80th wedding anniversary gifts
Oak is the traditional 80th anniversary gift, and the year has no established modern gift. This guide covers planting an English oak in the couple's name, family keepsakes and visits that come to them, with Australian prices wherever we could find them.
What this anniversary symbolises
An 80th wedding anniversary is so rare that few gift lists mention it at all. The Wikipedia anniversary list gives oak, and the choice suits the year: an oak is slow to grow, deep-rooted and long-lived, much like a marriage that has lasted eight decades. None of the Australian or UK retailer lists we checked covers the 80th, so treat the oak as a starting point for the family's gift rather than a fixed rule.
The oak also works as a picture of the family itself. An acorn that went into the ground eighty years ago would now be a broad tree, its branches spreading the way one couple's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have spread out from them. Planting a young English oak in the couple's name gives that picture a living form, one the youngest members of the family can visit long after the anniversary.
A couple married eighty years is likely to be close to a hundred years old, so comfort and closeness come before anything else. Gifts they can enjoy without leaving home are the safest choice, from a framed family tree to letters read aloud at their bedside or favourite chair. If the family plants an oak, plant it somewhere everyone can visit, then bring the photos and the story to the couple.
Traditional gift: Oak
Oak is the 80th gift, and the most fitting way to give it is a living English oak, Quercus robur. Daleys Fruit Tree Nursery in NSW sells young English oaks for about $20 to $29 plus around $21 shipping, Guildford Garden Centre in Perth has potted oaks for about $70 to $90, and Online Plants sends a 33cm pot for about $170. An English oak grows to about 20 metres tall and as wide, so it needs a big garden, a farm or a park.
- Traditional
- Oak
- Name
- Oak anniversary
In Australia: Australian nurseries sell English oaks in every size from seedling to advanced tree: Nationwide Trees in Victoria sells seedlings from about $1.82 each with a minimum order of 25, and Urban Tree Growers lists advanced English oaks for about $260 to $330.
Gift ideas by budget
Under $50 (AUD)
Young English oak to plant
Daleys sells young English oaks for about $20 to $29 plus shipping. Plant it at a family home and give the couple a framed photo of the planting.
Oak seedlings for every grandchild
Nationwide Trees sells English oak seedlings from about $1.82 each in lots of 25 or more, enough for each grandchild to plant one of their own and send a photo.
Eighty-year photo book
Officeworks leather-look and linen-look hard cover photo books start from about $29, with room for up to 120 pages of family photos.
A wedding photo, restored and reframed (for her, for him)
Have the original wedding photo cleaned up and printed in two sizes, one for each bedside, so they can each keep it close.
$50 to $200 (AUD)
Potted English oak in Perth
Guildford Garden Centre sells potted English oaks for about $70 to $90 for Perth metro families who want to plant on the day.
English oak in a 33cm pot
Online Plants sells an English oak in a 33cm pot for about $170 and ships to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane.
Plywood and hardwood family tree
The Humble Gift Co sells a plywood and hardwood family tree for about $100, a timber keepsake for the oak year, though it is not made of oak.
Afternoon tea brought to them
Rather than taking them out, bring a catered afternoon tea to their home or residence, with the good china and the family's favourite cake.
$200 and up (AUD)
Advanced English oak
Urban Tree Growers lists advanced English oaks for about $260 to $330, and Online Plants sells larger sizes for about $280 to $696, a tree with some height from the first day.
Custom family tree artwork
Acorn Family Trees in Perth creates custom family tree artwork from about $235, a name that suits an oak anniversary.
In-home portrait of every generation
Book a photographer to come to their home, and gather as many generations as can make it around the couple's chairs for one photograph.
Oak keepsake box
Ask an Australian furniture maker for a small oak box to hold the couple's letters, photos and official messages; we found no verified prices, so request a quote.
Quick picks by recipient
For her
- A wedding photo, restored and reframed (for her, for him)
For him
- A wedding photo, restored and reframed (for her, for him)
For the couple
- Young English oak to plant
- Potted English oak in Perth
- Afternoon tea brought to them
For parents
- Young English oak to plant
- Oak seedlings for every grandchild
- Eighty-year photo book
What to write in the card
- Eighty years married. No card is big enough for that, so here is all our love instead. Happy oak anniversary.
- To my dearest: eighty years ago we planted something together, and look how it has grown.
- From all your branches, the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren: happy 80th anniversary to the two of you who are our roots.
- Like an oak, you two have weathered every season and kept all of us in your shade. Happy 80th.
- Happy 80th anniversary. We planted an oak for you today, so your story keeps growing after the party ends.
More wording by recipient and milestone is in our anniversary messages and wishes.
What to avoid
- Planting an English oak near a house, pipes or a small backyard; it grows to about 20 metres tall and wide, so choose a large garden or farm, or ask the council about a park.
- Any outing that needs long walks, stairs or hours in a car; at eighty years married, a visit at home is the kindest way to celebrate.
- Gifts with small print, fiddly buttons or tiny clasps that are hard to read or open.
- Crowding everyone into one day; spread visits across the week so the couple can see the whole family without tiring.
Ways to celebrate
- Plant an English oak at a family property on the anniversary, film the planting, and show the couple the video that afternoon.
- Hold a short afternoon tea at home or in the residence, with oak leaf decorations and a cake cut by the oldest and youngest family members.
- Read the messages from the King, the Governor-General and the Prime Minister aloud, then frame them together.
- Make a family tree poster with eighty years of names, and invite each branch of the family to add a photo.
- Give every great-grandchild an acorn-shaped name card to place on the tree poster, so the couple can see who is new.
Official congratulations for the 80th
From the 50th anniversary, the Prime Minister and the Governor-General send a free message of congratulations. For the 60th, 65th, 70th and every anniversary after that, the King sends one as well.
One request covers every message. Lodge it with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) through the online form, by email or by post, or ask the office of any federal MP or senator to lodge it for you.
The online form takes requests up to 3 months before the date, and it is best lodged at least 2 months ahead. You will need a copy of the marriage certificate or a statutory declaration. Belated requests are accepted up to 6 months after the anniversary.
Official sources differ on permanent residents and on some state rules for late requests, so check with PM&C if either applies. State Premiers, Governors and MPs send messages too: ask the office of your state MP how to request one.
80th anniversary questions
Oak. It comes from the Wikipedia list of anniversary gifts; none of the Australian or UK retailer lists we checked names a gift for the 80th. A living English oak, planted in the couple's name, is the most direct way to give it.
No. There is no established modern gift for an 80th, so the oak theme and family keepsakes fill that space.
It is usually called the oak anniversary. None of the lists we checked names a gemstone or flower for the 80th.
Several Australian nurseries sell them. Daleys in NSW has young trees for about $20 to $29 plus shipping, Online Plants ships 33cm pots for about $170 to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane, and Urban Tree Growers sells advanced trees for about $260 to $330. Prices change, so check before ordering.
Plan the spot before you buy. An English oak can reach about 20 metres in both height and spread, which rules out most suburban backyards.
Yes, if someone asks for one. The King's messages cover every anniversary after the 70th, and Australians request them through the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), not the Palace. A fresh request is needed for each anniversary, even if the couple received a message last year.
Use the PM&C online form, email, post or a local MP, two to three months before the date, and include a copy of the marriage certificate or a statutory declaration. The same request brings messages from the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.
Prefer cash toward something bigger?
Set up a free anniversary registry and let friends and family chip in toward a trip, an experience, or one special gift.