If the 18 year old in your life will be heading off to college, they will need all the standard critical equipment like a laptop, a cell phone, and of course, a dorm fridge. This will likely be their first ever kitchen appliance. It will get heavily used and abused, covered in stickers and gooey neglected spills, and eventually sold on Craigslist. The ritual is a rite of passage.
For many wide-eyed young adults, the future looks ripe with opportunity as they imagine the glorious journey they’ll have while turning all their dreams into realities. Of course we know, most of those dreams will not materialize and many enthusiastic attempts at success will end in miserable failure. As this enlightening book explains, this seemingly endless floundering is actually the typical path towards real prosperity. Most of the important lessons in life are learned through mistakes and failures, lessons that culminate at some point (even if through sheer brute force and stubborn determination) in eventual success.
At only 18 years old, they’re probably just getting used to being occasionally called ma’am or sir. Let them have the distinct honor of correcting people by saying, “actually it’s Lord.” They will have the legal right to that moniker with this gift of 1 or more square feet of an actual Scottish castle. The micro-deed is legal and legit, the proceeds go towards restoration efforts at Dunans Castle.
If they're the creative type, this Adobe subscription is a perfect 18th birthday gift. It will give them access to the most powerful creative applications on Earth, well, in the cloud actually. They’ll be able to make professional videos, animations, music, websites, graphic artwork and more, and of course, they’ll always have the latest version of Photoshop.
18th birthday parties tend not to feature clowns entertaining the kids who attend, but that’s no reason to think an 18 year-old doesn’t like balloon animals. Acknowledge that they’re still a kid at heart and respect their new adult sophistication with this fine-art version of the classic balloon dog.
18 year olds have heard the elders speak of the analog era when all of humanity’s knowledge and art was stored on paper and organized by Dewey Decimal number. Now they can own a piece of “ancient” history that will become more and more rare. And they just may get some use out of it when the coming solar flare takes down the power grid once and for all.
Even if a person on the cusp of adulthood knows exactly what they want to do when they grow up, they might still have no idea how to actually get there. Enter the career coach. This 18th birthday gift will whip them into shape for the world of work, and teach them skills that will last a lifetime.
By the time they turn 18 they will have filled their share of notebooks. They’ve probably used a whole tree’s worth of paper. As digital technology replaces antiquated practices like writing with pen and paper, products like this are a nice bridge between two worlds. The Rocketbook smart notebook gives you the satisfaction of writing your notes by hand but also saves a digital copy of what you write. Once the pages are full they can be deleted and reused.
An 18 year old that is moving into a dorm or their first apartment probably doesn’t own a lot of furniture. They also may not have a great track record for taking good care of their things. A full-on Lazy Boy recliner would be nice, but also hard to move, expensive to buy, and heartbreaking to spill dinner on. Here’s a much more affordable alternative that is comfy and practical, but also okay to toss in the dumpster after the party gets out of hand.
Written by James Bond himself (or, you know, an actual real-life spy), this eye-opening book is packed full of genuine, practical tips for self-protection, and is a great present for any loved one or friend. Guaranteed to come in handy during a kidnapping, mugging or zombie apocalypse, you might just save their life one day.
Admittedly, this is kind of a niche gift. But somehow, inexplicably, this has become a giant niche. Fans of the animated sitcom - as well as the associated blog, comic book, and soundtrack album - will have a great time geeking out to these real life, chef-tested recipes for the outlandishly-named burgers the show is famous for.
A lot of 18 year olds are already well versed in the ways of not giving a f*ck, but not many are very subtle about it. Help them express their lackadaisical side with a little more class, so they can blend in with the rest of us, who also don’t give a f*ck, but are forced to pretend that we do.
If you know an 18 year old who is heading off to college, they are probably excited and a little uneasy about stepping into a world full of new challenges that they will need to navigate on their own. Help them prepare for the experience before they go, so that they can get the most out of their education and avoid common pitfalls of the under-informed.
If the birthday boy or girl will be moving away for work or college, a hometown map puzzle is the perfect gift to quell home sickness and help them appreciate their roots. Unlike most puzzles, there is no picture guide on the box to refer to when trying to place the pieces, they’ll have to rely on their own memory of the lay of the land to get through this one.
Watch opposing armies fight for supremacy on the living room wall with this piece of functional art. Grandmasters and novice players alike will appreciate checking their opponents on the most unique game board in their home. Framed like a picture, this chessboard makes a lovely 18th birthday present for anyone who loves to play games.
Surprise! That boy you used to know is now old enough to vote, sue you, and enlist in the Army. But it seems like only yesterday he was just learning how to drive a car. A lot of changes and new responsibilities are coming, and that boy needs to know all the basic man stuff to get through it. Stuff like how to respectfully break up with a girl, how to drive a manual transmission, and how to use a circular saw, like a man.
If they’ve got a hankering for a hoedown on their 18th birthday, but just can’t get the 17 piece band together, then the self contained hootenanny could be the perfect solution. It’s always ready at a moment’s notice, never misses a note, and with over 13,000 songs in memory it could play continuously until their 90th birthday shindig.
Don’t let mother nature’s inability to harness her own electrons cramp their style. Now they can stay connected even when far from civilization. Plus, this little gadget will make them the most popular person on the block when the zombie apocalypse comes.
The only problem with an oven is that it’s so much bigger than a pizza. Nobody knows why. This rotating pizza oven is compact and has separately-controlled, programmable bottom and top heating elements so your pizza comes out perfect every time. Fast, efficient, energy-saving, and delicious.
Just the emergency poncho alone is enough reason to splurge on this handy-dandy lifesaving satchel. Once they crack open those light sticks, they'll be jumping their battery in true style and bringing some much-needed illumination to the dreaded shoulder of the road. Outfit their vehicle with these self-help essentials. Don’t let them go it alone!
If you know someone who’s big on taste, we think they’ll love this giant peppermill that will keep their food flavorful for years to come. Not only that, it’s a great talking piece at dinner parties, so it’s particularly useful to have around if they’d rather talk about something other than getting another year older.
Give the gift of beautiful views, bucket-list achievements, and especially if they’re afraid of heights, hours of entertainment for you. It veers away from cruel since it’s completely safe, but you’ll definitely get your money’s worth watching them rotate between admiring the splendor and clutching the basket while praying in four languages. Especially since they only speak one.
In case you’re not aware, death is always clawing its way into you through every pore. Make sure everyone else knows this too by giving them this book. 18 year olds can be especially clueless about this harsh reality. Shatter their precious illusions of health and vitality, in the most entertaining and hilarious way possible. A perfect gift for your favorite hypochondriac.
They may have outgrown their sandpits and toy trucks a fair few years ago but they’ll never grow out of these ones. Let them relive their childhood dreams with a day in the ultimate playground. Crushing cars and taking on obstacles in heavy machinery, the perfect big adventure for your favorite big kid.
The ultimate guide to what they should have learned already, with a title that communicates what you can’t bring yourself to say out loud. The world may be a nicer place than the one you grew up in, but it still can’t help punishing dumbasses. Help them get it together.
People weren’t joking when they said this coffee is the sh#t. The undeniably rich, full-bodied flavor produced by these rare beans has redefined the food chain and flipped the coffee industry on its head. Perhaps one of the most imaginative adaptations of the farm-to-table movement, this coffee product is redefining waste management.
Good luck convincing them this isn’t an acid flashback. This remote-controlled fish will be a welcome break from conventional pets that need feeding and only stay in the air for a few seconds. Holds enough helium to turn any house party into a chipmunk colony.
If they're big on cookouts but small on yard space, perhaps a compact fold-up grill could be the answer. Easy to take with them on whatever adventures they have in store, and a bag of charcoal will last forever with this thing.
Why bother with messy paints and long drying times when there’s a perfectly good computer to paint on? The digital paintbrush mimics the flexibility and feel of the real thing, and even leaves brush stokes. It can simulate painting in oil, acrylic, watercolor or charcoal and is compatible with most touchscreen devices.
Did you know that 18 is old enough to fly a plane solo and obtain a private pilot's license? Leaving the earth and relying on your own wits to return in one piece is something every young adult should experience. Help them give the middle finger to gravity with a few introductory flying lessons.
People love venturing into nature for the near mystical experience of being connected with our pre-civilized roots. We feel a strong, implacable pull toward wild places like the desert and the forest. The problem is, nature really just wants to eat you. This book tells you how not to let that happen.
Kombucha is the ancient art of making tea into something half the people who try it will love and the other half will vomit back onto your carpet. The people who love it are objectively correct, because it makes you live forever (almost). Anyone who has fallen head over heels for it will do the same for you if you buy them this homebrew kit.
If they’re anything like us, they’re not wild about some anonymous person manhandling their pork. The problem is, of course, that someone has to turn it into bacon. A make your own bacon kit is the perfect gift for someone who really wants to take control of their lives, starting with the most important parts.
You might remember that snow cone maker from when you were a kid with the crank and Snoopy on top. It was disappointing; it was hard to turn and it made tiny snow cones. This thing, though. This makes real deal snow cones and uses electricity. This is not for kids.
Lobsters have many, many great qualities, not least among them are their nutritional and flavor profiles. But they’re dumb as dirt, exceptionally slow, and don’t drive. So if it’s inconvenient for you to go all the way to the ocean to find the best lobsters, you’re going to have to get someone to mail them to you. Thankfully, lobster mail is now a reality.
Who has time for trial and error? Folks today demand fast-acting, proven solutions to their everyday conundrums. A modern stand-in for the tried and trusted Farmer’s Almanac, this back pocket companion is more reliable than your great-grandmother and more concise than an open-ended Google search. Believe it or not, some of the “smartest” solutions have been around for ages.
Big ideas can change the world, but so do small acts. Not all of us can create the next Google or reinvent the energy industry, but we can all be better at being human. This international, online-integrated card game provides the ideas and the motivation to spread goodwill everywhere you go, one act at a time.
Since the dawn of time, chaos, terror, and death have periodically rained down from the sky. Only the lucky were spared. But now we have weather radios, so you can go inside instead of dying. This one also conveniently charges your phone so the next hurricane doesn’t have to interrupt your game of angry birds.
Flowers don’t just look nice and fill the air with pleasant aromas, they also carry various levels of symbolism. Much like the zodiac, each month has its own flower variety, reflecting the character of everyone born therein. Or at least, that’s what someone decided a long time ago. And it sure is a nice idea. Regardless of whether the person you’re buying for really is a carnation at heart, or whether they’re more of a Venus fly trap, these earrings are going to look great on them.
Celebrate their roots with one of these insanely comfortable t-shirts to remind them where they’re from. A great antidote to homesickness and scratchy-clothing syndrome. And if someone should find them drunk and unresponsive on the front lawn, they’ll know approximately where to send them.
We are intelligent survivors by nature. Despite its ominous name, a worst case scenario can be a lot of fun, provided you have the tools available to pull a MacGyver-like exit. This little kit can save someone’s life over and over again. Check that, only their primal genius can save their life. But this lends a helping hand.
Bacon is the official food of the month, every month of the year. Now somebody has gone a step further and made a delivery service with a special kind of bacon for every month. Every time we go a level deeper with bacon it just gets better. Rumor has it Elon Musk is working on a bacon replicating machine. It’s about time he did something useful.
If there’s one skill that every responsible citizen should have, it’s the ability to access things that aren’t theirs. But you better believe you don’t get there without practice. Some day they’re bound to come across something they want that has been locked away by some other thoughtless and selfish human. Don’t let them approach this dark situation unprepared.
Buy them a couple tickets to a great event or show as a little test. Will they give the extra ticket to you? You just gave them this very thoughtful gift, after all. Or do they keep them both. In which case, maybe they just get a box of chocolates from the drug store next time.
What better way to say that the pen is mightier than the sword? This knight pen holder will be their most loyal servant in all of their clerical crusades. Whether they’re battling with the bookkeeping or feuding with their filing, help will be at hand. And yes, their grocery lists deserve the royal treatment too.
