Celebrating Your Daughter’s 18th Birthday

*Collaborative post

There is nothing more wonderful than celebrating a milestone birthday and in your own home, too! When you have watched your child grow from birth to now, you are going to need a big celebration to really cheer on your child as they transition to adulthood. When she was born, you promised yourself and her that you would get her to adulthood in one piece and that’s exactly what you’re celebrating right now. She’s 18 – shes’ a woman at last and you’re about to help her to chase her dreams and realize that the big world out there is waiting for her!

You want to make sure that you are going to be able to celebrate properly and that means brainstorming all of the ways that you can make sure she feels looked after. Her 18th birthday is a huge milestone for not just her, but for you! 18 years as a parent. 18 years of guidance and love and unwavering faith in this amazing girl in your life! There’s a good chance you’ve been combing for white gold Claddagh ring options and jewellery options that will mark this amazing day, but you now need to start putting plans in place. This milestone birthday is one that she should remember for the rest of her life, and everything that you have had going in recent years should mean that you plan this birthday to the top! With this in mind, here are some of the ways that you can celebrate the biggest birthday so far:

1. Start your own traditions. At 18 years old, plenty of people put new traditions into play. You should remember that this is a coming of age celebration; your daughter has reached womanhood. This is a huge deal and it should be remembered as such, so why not start some birthday rituals of your own? From the first legal sip of an alcoholic drink, to the giant two-tiered cake that you bake from scratch (no matter how it looks) this is the time to have new rituals in your family. You could choose the colours your daughter loves, get it all set up with her favourite coloured balloons and make it festive with a surprise! Surprise parties aren’t just for the little kids out there, you know. Just because she’s turning 18 doesn’t mean that her childhood and all things fun are over. 
2. Get her to try something new. As a family you can do this one; try something new together on this very special day. It could be a whole tradition to do something that hasn’t ever been tried before. Bungee jumping? Skydiving? Her first spa day? All of these things could be a great first for her to try on this very special day. You could even make trying something new a tradition to tie into the previous point and really make a difference. Could she get her first car? That’s something new to try for her birthday. Could she take a holiday with her friends? That’s another new thing she wouldn’t have done before.
3. Little life lessons. At 18 years old, the chances are high that your child is on their way to college and if so, you need to think about all of the little life lessons you can start making sure that they know. It’s their birthday, so putting together a celebration book detailing how to cook certain recipes, or cleaning hacks you’ve known through the years, or even ways to enforce consent – all of these life hacks and tips will help them as they go out into the world. 

4. A great gift. From the jewellery you might buy to the car they might find on the driveway with a big bow, an eighteenth birthday deserves a big gift to see out the end of an era of childhood. Some families pay for a huge vacation and others look to buy something fancy. You can make it fun, however, and hide 18 gifts for their 18th birthday around the house! A scavenger hunt isn’t just for little children, and you can wrap each gift in printed baby pictures! For gift ideas, they don’t all have to be huge ones. You could have them ranging in size or importance right up to the biggest gift at the very end, and end up with a pile of gifts to enjoy. There are so many things that you can do to give a gift of value to your teenager.
5. A tribute. Your daughter turning eighteen is a big deal for your family and that means that you need to think about what’s happened in these eighteen years to get her to the end of this journey. She will never stop being your baby but as she heads out into the newest phase in her life, she’s going to step into the shoes of being a woman. This is a big deal and it’s going to make sense for you to offer a tribute to her. Online tributes are a good place to start but the ones she can take with her physically are those that will matter the most. Consider what you’re already offering as gifts and work around that as a tribute.
6. Print some photos. One of the best ways that you can celebrate this milestone birthday is with plastering the house in photographs! From birth to now, you could wallpaper across the house and make her birthday a standout event from the moment she wakes up. Celebrating her past achievements and her future self is so important and you can make sure to have the whole family there, too! 

This is one of the most important milestones in any young girl’s life, and it’s going to be an important one for you, too. Birthdays need to be celebrated to the best they can be and you can use these tips to help you to achieve what will feel like the best and most memorable day in all of your lives.