How it all Started:
Last year my husband and I had our first wedding anniversary, for those of you that don't remember the first anniversary present is "paper". I came up with an idea of 52 Weeks of surprises where I wrote down all the events, date, presents and things I would like to do for him and rolled each individually and placed them in lightly decorated jar.
There were a few reasons why I chose this present. Although it was only our first anniversary, my husband and I have been together a few years and things started to slow down. Back in 2014, we bought a flat and were worried about money so we got to the point in our relationship where we would spend most nights just watching TV. We forgot to have fun together and connect. I also got to a point where every time I did something for my husband, it feels like I was the only one trying.
Doin1g the 52 weeks of surprises meant I would ensure every week I would do something for my husband without worrying about what he did in return. It also meant that every now and then we would have to plan specific dates and make time for one another but without turning it into a "MUST DO", we did it because we wanted it. There were sentimental weekly surprises where I had to think of all the reasons and then tell him why I love him, fun things, and obviously, more intimate surprises.
After finding our relationship in a bit of a rut, where we would go through periods where is was easier to think of reasons why we shouldn't be together, being forced to think of all the positive reasons on a regular basis really helped our relationship.
Giving him this gift not only helped our relationship, but helped me to get out of my comfort zone, try new things and think more positively. So this year, for our second anniversary, I decided to do it all over again. Except this time I thought I would share our experiences as I truly believe there are many couples out there that could be going through something similar.
I got the initial idea on Pinterest, however to come up with 52 different ideas so far in advance was slightly difficult. The first time around it actually took me a couple of weeks. There were no examples, so all the ideas were my own,and it is the best thing as I know what my hubby likes.
When I created them this year it took only a couple hours and I had a much better understanding of what would work.
First thing I did, to make choosing Surprises easier each week I divided the surprises into topics and used a different colour paper for each topic.
Topics:
- Cotton -As it is our 2 year anniversary
- Dates/Dinners
- Presents
- Outdoor activities
- Sunny day plans
- Boys night
- Sentimental
- Sensual
The reason I used the different colours was due to picking surprises we couldn't do, due to financial reasons, weather or plans already made. So for example, if it's winter you can avoid outdoor activities and sunny weather plans. If you recently just serviced the cars or had unexpected expenses you can avoid presents or dates and pick something sentimental and more in line with your budget. The best thing about this present is that you don't need to spend a lot of money, but it is way better if you apply some time and effort.
Today (20th June) is our anniversary and from Sunday he will get to pick some surprises again. Should you want to see what happens each week and how it works out make sure to follow to get some ideas. Federico says this is the best gift he has ever received, it is definitely something very different.