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8 Creative Date Ideas and 8th Wedding Anniversary Gifts

Celebrating your 8th anniversary? Here are great dates and gifts.

For those of you who thought we wouldn’t last this long, we fooled you! Yesterday, we celebrated our 8th year wedding anniversary. We survived the 7 year itch and everything!

In all seriousness, it’s a miracle considering how polar opposite we are and how much we fought (and still fight). It really is hard to believe that we’ve been married this long.

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Last Updated: September 10, 2023

8 Creative Date ideas + 8th Wedding Anniversary Gifts

There is no real secret sauce for how we make it work, but I do know one of our strengths in marriage is that we know how to have fun. Since we’re all about collecting experiences over things, we put together some fun and creative date ideas for you to try out. And traditions can be fun, so we also put together some gift ideas as well.

We had a lot of fun putting together this list and hope it will give you a lot of ideas for your anniversary.

8th Anniversary Gift Symbols

Traditional: Bronze or Pottery.
Modern: Lace, Linens, Appliances
Flower: Clematis or Lilac
Gemstone: Tourmaline/Tanzanite.
Color: Tourmalie, Tanzanite, Bronze

8 Creative Eight Year Anniversary Gift Ideas and Date Night Ideas // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

8 Creative Date ideas for Your 8th Anniversary

1. Pottery Class

We originally wanted to try to make our own pottery and have our Ghost moment but didn’t realize that these pottery classes are only available on specific days in New York. Bonus if you make it bronze, although I’m not a huge fan of bronze in general. Due to poor planning, we then opted for the next best thing.

2. Painting Pottery

711 Amsterdam Ave, map

We headed up to a small shop called Little Shop of Crafts on the Upper West Side. This was our second time painting pottery, and we’re hoping it comes out better than our first. A few years back, we made something so ugly that sat around our place because we felt bad about throwing away something sentimental. We finally ended up tossing it during one of our moves.

This, of course, made going into the painting pottery experience more stressful than it should have been. Jacob was too scared to wield the brush. We haven’t picked up the final product yet, but I think it came out decent. What do you think?

Pro Tip: Unless you’re great with coming up with great ideas on the spot, it doesn’t hurt to brainstorm or draft your idea beforehand.

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3. Ask a Magic 8 Ball Date

This is kind of a choose your own adventure left up to fate. Come up with some ideas and let a Magic 8 Ball tell you if you should go. To make it more fun, take turns coming up with ideas.

4. Bronze Jewelry Workshop

Go to a jewelry workshop and create some bronze pieces together. Some workshops will even have some options for guys, like cuff links. If you’re a serious artist you can consider doing a Bronze Casting Workshop. This starts getting a little more serious than spending a couple hours in an afternoon. We found a 5 day workshop in Jersey that teaches you how to cast bronze into a small sculpture.

5. Plant a Clematis Vine

If you have a home, plant a Clematis Vine in your yard or in a pot and watch it grow together.

See More: 101 Fun Things to Do at Home

6. Play 8 Ball

Head to the pool hall for a few drinks and games. It’s been a while for us but we used to play all the time.

7. Take a Sewing Class

Make something out of lace or linen for your home. Plus, you might learn something useful for later on.

See More: Alphabet Dating – Creative Date Ideas from A to Z

8. Go on a Food Tour of 8 Spots

We like to compare different foods, so if your stomach can handle it try 8 pizza joints, 8 ice cream shops, or 8 cheesecakes. Don’t forget to share what you 8.

Bronze Gift Ideas

Why bronze? Bronze is a metal alloy made of mostly copper and tin mixed with other elements. It symbolizes a strong marriage of two different individuals becoming stronger as one.

We scoured the web for the past 3 days, and I have to say bronze is not an easy item to shop for. Here’s what we came up with.

1. Sound Wave Art Print on Bronze Background →

The one below is a sound wave of “I love you”. This also looks like it could be a great DIY if you have a different phrase you use as a couple or have a quote you love. Pick it up here.

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2. Bronze Photo Frame →

Use a bronze frame to showcase a photo or artwork in your home. Or buy a stock in a company that is meaningful to you both and have it framed, and hopefully watch it grow together.

3. Bronze Jewelry

This one is pretty straight forward. Here are some cute pieces we found mostly from Valerie Morgan Designs who hand makes each one.

8 Creative Bronze Gifts for 8th Anniversary // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

4. Bronze Mugs →

I saw some actual bronze mugs that weren’t the prettiest and then found these that are more bronze inspired that I liked better.

5. Bronze Cutlery →

We’re all about practical gifts, so search for some Bronze Cutlery that you can add to your collection.

6. Oil Rubbed Bronze Numbers →

Get some new bling for your home with these fancy Bronze Numbers.

8 Creative Bronze Wedding Anniversary Gifts for Your 8th Anniversary // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

7. Bronze Sculpture →

Though I haven’t found any I would actually keep in my home, this gives you a ton of options based on whatever your tastes are. You can scroll through Etsy for days looking for the perfect one.

8. Bronze Bookends →

If you’re a book lover, then pick up some bronze bookends to keep all those books neat. We found this vintage camera one that we really liked.

8 Creative Bronze Gifts for the Home, for Him, and Her // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

More Bronze Gift Ideas

See More: 15 Best Romantic Getaways in USA

Pottery Gift Ideas

Pottery like marriage is a lump of clay that is molded and transformed into something beautiful.

1. Pourover Coffee Maker →

This one is perfect for coffee lovers.

2. Custom Wedding Ring Dish →

We don’t wear rings since we have tattoos instead, but if we did, we would probably get one of these.

Personalized Pottery Gifts + 8 Creative 8 Year Anniversary Gift Ideas and Date Ideas // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

3. Ceramic Ornament →

We recently got a cat shaped one at Planet X Pottery after visiting the Fly Geyser. We loved all his ceramic works, which you can see here. If you’re looking for something similar, I found this on etsy.

Ceramic Ornament + 8 Creative 8 Year Wedding Anniversary Gift Ideas and Dates // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

4. Ceramic Votice Holder →

These come in so many shapes and sizes!

5. Ceramic Knives →

Here’s another useful one and a good excuse to get some new knives for cooking.

You can also get ceramic cookware. Since we move every year, we don’t have a full cookware set, but can’t wait to get one once we’re in one place longer than a year. Check out these.

6. Measuring Cups →

It’s about time for us to get new measuring cups, and these have on our list for a while. They’re so cute, we may pick them after after our next move.

7. Ceramic Piggy Bank →

physical piggy bank is a fun way to save money for future adventures, dates, or trips. Find one that you love and put in extra change you have when you walk by.

8. Ceramic Planter →

I’ve always loved the idea of having plants in my house. Unfortunately, my black thumb doesn’t give them a long life span, plus the cats eat every green thing that enters our home. I especially love these ceramic planters since they keep the plants out of our cat’s reach.

Pottery Wedding Anniversary Gift + 8 Creative Gift Ideas for Your 8th Anniversary. Pictured is a Ceramic Planter // Local Adventurer #anniversary #giftideas #dating #datenight #dateideasPin

Lace & Linen Gift Ideas

Lace represents beauty and elegance. It’s delicate and strong and is traditionally given on the 13th anniversary, but made it onto the 8th anniversary list for the modern gifts. Here are a few ideas:

  • Lingerie, Robes, Gowns, Dress
  • Lace Gloves
  • Linen Bedsheets
  • Home Goods (like pillows, tableclothes, runners, curtains, shower curtains, wall hangings)

Flower Gift Ideas

There are two different flowers for the 8th year. Clematis is a climber and represents cleverness and intellect. Lilac represents young love, youth, beauty, confidence, and humility. 

If you’re not a flower person, you can go with fragrant candles, art prints of these flowers, or perfumes.

Pro Tip: Clematis is toxic to animals. Fortunately, the plant is very bitter so they usually don’t consume large amounts.

Our Annual Tradition

Every year, as our anniversary gift to ourselves, we do a photoshoot with a different photographer and with a different theme each year. We’re so excited to be shooting this year in NY.

It’s a good thing we do the photo shoot because apparently we can’t be bothered to take even a selfie while we’re on our anniversary date. At least there’s this one one we took at home. Who wins on more chins?

8 Year Anniversary Date // Local Adventurer #datenightPin

Can you think of some more bronze, pottery, lace, or linen gift ideas? How do you celebrate your anniversaries? Also, can you tell we love cats? So sutble, right? 

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Esther + Jacob

Esther and Jacob are the founders of Local Adventurer, one of the top 5 travel blogs in the US. They believe that adventure can be found near and far and hope to inspire others to explore locally. They explore a new city in depth every year and currently base themselves in Las Vegas.

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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. I love it! I love the idea to go on a food tour too! We keep that for when we’re on holiday usually but would be a great date idea for in town :D

    1. Esther JuLee

      We love doing food tours when we travel too! :) But yes.. def a good way to keep things exciting in your hometown too.

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