Ideas for granddaughter's 18th birthday?

[Glynda]

Glynda - -I have some ideas for you now that you've described your Granddaughter (and I see why this would be hard)!
1) I'm guessing she has an Apple watch. You could get her a status / designer band for it.
2) If she's into music, a pair of tickets (for her and a friend) for a concert of her choice in the year ahead.
3) Offer to take her on an outing to pick out a piece of jewelry that she likes (perhaps you can bring her to the store of your choosing) -- and obviously give her a budget.
4) Going back to jewelry , girls that age like items with their first initial monogram. Something clean, modern.
5) You can't go wrong with a blue box from Tiffany with something inside. That would resonate with an 18 YO girl.

Thinking about Iceland - I took a big trip to my daughter this summer (Japan). I considered Iceland but set it aside b/c traveling in Iceland requires lots of driving once you are there, which isn't my idea of a vacation. Just wanted to mention that in case that matters to you.

Good luck - I hope she has a great b-day.

Thanks for the time you have put into such a good list.

She does not have an Apple watch. She doesn't seem to want one.

Concert tickets are a very good idea. She has been to quite a few but perhaps there is one that will be close by that would be extra special for her and a friend.

I forgot that she recently got a second piercing in her ears. Perhaps that is what I can look for, or look with her. Will check Tiffany's online too.

I do understand that Iceland requires a good bit of driving and while I'd like a chance to see the northern lights, I don't want to have to drive if there is snow or ice on the roads.

Thanks again!

 

[Glynda]

@Glynda - you know, you could go skydiving with your granddaughter.........
Nothing bonds like primal screaming!

Ha! I still have flare ups in my shoulder and clavicle from jumping off 20' waterfalls with her in the Dominican Republic a year and a half ago!!!! http://www.27charcos.com/index.php

Her other grandmother did skydive after she recovered from chemo and surgery.

 

[Glynda]

Spend time with them in "their world'.

I would NOT give jewelry ... as things disappear in college dorms (borrowed or broken or misplaced). Save it for graduation.

If she is going FAR away, offer to visit her ONCE each year at her college ... her choice of the weekend. This yearly gift has a (unmentioned) budget limit ... your goal is to talk with her about her 'new world' (aka life).

If within a 2 hour drive of your home, plan together an "on campus" activity every 5-6 weeks or so. School's sporting event or afternoon picnic or evening student play. Or just a brunch or an early dinner at a NEW place for her & you.

I wish that she'd want to spend that time with me! She doesn't appear to now.

 

[joestein]

Ok for my Daughter's 16th Birthday we have her a very nice Pearl Necklace. While at the time she did not truly appreciate it. Now 15 years later she loves it and admits it is the nicest jewelry she owns. She wears it for all her dress up occasions.

I am surprised. Pearls have gone out of style.

I have a double opera length strand of large pearls that were my mothers (whose name was Pearl, coincidence?). For their B'not Mitzvah I wanted to have them restrung into 2 necklaces and maybe some matching earings for them to wear (at least for the service). They refused to wear them. Pearls continue to sit in the safety deposit box. Maybe if they married one day they will want them.

Joe

 

[joestein]

The jewelry brand that many women and girls I see wearing in my area is ALEX and ANDI. My wife has bought so many of their bracelets; I think it is the reason they were able to open at store at the mall by me. They have a lot of bracelets that symbolize many different things. You might find something there that would be especially meaningful.

However, a gift of a stock in an account is best gift of all. Especially if it starts your GD on a life of saving and investing.

Joe

 

[pedro47]

A good gift card ($100.) with no hidden fees attach. We prefer Naval Federal Credit Union Gift Cards.

 

[Glynda]

I am surprised. Pearls have gone out of style.

I have a double opera length strand of large pearls that were my mothers (whose name was Pearl, coincidence?). For their B'not Mitzvah I wanted to have them restrung into 2 necklaces and maybe some matching earings for them to wear (at least for the service). They refused to wear them. Pearls continue to sit in the safety deposit box. Maybe if they married one day they will want them.

Joe

I'm not so sure that pearl necklaces are out of fashion for everyone now. A little black dress, a strand of pearls and some high heels will always be a classic look. As well, fashion is always changing, often repeating itself. Pearl earrings are worn more often than necklaces.

 

[Luanne]

I'm not so sure that pearl necklaces are out of fashion for everyone now. A little black dress, a strand of pearls and some high heels will always be a classic look. As well, fashion is always changing, often repeating itself. Pearl earrings are worn more often than necklaces.

My husband had pearl necklaces belonging to his mother and his aunt restrung for our daughters. I don't remember how old they were when he gave them the pearls, late teens, or early twenties. They don't wear them much, but when she gets dressed up younger dd does like to wear them.

 

[jehb2]

Cash. It may seem impersonal but it will not disappoint.

 

[Cornell]

Glynda -- BTW, your post really touches me. My daughter is the youngest of my dear mother's grandchildren. My mother now has dementia and my daughter has never known her grandmother as who she "used to me". My mother took her older grandchildren on special trips and would have put a lot of thought into a meaningful gift for a milestone b-day. Your granddaughter is lucky to have such a thoughtful grandmother as yourself. I hope it's a wonderful day for your family. XOXO.

 

[easyrider]

Amazon Gift Card.


Richard

My young family members like itunes or what ever the apple dealio is.

Bill

 

[Glynda]

Glynda -- BTW, your post really touches me. My daughter is the youngest of my dear mother's grandchildren. My mother now has dementia and my daughter has never known her grandmother as who she "used to me". My mother took her older grandchildren on special trips and would have put a lot of thought into a meaningful gift for a milestone b-day. Your granddaughter is lucky to have such a thoughtful grandmother as yourself. I hope it's a wonderful day for your family. XOXO.

That's sweet, thank you! I didn't have grandparents. We did have an older, childless couple next door who were as close to grandparents as a kid could ask for. My mother is 97, sharp as a tack, and has lived with us the last 7 years. Our daughter and granddaughter have spent a good bit of time with her over their lives. It was my mother who set the standard for making birthdays and holidays special. 13, 16 18, 21 and graduations were the biggies along with Christmas and Easter.
It's hard to keep raising the bar!

I'm still pondering the gift. I may give her my high school/college sterling charm bracelet and tell her the stories behind each charm ending with a couple I will add that tell part of her mother's and her story. I don't know that she will wear it. Her mother didn't. But her mother could recite what each stood for as she was used to touch each one and ask me over and over until she had memorized them.

 

[bbodb1]

@Glynda - I was thinking about this thread as I was in the middle of a Viking purge ahead of a remodel on our house.
As I was cleaning out accumulated kids belongings from over the years, I realized just how many presents / gifts 'missed' the mark or just did not resonate with the kids. While I know they cannot take everything with them when they move out, I've been thinking about what was left behind. Is there some sort of commonality to what was left?

Not surprisingly, a LOT of electronics are still here - replaced by something that came along later (something newer, faster, better, stronger...).
A lot of clothes (not surprising either since a good many of them are outgrown but more than I thought just never got worn significantly)..
More school papers, projects, etc - thankfully we have never had a fire here because if we had, there was a lot of paper in closets!

At any rate, and back to this thread, I think the takeaway here is we miss on more gifts than we hit on (in terms of what is appreciated over time). We can never be sure how any gift we give will be received (as in valued or treasured) over the long term.

If whatever you decide to do for your granddaughter is meaningful to you - and you remember and treasure it as time goes by - you've done the best you can do.
A memory that is shared and treasured is indeed preferred BUT short of that, having a memory you can recall with fondness is worth a lot too.

 

[Glynda]

@Glynda - I was thinking about this thread as I was in the middle of a Viking purge ahead of a remodel on our house.
As I was cleaning out accumulated kids belongings from over the years, I realized just how many presents / gifts 'missed' the mark or just did not resonate with the kids. While I know they cannot take everything with them when they move out, I've been thinking about what was left behind. Is there some sort of commonality to what was left?

Not surprisingly, a LOT of electronics are still here - replaced by something that came along later (something newer, faster, better, stronger...).
A lot of clothes (not surprising either since a good many of them are outgrown but more than I thought just never got worn significantly)..
More school papers, projects, etc - thankfully we have never had a fire here because if we had, there was a lot of paper in closets!

At any rate, and back to this thread, I think the takeaway here is we miss on more gifts than we hit on (in terms of what is appreciated over time). We can never be sure how any gift we give will be received (as in valued or treasured) over the long term.

If whatever you decide to do for your granddaughter is meaningful to you - and you remember and treasure it as time goes by - you've done the best you can do.
A memory that is shared and treasured is indeed preferred BUT short of that, having a memory you can recall with fondness is worth a lot too.

Thanks for thinking of this thread and sharing that. The best we can, is all we can do. It's going to be a special day regardless.

 

[AnnaS]

Many great ideas here.

Does she drive? Gift cards to stores she likes to shop for clothing/Starbucks/Dunkin/gas along with lunch/mani/pedicure to spend some time together. If lunch not possible, a bracelet or perfume to go along with the gift cards.

 

[Glynda]

Many great ideas here.

Does she drive? Gift cards to stores she likes to shop for clothing/Starbucks/Dunkin/gas along with lunch/mani/pedicure to spend some time together. If lunch not possible, a bracelet or perfume to go along with the gift cards.

She does, and thank you for the ideas. We are having lunch on her birthday with her parents and other grandparents. Then I hope some time alone with her at our home. She'll have the rest of the weekend with friends at a beach house her parents have rented. She's a sweet, but spoiled, young lady and all of the gift card, mani/pedis, lunches and shopping have been done, or given, numerous times already and would certainly be appreciated again. But for this big 18th birthday, I wanted something different and more memorable.

 

[jackio]

She does, and thank you for the ideas. We are having lunch on her birthday with her parents and other grandparents. Then I hope some time alone with her at our home. She'll have the rest of the weekend with friends at a beach house her parents have rented. She's a sweet, but spoiled, young lady and all of the gift card, mani/pedis, lunches and shopping have been done, or given, numerous times already and would certainly be appreciated again. But for this big 18th birthday, I wanted something different and more memorable.

If she has a lot of material things, you can have a star in the sky named after her. It comes with a map and a "proclamation". My son got it for his girlfriend (now wife) and it was a huge hit.

 

[bbodb1]

psst....Glynda!

 

[Glynda]

psst....Glynda!

 

[Glynda]

If she has a lot of material things, you can have a star in the sky named after her. It comes with a map and a "proclamation". My son got it for his girlfriend (now wife) and it was a huge hit.

That's a cool idea! However, "When you talk about "buying stars" or "naming stars" for yourself or a friend, you are most likely referring to the claims of one of the commercial companies who promise to do this for you for money (something of the order of $US 50). You can do this, but it is not official. Your name will not be listed in any file except the one the company who takes your money keeps. In fact, one of these companies was even issued a violation for deceptive advertising by the State of New York Department of Consumer Affairs."
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question7.html

She's a smart cookie and knows that or would find out quickly.

 

[Patri]

If she has a lot of material things, you can have a star in the sky named after her. It comes with a map and a "proclamation". My son got it for his girlfriend (now wife) and it was a huge hit.

My son did the same and she liked it a lot. They are also now married. I don't know if various organizations do that. It would be nice if the money went toward a real cause.