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Having only been married for 4 months now, and being the consummate planner, I can only imagine what type of anniversary gifts I should be getting for my beautiful bride. I could go the obvious route and get her roses. Then again, I did that already for our wedding.

Stuck on what to get for the upcoming wedding anniversary? I checked out a free calendar from my place of employment and found that it also listed anniversary gifts by year of anniversary. This year, it turns out that my wife should be expecting clocks (yes, plural) for our anniversary. Alternately, if we lived in olden times she could look forward to a gift of paper. I'm an old-fashioned kind of a guy so my wife is receiving a paper clock this year, the lucky woman.

But what about next year? China? Cotton? Leather? The list goes on and on. If you talk to florists they would be the first ones to tell you that nothing says "happy anniversary" like a dozen long stem roses, that no doubt, cost them pennies to your $150.

I noticed a problem with the wedding gift suggestions on my trusty calendar. Every year from one to fifteen had a theme, but there was a sudden jump to the 20 year mark. So, what on earth do you do when you've been married 19 years and don't want to be "practical" with some boring gift that says the magic in the marriage is all over?

There are pluses and minuses to the dreaded "practical gift." Expensive jewelry is more likely to get a romantic response from your wife than a pragmatic case of light bulbs or a dozen replacement mop heads, but at least the practical gifts, as embarrassing as they may be to fancy up with bows and fancy paper, at least say to the wife that you do understand some of the stuff she really needs.

Or if you're out of money, and time, you can always belly up to the free sticky notes available at your office and make the "love coupons." This coupon is good for one... fill in the blank here, back rubs and doing the dishes are two popular choices. This is the romantic equivalent to the "practical gift." It shows you but at least some thought into her gift and most women like that.

Hopefully, this has given you a few ideas on what to give your loved one on your anniversary. There are a lot of available gift options for me, but I know I will definitely be giving my wife roses.