How much would you spend on your childs 18th birthday ?

glossgal

Some good ideas already, I really don't think you should worry yourself about anything lavish at all.

Not to speak out of turn but does your daughter not intend to go out and celebrate with her friends? Quite honestly all I wanted to do for my 18th was go out on the town and get drunk (mission accomplished successfully btw ). Maybe that says more about me(!) but unless your daughter is the quiet type I would've thought her energy would be devoted to this type of thing and then a few pressies from you would be more than enough?

vixarooni

oh yea, sweet 16 is well out of most peoples league! But then again, id rather have 0 sweet 16's then be the horrible people who have them!

When i turned 18, my god mother found a piece of writing about life and growing up, and put it in a frame. It was really good. Why not give her 18 pound coins or something too. I got a nice bouquet of flowers aswell for my 21st, 21 roses to be exact!

temoana42

For my last birthday my bf set up a treasure hunt which I loved. It was all quite cheap £1 shop goodies - the clues led me round the house and finding thoughtful gifts. This would work really well with pamper type things (sachets of hair conditioner/face masks etc) and then maybe a lovely cake at the end? Aas long as she feels special, it really wont matter how much you spend - she will just love that you have made a fuss of her. Good luck

deedeeliz

Lots of little things will be nice, perfume with your boots points, make-up etc

It's good your daughter's aware of money being tight, I hope she appreciates what you do with it for her

My parents weren't well off so I was always happy with whatever I received. One year they told me they were really sorry but they couldn't afford a birthday present for me until they next got paid, I shrugged and said I didn't need anything except a card and a cake. Later on my birthday mum took me to the shops, and when we came back all my friends were in our flat, it was a surprise party

Basically with girls all you need to do is let them loose in a dvd rental store (they cant watch more than 3 movies so less than a tenner, buy a stack of supermarket pizza's (Hopefully no more than £15), and dont worry they'll bring their own alcohol

robnye

at the end of the day , if your child is aware of your financial constraints for you to go out a blow a huge wad of cash for their birthday coul dhave the opposite effect, ie anger towards the fact that you have scrimped all this time, or that you have blown a load of dosh......

keep within your budget, several very good ideas listed above.....

at the end of the day, the more personal effort put into the party, the better received

merlinormartin

How about a premium bond.. she then has the chance to win some ££ and if cash becomes tight, you can always "cash in" and claim your money back http://www.nsandi.com/products/pb/index.jsp forgot to add .. i recieved bonds for my birthday, and was v happy

leoetal19

some fab ideas.
dd and i shared a spa pampering day which was brill
but a great idea is an 18th memory book-you can but special books but we did one recently for dd's boyfriends 21st and put his picture/name/dob and a huge cut out 21 in the front cover of a normal photo album
then i found out detials-who was president when he was born (south africa), the day he was born 'thursdays child is...' number one song when he ws born, headlines that year etc and piccies from him growing up with captions-right up to 21 with a blank section for piccies from his 21st/ his cards etc-we also bought a nice paper from the day-the times and wrapped it in cellophane and ribbon to keep etc-didnt cost much at all but he loved it more than his other stuff
re dd-there is a gorgeous silver braclet by hot diamomds-bout £40 for the bracelet and then you can add charms-c 12-20 pounds each-including an 18 one-then you can add to it at 21st etc etc-all sortd available-and anyone who is struggling for an idea could get her a differnt one-greta way to have somethinng special full of memories x
have a fab fab time i will never forget katies--we had the best time x

belfastgirl23

I think a little piece of jewellery is a really nice gift, even a pair of earrings or whatever. Not expensive but just something she can have for the future. I don't know your family's situation but if there was anything that you have that you might give her that would be even more special and not cost anything. I have my grandmother's engagement ring which is not worth anything moneywise but means the world to me. And being given something like that would be far more special than anything money can buy.

But it sounds like you've brought her up well and she will appreciate anything you do give her...

RoxieW

i'd let her have some friends round - get some cheap bottles of 'champagne' and some champange glasses. or mix with orange juice for bucks fix. get her a cake, some nibbles and perhaps a box set of her fave show ie a sex and the city night (with champagne cocktails and canapes). Get her some invitations to give to firends for a sex and the city themed party - she'll love that you've gone to the effort. They could have to dress up as their fave character and say she loves carrie you could take her shopping in the day for some fab shoes or something. There's aven a oard game I think? This typ eof themed get together could work for any show or whatever she's into. Add a few balloon and a cake and you're there. I'm sure she'll love the fuss1

whitty999

I spend £500 on each of my 2 boys when they were 18 but i did save hard to do this one booked driving lessons & bought other bits,my other son spent the whole lot on a gold chain,i did struggle to do this but i do believe it is what you really can afford i could of bought them gifts but choose the easy option so they could decide what they each wanted,my daughter has asked for a short break away for her 18th so i will be hoping the sun holidays are on then!