DS is turning 18, ideas?

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I'm not looking for gift ideas, but I'd like to do a few things to commemorate this milestone. I've come up with having him fill out his own passport application. He also needs to register for Selective Service, but I'm not sure I want to do that on his birthday

For his 17th birthday, he went to an R rated movie and got to buy his own ticket - I thought that was great.

Any other ideas?

[IreneLF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IreneLF]

He can also register to vote -- but he may need to be registered for the army @ sss.gov before he can (not positive about that need but think so).

He can sit for the test to become an enumerator for the census
( must be 18 to work -- it pays $15 an hour and up depending on area) -- but I know he needs to be registered for SSS before the gov't will let him work.

Drive to Canada so he can order a legal beer? (seems extreme but he;d prob like that one).

Sorry, I suck at gifting ideas.

Julianne just suggested that he should go to a club. ("clubbing! He's 18"...) She might have more ideas but she just left for the school bus.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Does he have a checking account? How about taking him to open a checking account and then....ooooooh!...ordering checks for him? You can give him a few small checks to deposit, in funny amounts so he has to enter them in his check register and practice balancing a checkbook.

[longtimer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close longtimer]

Does he have a checking account? How about taking him to open a checking account and then....ooooooh!...ordering checks for him? You can give him a few small checks to deposit, in funny amounts so he has to enter them in his check register and practice balancing a checkbook.

Hey great idea! Another thought is to give him a prepaid VISA card. Works like a credit card, but with spending limits (as much as you put on the card). If you belong to AAA, you can get a reloadable card for him that doesn't carry any monthly fees. He will learn the responsibility of keeping track of his spending. It also can be used for online purchases.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Irene, you don't suck at this, your ideas are great! He would LOVE the legal beer idea. Unfortunately I don't think there's time for that. I didn't think of registering to vote, I will look into that. I thought about the census job, but his ski shop job runs through til end of March.

I'm sure he's going out to a club with his friends tomorrow night - though they've been doing that all year.

Longtimer, we already have a gift for him, so the Visa thing won't work for now, though it's a good idea generally. Maybe when he's away next year at college. I will look into AAA - I think we use something else but can easily switch.

Wacky, the checking account is an interesting idea. Right now he's got a savings account and an ATM card, which he uses for his pay.

Thanks, everyone!!

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Longtimer, we already have a gift for him, so the Visa thing won't work for now, though it's a good idea generally. Maybe when he's away next year at college. I will look into AAA - I think we use something else but can easily switch.

Colleges actually mostly already have a sort of prepaid Visa-like thing, a card where you put money on it and then the student can use it around town and on campus for food, entertainment, whatever.

Sometimes it's part of the student ID and sometimes it's part of a dining hall pass and sometimes it's a separate card, but it basically works like a prepaid Visa. The aggravating thing is that the money often disappears when the school year ends!

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Colleges actually mostly already have a sort of prepaid Visa-like thing, a card where you put money on it and then the student can use it around town and on campus for food, entertainment, whatever.

Sometimes it's part of the student ID and sometimes it's part of a dining hall pass and sometimes it's a separate card, but it basically works like a prepaid Visa. The aggravating thing is that the money often disappears when the school year ends!

I'm sure ours will disappear long before then

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Drive to Canada so he can order a legal beer? (seems extreme but he;d prob like that one).

Great idea! Particularly since our beer is stronger!
However, not every province allows drinking at 18. Many have a limit of 19.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Rent him a limo, And invite his friends in but do not say anything, have his friends inside the limo. Tell him you are taking him out on the town so he will be dressed you can even say you got a limo when he sees his friends inside he will freak out. Oh having a bottle of Jack inside might liven things up even more and since no one is driving

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Rent him a limo, And invite his friends in but do not say anything, have his friends inside the limo. Tell him you are taking him out on the town so he will be dressed you can even say you got a limo when he sees his friends inside he will freak out. Oh having a bottle of Jack inside might liven things up even more and since no one is driving

I'm sure he would love to be your kid, BF.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I'm sure he would love to be your kid, BF.

Yhea but my wife would stop it.

[IreneLF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IreneLF]

I'd like to be Frank's kid too
When I told DD about BF's limo idea, she marveled saying this is better than anything she or her friends could have come up with.

FYI the census enumerators don't start working (for the most part) til after 4/1 when the expected 33% of the population doesn't return their forms.
Hiring and training should start before that but it could dovetail nicely with his ski job.

And again FYI the drinking age in Quebec is 18; I know this b/c of all the Smugglers' counselors going there. Ontario is 19.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

My son is also turning 18 this month and is apparently going to some concert in the city by a group with "Doom" in the name. (Actually, the concert was supposed to be last month and got postponed.)

I was, however, thinking of getting one of those giant obnoxious cardboard signs posted outside the high school with a happy birthday message...are those popular in your town?

[IreneLF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close IreneLF]

Never saw one of those signs around here Sharon.

I think you have to know your kid - one of mine would think it was her right, and that it should be there to congratulate her for at least a week, the other would be mortified.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

No signs at the high school here, but now you mention it, there is a section in the local newspaper for a picture of the birthday boy and a Happy Birthday announcement. You do see those for 18th birthdays sometimes, and I bet they're not too expensive.