Surprises! Almost everyone likes surprises. Anniversary surprises should be no exception. Finding ways to surprise your spouse on your anniversary is a delightful undertaking. First of all, trying to keep things secret is sometimes a challenge, but when you pull it off, it usually results in a great deal of fun for both of you. Sometimes you will get your childrem in on the act. They like being involved in creating surprises too.

Why is it important to surprise your spouse on your anniversary, at least on some of your anniversaries? Doing this will make your mate feel very special. This is especially true when he or she sees that you put a great deal of thought and effort in to this undertaking. If you can combine a handwritten note or card in the surprise, that will carry a lot of weight too.

Boredom is a problem in some marriages, so efforts to introduce surprise will spice things up somewhat. However, just knowing that you care enough about the other to put some thought into this gift, is quite special to your partner.

Here are some ways to surprise your husband or wife on your anniversary:

1. Plan a surprise getaway. When you make all of the arrangements, and it is not something that causes your mate to worry about your finances, this can be a very nice surprise.

2. At some point in your marriage, it is good to make a list of each other's greatest needs. The second, and very meaningful way to plan some anniversary surprises is to plan an evening, event, or words that especially relate to your husband's or wife's greatest needs. This will be quite memorable for him or her.

3. Plan something that involves both of you. While it might delight your spouse for you to get him tickets to a sporting event on your anniversary (I mean tickets just for him, not both of you); or, you could get her tickets to a cruise along with one of your children; those are not particularly good anniversary surprises. You might occasionally do those at other times of the year, but for your anniversary, plan something special together. This does not necessarily have to be expensive either. A special picnic might be fun. Just a walk in the park may be a special surprise on another occasion.

When you take the time and effort to surprise your spouse on your anniversary, you will be going a long way toward making some deposits in your "love bank," as one author put it. Surprises also help to eliminate boredom.

Making investments in your marriage is one of the best things you can do for you and your spouse. Sometimes we talk about how important it is to invest our money wisely, but really, even more important than that is to invest in each other in various areas of our marriages. Anniversary surprises give us good opportunities to make those kinds of investments.