Anniversary gift for your husband, from you: for the man who says he wants nothing, plus an evening at home from Rs 349Anniversary gift for your husband, from you: for the man who says he wants nothing, plus an evening at home from Rs 349

"I don't need anything" is not an answer

Ask most Indian husbands what they want for the anniversary and the reply is the same: nothing, don't waste money. Many of them mean it about things. Very few of them mean it about the day. So the anniversary gift from a wife to a husband that works most often is an evening he did not have to plan, with one small thing to keep.

From our range, hand-poured in pure soy wax in Jalandhar:

• Spiral Pillar Candles, Rs 179 each in navy or ivory, or Rs 799 for a set of 5. Two navy pillars on the dinner table look grown-up, not frilly.
• Heart Tealights, Rs 349 for 10: red hearts in clear cups. Line them along the path from the door to the table.
• Vanilla Reverie, Rs 549: our only scented candle, vanilla in an amber glass jar with gold flakes and a black lid. The one piece he can keep on his side of the bed afterwards.

An anniversary evening he did not organise

You do not need a restaurant or a hotel. You need one hour with the phones away.

1. Cook or order his favourite, the dish he talks about from early in your marriage, not the fancy one.
2. Dim the lights and light two navy pillars on the table. Two spiral pillars in navy are Rs 358.
3. Line ten heart tealights from the door or along the balcony, for when he walks in from work.
4. Hand him the Vanilla Reverie jar or the main gift after dinner, with a note on what changed in the year.
5. If you have children, plan the sitter or the grandparents a week ahead. That is the real gift for most parents.

One navy pillar plus Heart Tealights is Rs 528; with two pillars the whole set-up still comes in under Rs 800. Add Vanilla Reverie and you are over Rs 999, so shipping is free.

Matching it to the husband you have

Vanilla Reverie is the only scented candle on that list. The spiral, heart and rope candles are decorative with no fragrance stated.

Sending it to him in another city

If he is posted in another city or travelling on the date, you can ship straight to his address at checkout, choose gift packaging and add a gift note on the product page. Dispatch is 24 to 48 hours and delivery 2 to 7 days after dispatch, so order a week or more ahead of the date and check the delivery estimate for his pincode on the product page. We cannot promise a delivery date. If he lives in a PG or company accommodation, add his phone number so the parcel is not left at the gate.

What else wives give husbands for the anniversary

The common anniversary gifts for a husband in India: a watch, a good wallet or belt, a perfume, a smartwatch, a kurta or a nice shirt for the anniversary dinner, a gadget he keeps looking at, a framed wedding photo, a trip for two, or tickets to a match or a concert. For milestone anniversaries, a gold chain, ring or kada is traditional. A candle from us is not a substitute for any of those. It is the small thing that makes the evening, or the add-on to the main present.

If he wants a wide range of woody or musky scents, a specialist fragrance or candle brand will have far more choice; we make one vanilla jar. We do not make LED candles or electric fairy lights. For a husband-to-wife gift instead, see our page on the anniversary gift for a wife.

Payment and returns, briefly

• Prepaid only through Razorpay: UPI, card, net banking or wallet. No cash on delivery.
• Free shipping on orders of Rs 999 or more; Rs 79 below.
• Request a return within 24 hours of delivery. Damage reported within 24 hours is replaced or refunded, with refunds in 5 to 7 working days of approval. Cancel free before dispatch.
• Questions: WhatsApp +91 85958 24586 or maharani@raajkosh.com.

For the evening: put the tealights on a tray or steel plate, keep them away from curtains and the dupatta you are wearing, never leave them burning when you leave the room, and keep each burn to 3 to 4 hours.