Getting Personal

                Congratulations and Celebrations with 18th Birthday Gifts
            
                Turning 18 years old is exciting for many reasons. You're legally no longer considered a minor so you're responsible for yourself lawfully you're also legally allowed to smoke and drink in the UK and get married without your parents consent. Though whether any 18 year olds would want to get married these days, we're not sure!

So, in many ways, turning 18 is a passage in to adulthood. You can legally go to the cinema to see scary horror films, you can go for a pint with your mates and you can even move out and live independently. In fact, many 18 year olds go off to university!

So, if your friend or family member is approaching their 18th birthday you could be a bit stumped for what to get them. Don't worry though, there are loads of brilliant 18th Birthday Gifts out there and we'll let you know about just a few.

18th birthday gifts

18th birthday gifts are about showing your friend or relative that they've reached a special age and telling them you love them. That makes engraved gifts such as a silver heart token with 18 engraved on it or an 18th birthday photo frame perfect 18th birthday gifts.

As many 18 year olds go away to university at that age, it can also be good to get useful 18th Birthday Gifts such as a blue VW Beetle memory stick for them to keep their course work on. It looks cool and funky but is also really functional. 

A student could also love a mini pool table with billiards built in to it, for those nights when they have a few beers with friends. What's more, if they opened that on their 18th birthday during their party they could play with it straight away!

Think about your friend or family member's lifestyle and taste, you'll be sure to find some great 18th Birthday Gifts for them.

Throwing parties

If you're going to set up a celebration for an 18 year old make sure that you're not too influenced by what would be fun for you. Usually, 18 year olds would rather play computer games together (such as Nintendo Wii games), listen to music and dance to it, drink plenty of booze and eat yummy buffet food than have a sophisticated sit down dinner.

Try to inject plenty of fun and vibrancy in to any party plans you make and keep things light hearted and silly. It can't hurt to plan in advance when it comes to getting the right venue though, even if that's your own home. Make sure that the people who live nearby know that there could be some noise late at night and decorate the inside and outside of the house so it's easy for guests to find. You could use balloons, streamers or even print a sign out using your home computer.

Social networking sites such as facebook and MySpace can make it easier for the 18 year old to invite his or her friends along, but you could always throw a surprise party by speaking to one of their close friends and getting them to send out invites to their mutual contacts. That way you could arrange quite a big surprise party behind your 18 year old's back! If they didn't expect a big fuss, that could make their 18th birthday even more wonderful.

Making memories

Remember to take plenty of photographs on the night or get someone else to. An 18th birthday party will be remembered by the birthday person for the rest of their life and having plenty of photos will help them to reminisce. It will also remind them what they love most about parties so that when they plan their 21st or even their 40th birthday party they can use the elements that they love to make their celebration special.

If you're a parent, you can still bring out a candle-lit cake and sing happy birthday to your 18 year old. You can still take photos of them unwrapping presents and give them a big hug and kiss on their birthday. Just make sure you don't cramp their style or you'll hear about it for the rest of the year!

If you decide to throw a party at a venue, you could still have a small 'after party' at home and let some guests sleep over. That way the 18 year old who's birthday it was, could have breakfast with her friends and family the next day and reflect on how much fun everyone had.

Related article: A Gift for Life Not Just for Your Birthday (18th Birthday Gifts)