Commemorate

• Eighteen is a landmark age. It is a rite of passage that we often associate with growing up and achieving adulthood. Commemorating this age for your teen is a gift that he will no doubt appreciate later in life. A commemoration can come in the form of a scrapbook, a picture book or even an edited video. You can organize family photos for this purpose, but a better way to commemorate your teen's life at this stage would be to make prints of her Facebook photos. Of course, this should be done only with her permission. Printing her online photos is particularly important because the photos are in a medium that may or may not be preserved over the years.
  
  

Watch Something

• Many a successful party has been based on the shared experience of watching something, whether a sporting event or a movie. Consider a themed movie marathon: High school or college movies are an appropriate choice since 18 is often the year for the transition from high school to college. If the birthday teen is a sports fan, take all your guests to a sporting event. If your parties often end up with people sitting around staring at one another, branch out and seek a form of spectator form of entertainment you'll all enjoy sharing.
  
  

Driving

• Although the minimum age for licensing is 16 in the United States, not everyone gets a drivers license immediately. But by the time your teen turns 18, chances are that most of his friends will be licensed. Check out a go-kart track for the chance to show off their driving skills. Many tracks that feature higher-powered vehicles require a license, so make sure everyone comes prepared.
  
  

Lottery Tickets

• While gambling may not be a healthy habit to develop, a lottery ticket on your teen's 18th birthday is a symbol of his development into an adult. Sure, he's unlikely to win anything, but the lottery is one of the activities that becomes legal at 18, making a ticket a timely gift. Better yet, give him a dollar or two and have your teen go and buy his own ticket. He'll love showing off his I.D. when the clerk asks for it.
  
  

Politics

• Eighteen is an important year for a citizen's relationship with her country and the democratic process. Lowering the U.S. voting age to 18 was a hard-fought battle and is a right not always exercised enough by today's youth. Help your new 18-year-old register to vote or encourage civic involvement by presenting her with a newspaper or news magazine subscription. You can even make politics a party. Invite the friends over for a TV debate or to watch a political movie as part of the 18th birthday celebration. You might even have voter registration forms on hand for the brand-new young adults.