Anniversary Questions for Couples
Questions for the day you count another year: the one just finished, the story so far and the next one.
- Time
- 20–60 min
- Players
- Two players, no turns
- Best for
- Anniversary dinners and the week around them
- Deck
- 100 questions in 5 categories
How to use these anniversary questions
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the question on the top card aloud and both answer it.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next question”, for the next one. Questions do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save a question on this device, or tap “Make a 10-question list” for a list you can copy.
When to ask anniversary questions
An anniversary is the one day a year set aside for looking back and ahead together. Without a few good questions it can slip into a nice dinner about everything else; with them, it becomes the conversation you remember the year by.
Across the table on the day
A card between courses, or over coffee after the meal. Our story so far suits the start of the evening, when there is time for long answers.
The morning after
A slow breakfast with The year ahead, when the celebration is over and the plans can be practical: one month, one ritual, one trip.
Apart on the day
If work or travel keeps you in different places, play the cards over a video call. For more ideas when you are far apart, see long distance.
Ways to use anniversary questions
Past, present, next
Start with Our story so far, move through The year we just had and What you love now, and finish on The year ahead. The evening then runs from your first chapter to the next one.
A question inside the card
Copy one question by hand into the anniversary card you give. Your partner reads it, answers aloud, and then picks one from the deck to ask you back.
Guess first, then hear it
For Favorites of us, each of you says what you think the other will answer before they do. A guess that lands and a guess that misses both give you something to talk about.
Small things that help
- Open the photos from the month you are talking about. One picture brings back the details a question alone cannot.
- Some years are quieter than others. A calm year with small good days is just as worth talking about as a busy one.
- Keep The year ahead small: one plan you can put on the calendar tonight beats ten big ones.
All 100 anniversary questions for couples by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and play there.
The year we just had
The last twelve months of the two of you: places, firsts and small surprises.
- Where were we exactly one year ago today, and what do you remember about that day?
- Which plan we talked about a year ago actually happened, and which one is still waiting?
- If you could send a note back to the two of us a year ago, what would it say?
- Looking back over the past year, which season felt most like us, and why?
- What’s the best decision the two of us made together in the last twelve months?
- Which conversation of ours this past year changed the way you see something?
- This year, did we get better at listening, planning, resting or something else entirely?
- What ordinary object, like a mug or a ticket stub, will always remind you of this year?
Show all 20 in The year we just hadShow fewer
- Which place did we keep going back to this year, and what kept drawing us there?
- Name one first we shared this year: a first trip, a first recipe, a first anything.
- What did we make together in the past twelve months, like a meal, a shelf or a garden bed, that you’re proud of?
- Of my small successes this year, which one did you enjoy cheering for the most?
- Which day of the past year felt long in the best possible way?
- Besides birthdays, what did we find to celebrate this year?
- Did any new interest of mine this year surprise you? Which one?
- What did the past year give us more of than you expected?
- Which piece of good news this year were you most excited to tell me first?
- When this year did you feel most at home with me, even somewhere unfamiliar?
- If a friend asked about our year, what’s the first thing you’d tell them?
- Which outing this year, even a short one, taught us something about traveling together?
Our story so far
How you met, the turning points, and the parts of your story you love to retell.
- If our story had chapters, where would you say chapter two begins?
- Which ordinary day early on turned out to be a turning point for us?
- What lucky accident, like a missed bus or a wrong turn, had to happen for us to meet?
- Tell me a detail from our first weeks that you think I’ve forgotten.
- Which of our milestones felt huge at the time but small now, or the other way around?
- When someone asks how we met, which part of the story do you tell first?
- Which place from our early days has changed since, and what do you remember about being there?
- What was the very first plan for the future we ever made together?
Show all 20 in Our story so farShow fewer
- Which small, brave step by either of us made our story possible?
- Which part of our story do our friends always tell slightly wrong?
- What did we turn out to have in common that surprised you most at the start?
- Is there a kitchen, platform or street corner that holds an important scene in our story?
- Which piece of our story do you think we’ll still be telling when we’re old?
- What was the first thing we ever bought together, and do we still have it?
- After you first introduced me to someone close to you, what did they say about me?
- If you could turn one day from our story into a yearly holiday, which would it be?
- Think of our first trip together. What do you remember about getting there?
- When did people around us start saying our names together, as a pair?
- What was your first nickname for me, and where did it come from?
- Which of your favorite places did you show me first, and why that one?
Favorites of us
The best views, dates, treats and habits from your time together so far.
- Of all the ways we’ve marked a special day together, which is your favorite so far?
- Which date have we repeated the most, and why does it never get old?
- Where’s the best view we’ve ever shared, and what were we doing there?
- Which movie or show we’ve watched together belongs in our personal hall of fame?
- What’s your favorite thing to do with me without talking at all?
- From a tent to a friend’s couch, which place we’ve stayed away from home is your favorite?
- Which walk do we take again and again, and what makes it the best one?
- What’s the best gift the two of us ever gave someone else together?
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- What’s your favorite adventure we’ve had within an hour of home?
- What’s our favorite small treat, the one we save for good days?
- Which stranger we met together do we still talk about?
- What’s your favorite thing I do when I think you’re not watching?
- When we travel, what’s your favorite part: the planning, the getting there or the arriving?
- What’s the best thing I ever recommended to you: a book, a show, a song or a place?
- Which of my laughs is your favorite: the quiet one, the loud one or the one I can’t stop?
- Morning me, vacation me or late-night me: which version do you like best?
- Which of my old stories, from before we met, do you love hearing again?
- Which gathering with friends was the most fun for us as a pair?
- Of everything we’ve tried as a pair, from a class to a sport, which did you enjoy most?
- Which card or letter we’ve written each other would you save first?
What you love now
What you love about each other today, a year further along.
- What do you love about me now that you didn’t even know a year ago?
- What do you love about the person you see me becoming?
- What would you put in a time capsule to show how we love each other right now?
- Which word fits us right now that you wouldn’t have picked a year ago?
- Which of my little quirks makes you smile even when you pretend it doesn’t?
- On a lazy day with nothing planned, what do you love about me?
- Lately, what small thing did I do that made you fall for me a little more?
- Which of my opinions do you love hearing, even when yours is different?
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- If a stranger watched us for one minute, what would they notice about how we love each other?
- Which small detail from this year would you put in a love letter to me?
- Which of my small stubborn streaks do you secretly love?
- When you share good news, how do I react that makes you glad you told me?
- What’s one reason you would choose me all over again today?
- Planner me or spur-of-the-moment me: which side of how I make plans do you love more?
- When did you last catch yourself thinking how lucky we are?
- Which medal have I earned this past year, in your eyes?
- After all this time, what about me still makes you curious?
- How do I handle a surprise, big or small, in a way you love?
- Which of my hobbies do you love watching me get lost in?
- What do you love about the two of us when we’re out with friends?
The year ahead
Plans, wishes and small rituals for the twelve months before your next anniversary.
- What should we write down tonight and read again on our next anniversary?
- Which question from tonight would you like me to answer again in a year?
- Pick one month of the coming year to make special just for us. Which one, and how?
- If the next year had a theme for us, like “outdoors” or “slow mornings,” what would it be?
- What would you like to give me this year that cannot be wrapped?
- How could we mark each new month together in a small way?
- Where should we take our anniversary photo next year?
- What’s one thing about you that you hope I discover this year?
Show all 20 in The year aheadShow fewer
- Which neighbor, friend or cause could the two of us help out this year?
- For each season of the coming year, which free little ritual should we give it?
- One long trip, one short one or lots of tiny ones: which shape suits our next year?
- In the months ahead, what’s one way you’d like us to rest better?
- Which topic would you like us to talk about more often in the year ahead?
- Which person from our story should we thank or visit this year?
- Which habit of mine would you like to borrow for the coming year?
- What should we try hard to keep simple in the year ahead?
- Big or small, what’s one thing you’d like to ask me for in the coming year?
- Which of our places should we show to someone new this year?
- Which skill of yours would you like to teach me before our next anniversary?
- What are you curious to find out about us over the next twelve months?
Frequently asked questions
How many anniversary questions for couples are there?
There are 100 questions, 20 in each of five categories: the year we just had, our story so far, favorites of us, what you love now, and the year ahead. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
Do they work for a first anniversary, or for a dating anniversary?
Yes to both. The questions talk about a year together and the story so far rather than one particular day, so they fit the anniversary of a first date as well as a marriage, whether it is the first year or the thirtieth.
What can we do on the day besides talk?
Pick a plan from the anniversary date ideas and bring the deck along. A few cards fit nicely into the quiet moments of the date, like the wait for food or the walk home.
How are these different from the questions for married couples?
The questions for married couples are about everyday shared life and work any week of the year. These are tied to the anniversary itself: the twelve months just behind you and the twelve in front.