I love holidays, and I love a theme, so anniversaries are just my thing. We always try to come up with a creative celebration around the yearly theme. We also try to bend that theme so we can do something with a positive environmental impact. By focusing on activities or celebrations as much as gifts, we cut down on the clutter in our house and make memories worth keeping.

 Leather is both an awesome and horrible gift theme, because it can go so many ways, but a lot of them aren't what I think of as traditional (I mean three years in sounds like a good time for a kinky holiday, but I don't know how you pin that as a grand tradition).  On top of that, I don't actually eat red meat, or wear much of it, so dead cow isn't generally my jam.

I came up with a pretty massive list of leather gift ideas, but what can you actually do on theme?

1. Go to a Steakhouse

Done and done. Daniel's Broiler was appropriately fancy, and The Boy got steak while I ate some fish. It seems like the bare minimum tip of the hat to leather-ness. Which anniversary's traditional theme is lobster mashed potatoes? Because we are coming back for that.

This is pretty straightforward, but certainly not the greenest. If you want to do something a little more responsible than we were, you might go to a restaurant that you know sources their beef from cows nearby.

from nothingbutcountry.com

2. Go Cowboy

 So, you could give your house a kind of rugged, western theme, maybe watch some John Wayne sauntering (Rio Bravo if you want to go romantic).  Even cooler, you could go act like a cowboy and go horseback riding! I am always surprised just how many horseriding places seem to be available out in the world, and it would certainly be memorable (if not actually romantic). And they use lots of leather for the saddle and gear.

from blog.hwtm.com

from thismommyloves.com

3. Embrace your Inner Farmer?

You could also do some sort of on the farm party, which is perhaps more interesting if you didn't grow up near farms and know how much they smell- I mean, nothing says romantic like a reminder of cow patties. So obviously, we could do all kinds of cow-themed treats. I am thinking a cake covered in cow print. You could also serve berries in their containers and draw cows on butcher paper. This might be cute?

The other side of this is that if you do eat beef, you could use this holiday as an opportunity to learn about your local farms or butchers. I know that is more expensive, but you could splurge on some local meat for a big anniversary meal.

4. Go Hiking

 Put on those leather boots and get out in the world. Don't wear sunscreen and get all leathery yourself!

5. Go to a Baseball Game

 They have leathery gloves, right? Is the ball made of leather? This may not be our deal, but it might be yours as a couple!

Ok, I think these are my best ideas. Don't go cow-tipping! Too mean! I hope you all enjoy your anniversary- let me know what cool cow-related celebrations you plan!