Instead of driving the point home about their not-so-young age with perfect retirement gift ideas, why not make your parents feel happier and younger with the list of personalized anniversary gifts below? With these gifts, your parents are sure to fill that they are newlyweds once more – well, at least, when they are not reminded by the fact that their children are already old enough to buy them gifts on their own.

Matching Leather Belts

No doubt, in the fifty years that your parents have been together, they have had the chance to wear matching outfits, matching shoes, and matching hats. But was there ever a time that they thought of wearing matching leather belts? It is an uncommon idea but certainly not unattractive.

So start figuring out – secretly – what the waist sizes of your parents are and look for the best matching pair of belts for them.

Matching Bags

As a man gets older, he becomes less reluctant with the idea of using a bag when going out. That is because he has more items to carry, like his cards and IDs, medication, glasses, and many other tiny things that could cause him great discomfort if they are unavailable. Of course, women – no matter what their age is – have no need to be convinced about the rightness of using bags. In fact, they are always appreciative of any chance that would let them enjoy a new and attractive bag – for free.

All in all, the fiftieth wedding anniversary of your parents is just the right time to give them matching leather bags. Your dad could feel comfortable with either a leather pouch or messenger bag while your mother would probably feel quite satisfied with anything from a cute and dainty purse to a large but fun-looking tote bag.

Matching Passport Covers

Most retired couples tend to spend their days travelling all over the country or trotting around the globe even. If your parents are the same, you may want to give them matching passport covers.

Considering the amount of travel they do each year, their passports are sure to be exposed to greater risks of incurring damage. This should be a cause of worry because in certain cases, damaged passport may prevent them from reaching their destination or from coming back home. It could mean an uncomfortable stay in a detention center until their other travel documents are properly verified by authorities.

Of course, just because you are buying passport covers for practical purposes does not mean you should buy them without considering their designs. Take that into account, too, and turn your parents’ passports into a beautiful accessory worth showing off.

Matching and Monogrammed Footwear

Just like most couples never thought of having matching belts, many couples also fail to consider how great it would be if they were to wear not just matching shoes but monogrammed ones at that!

If you want to give your parents the perfect anniversary gift, then this is definitely one of them. Just make sure that you are choosing the right size. If you are buying leather footwear, keep in mind the type of socks that your parents tend to wear with leather shoes and adjust the size accordingly.

Personalized Calendars

Fifty years of being together and loving each other is a very long time. It is also a huge accomplishment that only few couples have managed to enjoy. How about rewarding your parents with a personalized calendar that allows them to enjoy their earliest and oldest memories? Let them take a walk back to time by featuring one special anniversary moment with each month. You can also make each month’s feature more special by inviting one of their closest friends or loved ones to recount a special moment about the couple.

Cute Stationery Sets

Monogrammed stationery sets but that is not the only way you can make a stationery set special. Including taglines like “In Commemoration of Our Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary” is also a good idea but that does not exactly make your parents feel youthful, doesn’t it?

If you aim to make your parents feel young again, then give them cute stationery sets, with their names written in equally cute or pretty fonts. It is like high school all over again and they are sure to delight in sending their friends with sweet thank-you notes.

Photo Bookmarks

These are still uncommon compared to other types of anniversary gifts, but they are also becoming more and more popular nowadays. Make sure, however, to use photos of your parents when they were still an unmarried couple. After all, the point is to make them feel young again, isn’t it?

Lastly, if your parents have a honeymoon trip planned after the anniversary, you might want to give them a going-away present as well. For this, you could give them a travel bag with shoe organizer or matching and personalized Kindle holders to keep their e-book readers safe even as they go searching for new adventures abroad.

>”I believe that being successful means having a balance of success stories across the many areas of your life. You can’t truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.” -Zig Ziglar

We meet and greet a lot of customers daily in our store and interact with others through the telephone. In developing a business relationship, we find out about their lives in more detail. At times, these lives seem very attractive and worthy of envy. However, I must caution you that the the proverbial “grass is always greener on the other side” parable applies here…

Unless you have not lived or traveled with a person, you do not know him or her. AND money is just part of the puzzle – not the whole puzzle. It’s essential, provided that it is complemented with other valuable commodities, such as love, compassion and humility (just to name a few)…

>

>A dear friend in Canada recently sent me the following heartwarming story:

“A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the 4 pups And set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.

As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy. ‘Mister,’ he said, ‘I want to buy one of your puppies.’ ‘Well,’ said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, ‘These puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.’

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.’I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?’

‘Sure,’ said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle. ‘Here, Dolly!’ he called. Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.

The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse.

Slowly another little ball appeared, this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner, the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up… ‘I want that one,’ the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy’s side and said, ‘Son, you don’t want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.’

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, ‘You see sir, I don’t run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.’ With tears in his eyes, the farmer reached down and picked up the little pup.

Holding it carefully handed it to the little boy. ‘How much?’ asked the little boy. ‘No charge,’ answered the farmer, ‘There’s no charge for love.’ The world is full of people who need someone who understands.”

Feel free to comment…

Adam from CLC