts of ideas -
Anniversary
Traditional Modern
1st Paper
Clocks, Plastic, Gold Jewellery
2nd Cotton
China, Cotton, Calico, Garnet
3rd Leather
Crystal, Glass, Pearls
4th Fruit, Flowers Appliances, Linen, Silk, Nylon, Blue Topaz
5th Wood
Silverware, Sapphire
6th Sugar, Iron
Wood, Candy, Amethyst
7th
Wool, Copper Brass, Desk Sets,
Onyx
8th Bronze, Pottery Appliances, Linens, Lace, Tourmaline Jewellery
9th Pottery, Willow Leather, Lapis Jewellery
10th Tin, Aluminum
Diamond Jewelry
11th Steel
Fashion, Turquoise Jewellery
12th Silk, Linen
Pearls, Jade
13th Lace
Textiles, Furs, Citrine
14th Ivory
Gold Jewellery, Opal
15th Crystal
Glass, Watches, Ruby
16th Silver hollowware, Peridot
17th Furniture, Watch
18th Porcelain,
Cat's Eye Jewelry
19th Bronze, Aquamarine
20th China Platinum, Emerald
21st Brass, Nickel
22nd Copper
23rd Silver plate
24th Musical
instruments
25th
Silver Sterling silver
There are more – right up to the 75th wedding
anniversary.
So what do you think? What sort of really special gift could a hero give to a heroine – or vice versa? Would you like to see him /her stick to tradition or come up with something totally new?
So what do you think? What sort of really special gift could a hero give to a heroine – or vice versa? Would you like to see him /her stick to tradition or come up with something totally new?
I have a giveaway today
- a signed copy of my latest book A Throne for The Taking (or some other
book from my backlist if you’ve already read that one) for the commenter who
gives me a the most romantic idea. And you never know I might use it in a book
sometime.
Kate’s latest hero is Alexei Sarova, that black sheep prince who has to face
up to a new and unexpected destiny with his heroine Honoria Escalona (Ria) as
the woman he wants as his queen. A kingdom's safety...
Betrayed by those she loves, Honoria Escalona must now face the only man capable of bringing stability to the Mediterranean kingdom of Mecjoria. A cold, hard man who once called her his friend... Alexei Sarova-the true King of Mecjoria.
In exchange for her happiness
But Alexei's tortuous past
has changed him into someone she hardly knows. He blames Ria's family
A Throne For the Taking will be published in the Royal and Ruthless miniseries in both Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern in June.
A Throne For the Taking will be published in the Royal and Ruthless miniseries in both Harlequin Presents and Mills & Boon Modern in June.
Other up to date news and
details of all Kate’s books can be found on her web site and in her blog.
12 comments:
I think it’s a given that you must go with a red theme. Invite friends via invitations with red on them. Serve heavy hors d’oeuvres on red plastic plates with red or white napkins for a contrast. (Don’t forget the solid red Christmas things stored away.) Your foods should include lots of red. Little weenies or strawberries and, of course, some nice ruby red wine. Get a cake made with white frosting trimmed in red. Ask the baker to draw a red ruby in the center and something with 40 years on it. Now, take it from there and have a wonderful anniversary. My husband and I will celebrate out 47th anniversary in December! Cheers!
Connie Fischer
conniecape@aol.com
When we married 52 years ago, we were only
able to afford a weekend wedding trip. In
1998, I won a trip to Venice which I turned
into a second honeymoon for us and it was
glorious! A romantic trip for two would be
my suggestion. BTW, I have read A Throne
For The Taking and I loved it!
Pat C.
I do think that traditions are important.
Instead of red roses, say one for each year of marriage, he could gift her red rose bushes. A lasting - blooming - celebration of their love. Here's hoping they would not be thorny, the roses and the years of marriage.
Alas, I don't have a chance for this prize, as I don't have a romantic answer, but I'll answer anyway, LOL!
Every couple's wants/needs are different. If a couple, let's say, play tennis together, perhaps they could schedule a trip to Wimbledon. If she's a baker (and, of COURSE, he loves her baking), perhaps a new "baking island" could be "broken in" by them both, LOL. If they love wine, they could go on a wine tour, complete with bed and breakfasts (and a driver!).
When my husband and I wed (32 years ago this Thursday), we stayed in a Holiday Inn that soon became a Ramada Inn. For our first anniversary, we stayed in a Ramada an hour away (Saturday morning till Sunday night). For our second, it was a Ramada two hours away. When we realized there was a "theme" to it, we kept staying at Ramadas (with family babysitting for us in our air-conditioned home every summer) for every anniversary (until we couldn't afford it anymore, about ten years later). I still write Happy Anniversary with soap on our bathroom mirror for him, and now, if my adult daughter gets up before we do to go to work, SHE will write on the bathroom mirror instead (for birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's Day, or whatever); I hope she continues that "tradition" with her future husband/boyfriend/whatever too. (My husband brings me fresh flowers.)
I think the traditional gifts can be great as long as they fit the individual. Since the traditional list was created many years ago they son't include some modern options that can be very romantic like the following:
- couples massage
- home cooked sinner (especially by the guy)
- balloon ride
- weekend to a spa
- quick trip to Vegas to see a favorite entertainer
people just have to be creative with something their loved one loves!
My apologies! I'm late answering you all -a migraine flattened me and I'm trying to catch up. Now I'll get Charlie to pick a winner Back soon!
Hi Connie - what a great range of ideas - and yes the red theme would work so well. Thank you so much for your anniversary wishes. I send the same back to you to you and your husband for December. I hope you have a truly special day
Pat - your 52 years is such a wonderful achievement - here's to many more years together. I know what you mean about only being able to afford a small honeymoon trip - we just had a week in a Yorkshire cottage. But I'm sure yours was as special as ours was. How wonderful that you won that trip to Venice as a second honeymoon. My DH and I have planned a few trips rather than one big expensive holiday - a week in Ireland will probably be the place we both want to go.
And thank you for saying you read Throne - I'm so happy that you enjoyed it as I always want to keep my readers happy.
Traditions are something that makes a special day special, aren't they Mary? I'll let you into a secret - my DH and I are planting a special red rose bush to mark our special day. And I'm giving a friend a golden rose bush when she celebrates her Golden Wedding soon. It's a lovely and hopefully lasting way of marking a special day.
Laney - I think you've said a really romantic thing - that every couple's needs/likes are different so the really romantic thoughts are to give the other partner what they would most enjoy even if it's not what you like! What a lovely personal tradition you have in your family, writing a message on your bathroom mirror - it's little touches like that that make things special.
Happy Anniversary to you and your husband for Thursday. I hope you have a lovely day and many more years together.
Hello Di - as you'll see in my reply to Laney I agree with you - the most romantic gift is one that fits the individual. Often people rely on the tried and tests, the traditional gifts when a little extra thought and creativity will make a very special gift or create some wonderful memories.
~I have to admit that I've been laughing at your typo - a "home cooked sinner"!!
And the winner is DI!
Di can you please email me kate AT kate-walker.com and send me your postal address so that I can get your book in the mail to you.
Post a Comment