Leather, traditionally — and this is the entry on the list where the tradition stops transferring.
A great many Indian households do not give leather, for reasons that are religious in some families and simply settled in others. Vegetarian and Jain households in particular; and in plenty of families it is not discussed, it is just never bought. Giving one is not a disaster, but it is the one traditional material where you need to know the house before you follow the list.
Our by-year guide rates leather a “no” for exactly this reason. This page is what to do instead.
What year three actually is
The third year is, more often than any other, the year something moves. A city, a job, a flat, a country. It is late enough that the first jobs have changed and early enough that nothing is fixed yet.
That gives it a shape the second year does not have: a before and an after.
What to give
The year that moved. Two places, one book. The flat you left and the one you are in, which is a structure the photographs already have whether or not you noticed. ₹699 for 24 pages, about 96 photographs. Anniversary Magazine →
Three years, one section each. The first book that can be about more than a single year without being thin. ₹899 for 32 pages.
Prints for a new wall, from ₹270. If the move is recent, this is the most useful thing on the page — new flats have empty walls and nobody gets round to it.
Something leather, if the house gives leather. Then the tradition is fine and this page does not apply.
| Option | Pages | Photographs | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | 16 | ~64 | ₹599 |
| The year that moved | 24 | ~96 | ₹699 |
| Three years | 32 | ~128 | ₹899 |
Flat ₹70 delivery anywhere in India.
What not to do
Do not stretch three years to forty pages. 160 photographs from three years is more than most couples have that are worth printing, and the result reads as filler. Album page counts →
Timing
5 to 14 days from order to doorstep, 5 to 12 to Delhi NCR, dispatched every Monday. If the move is the subject and the move has not happened yet, wait — a book of a half-finished year is worse than one made three months late.
Frequently asked
What is the traditional third anniversary gift? Leather. It is also the entry on the traditional list most likely to be wrong for an Indian household, so check before following it.
Why is leather a problem as a gift in India? Many households do not give or receive it, for religious reasons in some families and settled habit in others. It is worth knowing the house first.
What should I give instead of leather? Something printed of the three years, or prints for a wall if there has been a move — which there very often has by year three.
How big should a third anniversary book be? Sixteen to thirty-two pages. Three years does not fill forty without padding.
Should it cover all three years or just the third? Three years works at this point, one section each. Before year three there is usually not enough for that structure.
Part of our guide to anniversary photo books by year. See also: fourth anniversary gift ideas and second anniversary gift ideas.
For year three: Anniversary Magazine from ₹499 · Print packs from ₹270 · Anniversary gifts