How to Celebrate Your Parents' 25th Anniversary

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: February 21, 2022

Your parent’s 25th wedding anniversary is a major milestone. Known as the silver anniversary, celebrating the union of your parents only seems natural. But you may struggle to find the perfect way to celebrate their enduring love in a meaningful, special way. You can celebrate your parent’s anniversary by planning an event, such as a party or an intimate get together. You may also give your parents a gift that is thoughtful and personal to them so they can mark this milestone in a meaningful way.

Method 1

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Planning a Celebratory Event

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Arrange a big party with loved ones and friends. One way you can celebrate your parents’ anniversary is to throw a big party for them. You may send out invitations to family, friends, and loved ones to join you in celebrating your parent’s love. Use your home as the venue for the party or rent out a hall so there is enough space for everyone to attend.
- You may ask your siblings to help you plan the party, especially if there are going to be many guests in attendance. Elements like food, drinks, chairs, and table settings will all need to be arranged for the party.
- Consider if you are going to surprise your parents with the big party or involve them in the planning of the party. You may opt for a surprise party if your parents enjoy surprises and involve them if they are not as into being surprised.
- You and your siblings may also share the hosting duties, taking turns introducing family members or loved ones who want to give speeches or toasts in honor of your parents. You may create a loose schedule for the party so there is a mix of speeches and fun moments throughout the event to celebrate your parents’ marriage.
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Plan a small, intimate gathering. If you would prefer to keep the celebration small, you may plan an intimate gathering in honor of your parents. Having a smaller gathering may be more your parents’ style. If you are trying to plan an event on short notice, a small party with five to ten guests may be easier for you to arrange.
- You may host a cocktail party at your house or a sibling’s house to celebrate your parents, complete with snacks and fancy drinks. Or you may plan a small dinner with close family and friends at a restaurant that your parents like.
- Decide if the gathering will be a surprise for your parents to celebrate their love. If you do not want to make it a surprise, you may involve your parents in the planning of the event.
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Have a theme for the event. You can make the event feel more special and celebratory by having a theme for the party. Think of a theme that really speaks to your parents as a couple and try to choose something that you think they will find fun or representative of their relationship.
- In honor of your parent’s silver anniversary, you may go with a silver theme, complete with silver centerpieces, silver decorations and a cake decorated with silver details.
- You may choose a theme your parents love and use it for the party. For example, maybe your parents love to travel and have travelled together to many different places around the world. You may then put photos of their travels on each table and have a wonders of the world theme for the party.
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Ask your parents if they would like to renew their vows. Some couples enjoy renewing their vows to commemorate their milestone years. You may approach your parents and ask them if they would be interested in renewing their vows as part of the event you are planning for their 25th anniversary. Having your parents renew their vows in the presence of family and friends can create a special memory for all in attendance.
- Your parents may ask you if they can renew their vows as part of their 25th anniversary celebration. If they are into this idea, you should arrange for a justice of the peace or another officiant to be present at the event so your parents can renew their vows.

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Giving Your Parents a Thoughtful Gift

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Get a portrait with your siblings done. Many parents enjoy looking at images of their children, especially portraits done in a tasteful and thoughtful way. You may talk to your siblings about sitting for a photo portrait to then give to your parents as a gift for their anniversary. Look for a local photographer in your area who is skilled at portrait photography or try to take your own portrait photography using a camera and a tripod.
- If you do not have any siblings, you may include the family pet in your portrait. Bring your dog, cat, fish, or rabbit and pose with them. Your parents will likely appreciate a tasteful image of all their “children” to hang on their wall or on the mantle.
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Write a poem for your parents. You can create a thoughtful gift for your parents by writing them a poem. Composing a poem for your parents may feel intimidating at first, but with a little brainstorming and editing, you can come up with a short piece that can be a nice tribute to them.^{[1]
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- You may collaborate with your siblings or loved ones to come up with a poem together. Discuss ideas, memories, and feelings that you associate with your parents. Then, choose a form, such as the free-verse form or a rhyming form, and try to put these ideas into the form.
- You may also find it useful to read wedding poems written by others to get ideas for your own poem. You can find examples of wedding poems on www.poetryfoundation.org.
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Make a commemorative video. If your parents have taken a lot of photographs of themselves and the family over the years, you may try editing them together to make a commemorative video. Enlist the help of friends or family who are skilled at video production and work with them to create the video. Or try to teach yourself how to use video editing software and put the video together yourself.
- One option is to organize the video chronologically, starting with images of your parents when they first met. Then, you may then move into images of your parents together before you were born followed by images of you all as a family. You can also include text in the video as an added touch.
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Give them tickets to a special trip or outing. Think about a trip your parents have always wanted to do together or an outing they may enjoy as a couple. Get them tickets for the trip and put them in a nice card. They will likely appreciate the opportunity to do something together that they have always wanted to experience to celebrate their anniversary.
- For example, perhaps your parents have always talked about going to the cloud forest in Costa Rica as a couple. You may then pool your money with your siblings and get them tickets to Costa Rica as a gift.
- Maybe you are looking for a gift that is affordable but still special. You may get your parents tickets to a fun, once in a lifetime event such as a hot air balloon ride or a horseback ride through the mountains.

Community Q&A

Question

This all sounds very expensive. Is there a cheaper way?

Community Answer

You can find inexpensive supplies and decorations at any party supply store or 99 cent store. Maybe you could bake them a cake instead of buying something fancy, and make/buy a card and write something heartfelt inside. An anniversary is just about appreciating and celebrating each other, there's no need to spend a lot of money.
Question

What comes first at a 25th wedding anniversary party? Food, presents, or the bride and groom eating their cake?

Community Answer

There's no set schedule of events you need to follow, you can do things in any order you choose!
Question

If my dad is a pastor, how should I design the invitation card? Should I write "pastor"?

Tom De Backer

Top Answerer

From your point of view, he's your dad first before he's a pastor. I would make this much more intimate, personal and close. "Best dad ever", "My favorite two people in the world", "Dear Dad", "To my loving parents"...