The 18 Things for Turning 18

You only turn any age once, but there are certain ones that are milestones, 18 being one of the biggest. You're officially  an adult, you can suddenly, legally, do so much more than the year before. That said this year, 2023, Leah {my daughter} is turning 18 so it got me thinking of fun unique little things we could do to celebrate this next milestone. I trawled google and of course Pinterest, my absolute go to, and most of what I found wasn't quite what I was looking for and many of which were American so not completely relevant here in the UK. So with a few ideas picked up through my searches and my own ideas, I thought I'd share to give others inspiration too!

First things first, you literally can not have a photographer mum, especially one that specialises in Cake Smashes and not have one to celebrate turning 18. Although it's not something many will do, I, we, absolutely recommend it, we had such a laugh! I decided to go police mug shot style as she's now 'Legal AF' and it's completely different to any others I've seen previously. Separate post on that coming soon!

The things!!!

Now on with the actual point of this post. I was desperate for us to gift her 18 things for being 18, however there just isn't 18 things that were possible to gift in the way I wanted. That didn't stop me getting creative though ;) take a look at what I came up with;

1. Lottery Ticket/Scratch Card/s
2. Oh Sh*t Kit
3. Booze
4. Tattoo Voucher
5. Betting Shop Ticket
6. Over 18 Show - I chose Moulin Rouge
7. Voting Form?! Lol!
8. Official Adult Something...
9. 18 Badge
10. £10 for each year
11. Clubbing
12. Bingo - in our case Magic Mike Stylie lol
13. Take a Trip
14. Book a Hotel
15. Jewellery
16. Cards against Humanity
17. 18th Birthday Bucket List
18. Around the World Photo Album

As I'm sure you can see some of the items on my 18 list are simple and something you could do for any birthday, the badge in particular lol! However although many can be done at any age prior to 18 you can actually only do them alone legally at 18. So let us get started on the ones I've chosen to do from said list and those I didn't but can offer inspiration for.

Scratch Card, Lottery and Betting shop ticket

One of the first things I though of, like many I assume when thinking what can an 18 year old now buy themselves! I'm not one for gambling, nor scratch cards however when I turned 18 I bought one, done the lottery and visited a betting shop where I placed a bet and done the Irish lottery which is most likely why these 3 first came to mind!

Oh Sh*t Kit

I put together this 'Oh Sh*t Kit' for to deal with her first hangover, well legal hangover ;) lol! It's one of her favourite gifts she got! She thought it was brilliant!

Booze

When turning 18, in the UK, buying alcohol is something all do and take their ID too just to prove that yep I am old enough to purchase this! However most will go the cheap route and buy awful stuff so I decided to get her a nice bottle of Mermaid Gin, she's mentioned liking gin, and I love their bottles. However I was advised, by a gin drinking friend, that flavoured gin would be the best option so pink gin it was lol! ;)

Tattoo Voucher

This was pre-planned. We had decided some time ago to get matching tattoo's when Leah turned 18. So having the appointment booked and a voucher with the time and date on it was perfect.

Over 18 Show

Leah's wanted to see Moulin Rouge for ages so this one was a no brainer for me to choose. There's a fair amount of shows to choose from, Dreamboys was also on the list of shows she could now see but I went with Moulin Rouge as it's more of a gift in my opinion.

Voting Form...

No I don't have one, nor have I looked, however as she can now legally vote or should I say is required to, I made her this "form" to remind/let her know!

18th Badge

Now of course this is one of my items of any age however there's something special about getting a custom badge for the milestone ages you hit. Our literally wouldn't be complete without a badge from Alison over at Stitched by Sisters. Her badges are beautiful and not only do I adore them but the girls too.

£10 for each year

Every teen loves money as a gift no matter their age. I was trying to decide on the best way to gift it for her 18th and thats when the £10 for each year came to mind. Pop the £10 notes inside balloons on a board and give them darts or a pin to get them by popping them! Tons of fun.

Clubbing

Clubbing is a rite of passage when you turn 18. It's just something you find you have to do! Again this was pre-planned for us but I still made her a ticket for it. We decided on going to Tonight Josephine and over to Coyote Ugly after.
I also booked her tickets to Glitterfest but those were a surprise!!

Something Officially an Adult

When I turned 18 I got those plastic keys, and things similar. I've not seen those in particular for years however we still had to do the official adult gift. Our was a personalised Gin glass which you can soon purchase yourself from us.

Bingo!

Again on the gambling side, however I found a Magic Mike/Dreamboys style evening and couldn't resist booking for her 18 now you're 18 things!

Cards against Humanity

Most def a game for once they're adults as the original is all kinds of wrong but seriously bloody funny! If your kids aren't almost adults there is also a tame family version, however thats not one that we've played. If you go for it let us know how it is!

Take a Trip

Now this isn't one we've booked for Leah to go and do however she has a bucket list the length of the earth of places she wants to visit and is planning on some city breaks as soon as she can book them herself!

Jewellery

On her other milestone birthdays Leah has asked for items from Tiffanys. Her 13th we got her this necklace, her 16th she asked for this bracelet, we haven't bought her anything for her 18th simply because she hasn't asked for anything particular and personally I find jewellery to be best bought when it's something the recipient wants.

Book a Hotel

Now that they're 18 can can stay at a hotel without parental supervision, this can be booked as part of a cit break for them or in the way of a spa break! Possibilities are endless with hotel booking, vouchers, local, abroad! Whatever suits your teen.

18th Birthday Bucket List

This isn't for the fainthearted as it's a little daring for a night out! Nothing trouble worthy but likely not something some parents would want to gift their daughter, me however I thought it was great lol! You can be sure we'll attempt to check off each when we hit the town!

Around the World Photo Album/Scrapbook

Leah is training to be an Air Hostess and has big plans for travelling so this was a must for her 18th as this'll be the year her travels start, whether that be with college, alone or for work. However its a great simple gift for all as it encourages them to print their memories and not rely on digital that just isn't reliable in the forever sense, print however it! Print those memories and look back together!

If you decide to do any of the above for your almost adult be sure to tag us @PhotoPartyLondon on all socials, but not twitter lol!

Sparkles & Hugs!x