h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

For the past 12 years, Richard and I have used an 'anniversary substance list' in a book I have. Each year we look up the substance and we then use our imagination over the choice of gift. A gift made out of the substance in question is OK if nothing else springs to mind, but the fun is in thinking up something that is connected to the substance in some way. This may lead to dreadful puns, or use of a thesaurus or encyclopedia. A few examples:

4 - Fruit and flowers. This had me stumped. What can you get for a man that has *anything* to do with fruit or flowers, especially if he doesn't like gardening. Then, when doing a crossword, I encountered the clue 'Wind flower'. The answer was anemone, but it reminded me that Richard had said he wanted a kite. So I gave him one and he was delighted.

5 - Sugar. Richard had often said he prefers champagne saucers to flutes (not that we drink much of the stuff), so I gave him a pair of crystal champagne saucers. Well, alcohol comes from sugar!

10 - Tin. I gave Richard a small crystal 'vintage car'. Well, Ford's "Tin Lizzie" was a vintage car!

So, if you want to use the material list to choose a present for your spouse, let your brain run wild and pick something that's not so obvious. It's a lot more fun that way.