[Closed] son's 18th - no idea what to get

my dad got me a stripper for my 18th party.
pure class i think you'll agree

Coke and hookers?

Coke and hookers

EDIT: Curses! Beaten to it!

He does not need a nice watch.

Need? What is this need you speak of? 😕

A tattoo.

A quality plain black leather wallet? Still using mine nearly 20 years later.

Got my son a rally driving experience day for his 18th. Did think about an off-road course.

Planning a parachute jump for my 16 year old when he gets to 18.

Pair of socks.

Lump of Coal.

And an orange if you're feeling generous.

our son's 18 shortly..

Already at university, so trying to downplay the gadget slant. I can't recall what I got at his age.

FWIW he's always been dead keen on science, engineering, so I went with him on a big trip in the summer, as an early 18th / bonding holiday - to visit CERN - which is something he'll hopefully remember for years..

{edit} was trying to emphasise thinking of a trip, experience (as above) rather than a gadget - easier and tempting though that is. Wallet would be good, maybe a decent pair of shoes even..

My thought with significant birthdays is it needs to be something he'll treasure or a memory he won't forget.

I got a watch, I'm nearly double the age now and I still wear it, in fact I have it on now. Alternatively, take him/send him away somewhere, be it a long weekend in Rome or a trip to see his football/rugby/whatever team.

The only thing I remember getting on my 18th (and still got) is the pewter beer tankard I got from my parents.

Is that an appropiate presi for an 18th in this modern age?

Entirely up to you. There's really no social norm, unless you're a ponce.

Pretty sure I just got money and that was spot on as I could go an buy exactly what I wanted. 21st was actually bigger for me (got my first proper road bike)

My thought with significant birthdays is it needs to be something he'll treasure or a memory he won't forget.

As above, coke and hookers.

Take him down the brothel. Time for him to start earning his keep.

TBH 18 doesn't feel like the right of passage it used to, I love the idea of significant presents but in practice, I got usual birthday stuff, and that was probably better. (my parents cleared off for the night, we had a classic empty, got the police around, perfect)

I can totally understand an 18 year old wanting a Z5 (obviously not part of the iPhone herd) but I can see where you're coming from - 18 is one of the 'big ones' if not the biggest Birthdays and if I was in your position I'd want to give something that they will keep for a long time to remember you and him 'becoming a man' not an electronic trinket which will be obsolete and forgotten in 2 years.

A very nice leather wallet isn't a bad idea (as above) they do last a long time - I'm only on my second, my first lasted 20 years and I've still got it in a drawer, I suspect you can spend stupid amount of money on wallets (a fool and his money are easily parted - NOT if you have this £3k calf skin badboy - that's how I'd sell them) but you can probably find a decent one for not much and get him something a bit flashier and disposable as well.

A car?

I'd want to give something that they will keep for a long time to remember you and him 'becoming a man'

So it's a present for you? 😉

Really depends. I'm not really sentimental about things so something to keep for years wouldn't be high on my agenda.

I got glandular fever for my 18th (although not from my dad)

Buy your son a decent suit that fits him properly.....and some good shoes.

It'll help him get a job and start to pay his own way....

a personalised numberplate.

MBMC18 or something

Get him what he wants [i]and [/i]a keepsake, perhaps? A present that he grows to love might seem a bit poo at 18.

One of the best "keeper" gifts I ever received was a leaving present from my first job. It was a high-end Swiss Army Knife, big lump of a thing with all the screwdrivers and bottle openers and tools for removing boy scouts from horses' hooves and all that jazz.

At the time I thought, "that's a nice novelty but I'll probably never use it" but it's been either on my person or not far away for the best part of two decades, used day in and day out and taken a battering, and it's still works as well as it did when I got it. Annoyingly, I finally lost it last year, gutted. The Best Man at my wedding bought me a replacement as a wedding gift, and that's now taken the place of the old one at my side.

So, yeah. Point is, I didn't initially understand the value in what I'd been gifted. So maybe get him the phone, and also give him a SAK or a wallet or something else likely to build sentimental value.

thanks guys,

Pewter Beer mug - I got one as a christening present - that my Dad then used for the next N years until I reposessed it - dents and all.

Swiss Army penknife - My Dad gave me a whopping one of those too & I felt exactly the same - why - & then proceeded to use it for years to come & still do.

@Couger - like your thinking, get him what he wants & a keep sake as well.

I got a fancy laptop but also a Leatherman from my parents, 11 years on the laptop is long gone but the Leatherman is used regularly and I would be gutted if I ever lost it!

+1 for a Leatherman or top notch pocket knife. Some RM Williams boots? Bestest ever boots ever.

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i got a synth as a combined birthday & xmas present. then i swapped it with my a level music teacher for the next model up (result). that was in 1997 and i was using it all day today 🙂

@Couger

Who? (-:

Tell him
"taps aff, oot the back"
Your still in charge.