I need a really smooth, romantic, thoughtful, creative and INEXPENSIVE gift/ night outing for my 1 year anniversary!

Prepare dinner for her, nothig too complicated, with flowers, candles, and make a cd for her with her favorite romantic tunes in the privacy of your house :)

Evening picnic with wine and candles.

Where do you live? This is a good time of year for free theater in a park. You could take her for an early picnic and then to see an outdoor play.

A diamond ring.

Re-create your first date. Chances are it was fairly inexpensive, but remembering where you went and what you did will be romantic.

Go to a motel or hotel and pretend you are NOT married.

August 22, 2008, 11:12 AM EDT

Are you in Cleveland? Check out this link
http://www.cleveland.com/goingout/index.ssf/2008/07/great_dates_in_cleveland_that_1.html

One thing I did on an anniversary of mine, was I tried to devote the entire day to her.

First, I went to a restaurant early in the morning (while she was still asleep) and got her one of her favorite breakfasts, then stopped at a grocery store that also has fresh flowers, and purchased her a single, long-stemmed rose. Then, I got a copy of the daily newspaper and headed back home, before she woke up.

I “nuked” the breakfast to make it freshly hot, then put the entire meal on a breakfast-in-bed tray, along with the rose and the newspaper, then walked quietly down the hallway into our bedroom and gently said, “Surprise, Babydoll!”

There was a note on her pillow that read, “I got called into surgery about 10 minutes ago. See you at noon. Where were you?”

August 22, 2008, 1:40 PM EDT

Damn Jack, bad luck my mom told me, never marry a doctor

She was a registered nurse, and very dedicated to her job.

She had her surprise breakfast the NEXT morning, so all turned out OK.

August 22, 2008, 1:47 PM EDT

If you have the time, you could create a small picture book of your first year together, highlighting memorable and special events. There are a lot of websites dedicated to this, but I have had great success with Shutterfly. For example, an 8×8, 20 page Love photo book would run you around $30.

I like this kind of gift for two reasons. One, you have to put in some time, effort, and thought into picking, arranging and describing the pictures, all of which will be highly appreciated. Second, it is a gift which will last “forever”, and is something you both can look at years later and enjoy fond memories of your first year together.

I have to go with picnic and outdoor movie if you have that option. This means you pack the picnic and make any arrangements.

You could also just go for something she really likes even if it’s something that seems unromantic to you. I love hiking. My fella could take it or leave it. If he goes to the trouble to ask someone else he knows about a hike to set up a day trip with me that’s just romantic as can be to me. Especially if he gets the snacks, knows the route, and sets everything up.

What’s something she might really like?

The first anniversary gift is traditionally paper. I typed and printed my husband’s favorite song (a childhood lullaby) in a beautiful way, on beautiful paper and framed it. He loved it and it now hangs in our bedroom. Alternatively, the modern 1st anniversary gift is a clock…you could buy a small silver clock and have it engraved with a meaningful sentiment (There’s no one I’d rather spend time with?) and the date.