The Best 18th Birthday Gift Ideas 2020
- Jennie Roe
- Jul 26, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Sep 17, 2020
The 18th birthday is a significant milestone for many reasons. It is the legal age. It is the last year of high school and the first year of college. It is the year you are considered an adult. It is the year you can legally gamble, marry, and buy cigarettes. It is the year you can vote.
In Pilipino culture, the 18th birthday is marked by elaborate parties that rival weddings. In Japanese culture, the coming of age is celebrated on one's 20th birthday. In American culture, the "Sweet 16" is a milestone birthday, and in Jewish culture, the coming of age is celebrated with a bar or bat mitzvah at 12 or 13 years old.
18th birthday gift ideas can range from the simple to the extravagant. Keep in mind that the special 18-year-old in your life is in the midst of a momentous transition from childhood into adulthood. The transition is simultaneously exciting and unnerving. Understanding this period of growth and transition can inspire the best, most thoughtful, and useful gifts. And the 18-year-olds of 2020 are exactly what this gift list had in mind.
Nothing says "I'm a college student" like the Moleskine Classic Journal. Leather-bound notebooks like the Moleskine were used by great writers and artists like Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh. They look and feel sophisticated with their understated classic style. The quality of the paper inside is superior to any journal you will find elsewhere, so you do not have to worry about pages ripping or ink bleeding through. Journaling is one of the best things we can do for our mental health. It sparks creativity, provides an outlet for self-expression, and for some reason, it just makes you instantly cooler carrying it around. Your 18-year-old can carry the Moleskine in his or her bag and can pull it out any time inspiration strikes. Click the image and find it on Amazon.com.
When it comes to the 2020 18-year-old, water is the new wine. Millennials and Gen Zers drink less alcohol than previous generations. Their health and the environment rank high on their priority list, so you would be hard-pressed to find any 18-year-old who did not own a reusable water bottle. This makes the Hydro Flask Water Bottle an ideal gift. Note that water bottles are not made equally. Generally, you want non-plastic, BPA-free, stainless steel, effective insulation, superior quality, and clever design. The Hydro Flask checks off all of the boxes. I have tried many water bottles as they are kind of an obsession of mine. The Hydro Flask is a hands-down winner. It keeps my drinks hot or cold for an impressively long time, I love the fun colors and design, and I never experience the metallic taste and mouthfeel I often get with other stainless steel water bottles. Click the image and find it on Amazon.com.
Fjallraven is a Swedish company that is crafting sustainable, well-designed backpacks and other gear that just beg you to get outdoors. But you do not have to be out in nature to enjoy this backpack. The Fjallraven Kanken Classic Backpack was designed for everyday use. It is large enough to carry the essentials for a full day on campus but also light and understated enough for a hike or trip to the beach. It is water- and dirt-resistant and even has a seating pad for when your 18-year-old wants to pop a squat on the quad with friends to reflect on the morning's economics lecture. Click the image and find it on Amazon.com.
Today's 18-year-olds love products that combine nostalgia with modern technology. The Polaroid Originals OneStep+ Bluetooth Instant Film Camera definitely fits the bill. This camera gives you old school Polaroid photos--you know, like the ones you shake (even though you really don't have to shake them, FYI). But with the ability to edit and enhance on your phone. The camera has Bluetooth capability so you can connect instantly to your cellular device anytime, anywhere without any cords. Millennials and Gen Zers love to photography anything and everything, and the Polaroid Originals OneStep+ gives them a new way to flex their creative muscles.
Glossier is a makeup and skincare line that is all about highlighting natural beauty. This natural makeup look is exactly what 18-year-olds of 2020 are going for. Glossier's tagline is "democratize beauty" because they believe in creating products that people want. Forget the overdone eyebrows, caked-on foundation, and glam eye shadow; 2020 makeup is light, bright, and barely there. Glossier does hip, cool, and fresh better than most. Their design and aesthetics are simple and understated, making their products a joy to use.
The Apple Watch is the best wearable on the market, and the Apple Watch Series 5 does not disappoint. Though largely similar in features to the Apple Watch Series 4, there are two upgrades that make the Apple Watch Series 5 worth checking out: always-0n display and improved battery life. Whether you opt for the Apple Watch Series 5, Apple Watch Series 4, or Apple Watch Series 3, which you can find a great deal on these days, the Apple Watch is a perfect gift for any 18-year-old. This watch allows you to track your workouts, send and receive text messages, make phone calls, read emails, use GPS navigation, and so much more. If you have an Apple iPhone, the Apple Watch is the only wearable you will even want to consider as the integration is seamless. Our favorite feature? Pinging your iPhone from the Apple Watch when you have misplaced it.
Millennials and Gen Zers are discerning about their coffee. This is not an instant coffee generation. The COSORI Electric Gooseneck Kettle is perfect for your artisan coffee drinker. The pour-over coffee method produces a better flavor than regular drip coffee, so if your 18-year-old is investing in small-batch, uniquely-flavored coffee grounds, the pour-over method is the preferred way to prepare it. The COSORI Electric Gooseneck Kettle was made for pour-over with its slim, gooseneck shape, ideal for a slow, steady stream of hot water over a single-serving coffee filter. With five different settings, this kettle can also make the perfect cup of tea or late-night instant ramen snack.
Portable, wireless, and a rich sound--that is the JBL Charge 4. 18-year-olds want nothing more than to play their music loud wherever and whenever. Music is the heart and soul of young people of every generation. Music defines one's adolescence, college experience, and young adulthood. Therefore, it deserves to be played on a quality speaker that you can take with you anywhere. The JBL Charge 4 can be tucked away in a backpack, taken on road trips, packed for camping trips, and enjoyed by the pool. The JBL Charge 4 is waterproof so you never have to worry about getting it wet. Its rugged design and powerful sound make it the consummate musical companion. It is a popular item amongst 18-year-olds and you are almost guaranteed to find one in a majority of college dorm rooms everywhere.
Green tea's health benefits have been touted for centuries, but matcha is what brought green tea into modern pop culture fame. 18-year-olds want to matcha-fy everything from lattes to desserts. To a generation of yogis, vegans, and start-up founders, matcha green tea is the quintessential beverage. If your 18-year-old is going to drink matcha green tea on a regular basis, he or she should know how to prepare it properly. The Tealyra Matcha Kit has everything your 18-year-old needs to prepare and drink matcha like a pro. This beautiful set comes with a bamboo tray, a sifter so you never have clumpy tea, a whisk, whisk holder, and a beautiful ceramic matcha bowl. Preparing matcha tea is a ceremonious act in Japan, and there is no reason why you should not be able to replicate the experience at home.
You can never go wrong with a scented candle, and Boy Smells Original Collection Candle is the new 'status' candle that will get your 18-year-old wondering how you got to be so hip. Diptyque may have provided Harry and Megan's Royal Wedding candle, but Boy Smells is the new status candle is that is less formal and more accessible. A status candle is one of those things that every young person wants and needs but doesn't always want to spend the money on. Boy Smells is a Los Angeles-based company that conceived candles "beyond the gender binary". While many candle companies trend towards feminine scents, Boy Smells is made for women and men alike. Scents with masculine notes like cedar, ash, firewood, and smoke give Boy Smells a unique signature and perspective. The candles slow burn for about fifty hours, and their branding, with its pink label and simply perfect font, make it the 2020 gift for any young person in your life--and hell, for you, too.
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