Gifts for an Eighteenth Birthday
Do you know somebody who'll be turning 18 this month? That's so cool! Turning 18 is an epic occasion for girls and boys. For almost all purposes—marriage, medical decisions, education, the legal system, tobacco—she or he has become an adult.
They have left high school, or may be about to, and now they're figuring out their own direction. They may have flown the nest and taken off to the university to continue their education, or they may have taken their position in the workplace. Whichever road the teen chooses, simply turning 18 years old brings with it an entirely new range of opportunities as well as responsibilities.
The secret of gift giving, of course, is to find out where your birthday gift for boy online or birthday gift for girl is heading in life and what direction their inclinations are taking. That way, you can give something that will help in the new directions he or she is taking now as an almost total adult.
1. Give Them Experiences
What's an experience birthday gift? It’s not a thing, but an experience: a trip, a tour, a visit. At this age, friends are tremendously important; your teen will enjoy an experience he or she can share with friends.
Dinner out. If you can be there with them, take them out to brunch or dinner. If they are far away, why not get them a gift certificate to a local restaurant of their choice? That way they can be the big shot and entertain their friends.
Event Tickets. Most young adults love music; they enjoy going to concerts with friends when their favorite acts come to town. Definitely get enough tickets for your teen to bring his friends. The same for sporting events; depending on the teen, it might be a real high point to bring friends to a major league sports event (or to minor league baseball, which for the connoisseur is really a good value).
2. Give Them Mobility
If you have a few thousand dollars lying around, you can get them a car! Otherwise, why not a prepaid transit card, gas card, driving lessons, or AAA road service. Or a plane, train, or bus ticket so they can go to another city to see their best friend who has moved.
3. Give Them Tools for School or Work
Nowadays, electronics are almost an all-purpose tool. Almost any kid, in college or not, will appreciate a laptop; laptops make many things possible, including email, movies, music, schoolwork, or working at home. You can get a useful laptop for under $500. But if your birthday child has any special requirements —for example, if she is a gamer—best let her pick the computer you pay for.
A tablet or smartphone can do many of the same things, including email and the internet. There are lots of awesome Android devices: e-readers, tablets and mp3 players, including from Motorola, Sony, and Samsung. I own the Samsung Galaxy SII myself, and the more I use it the more I love it. Both my son and daughter are in school and I know that having the latest Android device helps in many ways, especially for quickly looking up coursework and communicating with their friends.
Despite what used to be the conventional wisdom, a child going away to college may not need a printer; excellent printers may be available through a network there.
If your child is looking for work, he or she might well appreciate some interview clothes, or some tool of the trade (help with a certification or class they have to take, help putting together a portfolio, a trip to a conference or trade show, reference books, work shoes).
4. (Maybe) Give Housewarming Gifts
Your child may be moving to college or a new place to live, and you want to make them feel at home. You may also want to forestall them raiding your own heirloom blankets and pots for their new collection. But maybe restrain yourself. It’s easy to go overboard buying things for the new nest. There’s no room in a dorm or on-campus apartment for most furniture, cooking, or electronic items. A long car or plane move will prune baggage down to the essentials. Bed, Bath & Beyond and other stores try to sell you all kinds of back-to-school appliances and conveniences that will probably end up on the curb or in the dumpster.
Then again, a gift certificate to a nearby IKEA will let your teen locate many cheap basic household items, even though the furniture there is short-lived and needs assembly. A tour with them of local thrift stores and yard sales is also fun and will yield some heirlooms-to-be.
5. Give Them Music
As I said, young adults love music. If he or she doesn’t have one, an iPod (tiny music player) is not cheap, but will be used and appreciated for a long time. The iPod Nano is the deluxe version; the iPod shuffle, at about $60, is still great fun. iPods come in many colors and can be clipped to their clothing.
If the teen already has an iPod, an iTunes gift card is useful so they can download new music (legally).
Don’t forget to include some earbuds or headphones with your music player, to get the sound to his or her ear (and not yours, if he or she is still living with you). Skullcandy is a beloved brand and makes the pocket-sized earbuds. They also make inexpensive over-the-ear 
headphones which get good reviews and shut out the boring sounds of reality.
headphones which get good reviews and shut out the boring sounds of reality.
6. Give Them a Camera
Throughout their childhood, they have been memorialized in photos and videos. Now they might want to do the same to the world at large, to memorialize friends, landscapes, and good times. Canon's inexpensive point-and-shoot cameras are surprisingly powerful and take great photos with little effort.
7. Give Them Something For Their Art or Hobby
Lessons are great for reminding those being shoehorned into responsible adulthood that there’s plenty of life and fun to be had between “work hard/study hard” and “party hard." People of all ages have passions and curiosities that need to be developed. Depending on your teen’s particular interest, lessons might include drawing or painting, guitar, piano, drumming, scuba, climbing, dancing, photography, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, kayaking, or river running.
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