Alicia64 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 My parents never made a big deal of certain birthdays. No Sweet Sixteen, nothing special for our 18th, certainly not for our 21st. It never occurred to me either until I saw friends doing special birthdays. My teens turn 18 soon and I want to make it special. At the same time, they have laptops, cell phones, ability to play remote videogames w/ friends from our former state. Both are set in the vehicle department. We were doing an Alaska cruise last summer that of course was cancelled. Not sure if that will be possible this summer. But that would be a cool gift if travel opens up. Any ideas would be awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harriet Vane Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 We made our kids an Acme Grown-Up Kit. Inside the box were zillions of random, labeled items they would need as grown-ups. Off the top of my head— Compass so you know where you’re going Voter registration instructions so you can choose wise leaders Bible so you have help from above Cookies for when you need a pick-me-up Fish scale so you can weigh your choices and on and on. There were soooooo many tchotchkes in the box. Much hilarity in the unpacking. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheReader Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 hmmm. We don't go that big....let me think. Some ideas: Nice watch or other jewelry item nice jacket/suit/clothing item that they otherwise might not buy themselves but would want/appreciate (ex: one of mine asked for nice cowboy boots and a trench coat) luggage? compile 18 smaller gifts....? (although, that is what we do on 21st around here) do they have any interests that might lend clues....? like, upgrade a musical instrument, or bike, or hiking/camping gear, or.....?? would you feel comfortable having the friends from the former state come visit? a surprise trip (worked out with the other parents) could be a fun gift, either bringing those kids to you, or sending your sthere, or something, if you and they all feel comfortable with something like that 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Alicia64 said: Alaska You can fly in, rent an RV, and travel, boondock. You'll LOVE it. We did it for two weeks, would go back in a heartbeat. I enjoy cruising too btw, but you don't need that to do Alaska. You'll have more fun if you don't do it that way in fact. I did big parties for my dd every few years. Not sure the gender on yours, but we had fun with mystery parties where the whole house was themed and people were characters acting it out over the course of the evening. You can buy kits. https://www.mymysteryparty.com/murder-mystery-parties/ I'm pretty sure this is the place I used. We've done them twice. They're marked for age ranges, number of people, etc. Comes with everything you need, just print and prep. Super fun. We did a Princess Bride party one year and that was amazing. We got this giant 4' RAT pinata. You buy them online. Definitely a rodent of unusual size. Ok, at that My Mystery Party, we did their Nancy Drew spinoff (Mancy Crew?) and Ravenwood Masquerade, which I think is now called https://www.mymysteryparty.com/masquerade-murder-mystery/ Both were clean, workable, fun. They even come with ideas for the food and suggestions on how to time/space things. Edited March 18, 2021 by PeterPan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Birthdays in our house are typically really low-key, but we did a little more this year when DS turned 18. He made the day special for himself by waiting until that day to make official his acceptance to his Dream School 🙂. He even allowed me to take some fun, silly school spirit photos for his insta account. Because he’s going to university overseas and doesn’t need anything, we just bought him the much coveted Dream School sweatshirt and swag, and a few silly things from said country. I made a special dinner and bought a ridiculous, fancy cake and just really enjoyed the day together. I’m sure it doesn’t sound like much, but he’s a kid who never wants to do anything on his birthday so it was extra special to be allowed to celebrate him. ❤️ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 We do very low key birthdays but for 18, each one plans a week long trip with dh anywhere in the lower 48 states. We’ve never had much money for travel (did the obligated Disney trip once and a couple of trips to gatlingburg) but with just two people going we can pull of a great trip rather than a skimpy trip for 8 people. Oldest ds chose road trip to nyc, did the tourist things and even scored tickets to phantom through the Broadway lottery system. oldest dd chose road trip to Florida keys, with a one day stop at Disney dd turning 18 is planning a camping road trip to Utah this summer 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 13 minutes ago, saraha said: We do very low key birthdays but for 18, each one plans a week long trip with dh anywhere in the lower 48 states. We’ve never had much money for travel (did the obligated Disney trip once and a couple of trips to gatlingburg) but with just two people going we can pull of a great trip rather than a skimpy trip for 8 people. Oldest ds chose road trip to nyc, did the tourist things and even scored tickets to phantom through the Broadway lottery system. oldest dd chose road trip to Florida keys, with a one day stop at Disney dd turning 18 is planning a camping road trip to Utah this summer That’s a fun tradition if one has multiple kids. We were hoping to send DS to Costa Rica to visit a friend, but obviously that can’t happen this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 3 hours ago, saraha said: We do very low key birthdays but for 18, each one plans a week long trip with dh anywhere in the lower 48 states. We’ve never had much money for travel (did the obligated Disney trip once and a couple of trips to gatlingburg) but with just two people going we can pull of a great trip rather than a skimpy trip for 8 people. Oldest ds chose road trip to nyc, did the tourist things and even scored tickets to phantom through the Broadway lottery system. oldest dd chose road trip to Florida keys, with a one day stop at Disney dd turning 18 is planning a camping road trip to Utah this summer Love this idea! How long are their trips normally? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) Thanks! The older two went for 7 days, I think the next one is 8 since they are camping eta: I take that back the Florida trip ended up 8 days too Edited March 18, 2021 by saraha 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Tiggywinkle Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 4 hours ago, saraha said: We do very low key birthdays but for 18, each one plans a week long trip with dh anywhere in the lower 48 states. We’ve never had much money for travel (did the obligated Disney trip once and a couple of trips to gatlingburg) but with just two people going we can pull of a great trip rather than a skimpy trip for 8 people. Oldest ds chose road trip to nyc, did the tourist things and even scored tickets to phantom through the Broadway lottery system. oldest dd chose road trip to Florida keys, with a one day stop at Disney dd turning 18 is planning a camping road trip to Utah this summer I love this. I am almost 40 but now I wonder if my dad would take me on an awesome vacation for my birthday... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said: I wonder if my dad would take me on an awesome vacation for my birthday... I took my dad to Disney. It was really fun to go as adults. We had never had money for something like that when I was a kid, and it was good father/daughter time. My ds was along, haha, but we still had fun. Edited March 19, 2021 by PeterPan 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saraha Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle said: I love this. I am almost 40 but now I wonder if my dad would take me on an awesome vacation for my birthday... Maybe you can ask him! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 12 hours ago, saraha said: Thanks! The older two went for 7 days, I think the next one is 8 since they are camping eta: I take that back the Florida trip ended up 8 days too Oh how fun. We normally do trips for all the birthdays (we skipped it this last year), but for the whole family. I want to start getting back to that this year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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