I don't have a daughter, but I've BEEN a daughter, and I was given a special trip by my parents when I turned 18 to visit friends who lived near the beach in Florida. Would you consider funding a special trip for her, either taken with or without you? The "things" are nice, but in my experience, the trips are what stay with you for life.

Yes, I like that idea... but we have done that for each kid's 16th bday. Each of our kids (she is our youngest) gets to pick a destination with a parent for a long weekend trip of their choice. Oldest DS picked Cleveland (go figure) for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. Second DS picked Chicago, where he and DH saw a baseball game at Wrigley (vs their beloved Boston Red Sox). And DD got the spa weekend with me, which included a baking class at King Arthur Flour.

She and I will also be going to FL for a gymnastics meet (one that she's competing in -- not to watch) two weeks after her bday, so she gets a trip regardless!

I still wear the gold bracelet I rec’d.

I know it's corny, but my mom gave me two lovely sweater coats and I still have and wear them. One was given to me the day I went away to college. It has gone in and out of style TWICE lol! Not sure where you live though, YMMV.

An estate Art Deco ring with her gemstone. Something like this but her birthstone.

On her 18th birthday we gave our daughter, an only child of older parents, so yeah, she's a little spoiled materially, a diamond solitaire necklace, bezel set in yellow gold. That was done on purpose, I wanted to distinguish it from the silver jewelry she wears all the time but didn't want to use trendy rose gold because I hope she wears it her entire life, and I didn't want it to scream "2016". We used a responsibly sourced diamond from our local jeweler, which cost a little more, but is important to her and us. She wears it quite often and has even broadened her earring choices to include many gold colored options as well (she has something like 9 piercings between her two ears, it's the style), which, to me, is the ultimate endorsement of the metal color choice.

I’m in the same boat with my niece who turns 18 tomorrow! I got her a pair of stud earrings in her favorite 14 k Rose Gold & Masonite Stones. She’s a tomboy at heart which made it really hard to get something “special” that she’d like.

What about pearls? We gave our daughter a freshwater pearl necklace from Tiffany's and, while she does not wear it often, she does love it for special occasions. I think a gold locket (new or vintage) would also be a timeless gift.

I also really like my Apple watch so I would vote for that as well. Just not something she will have forever. And another vote for experiences. I'm not helping, am I?

Another vote for a special piece of jewelry, either earrings or a pendant. We gave our daughters gifts of nice jewelry starting at the age of 18. Classic pieces never go out of style. Youngest DD just told me recently that she "found" one of her diamond stud earrings inside a sock. She is now 30 and should know better. One thing I always insist on is screw on backs to prevent loss (however, does not prevent dumb packing issues!) Happy 18 to your DD!

In a catalog somewhere I saw a silver bracelet that inside said "protect this woman"...which is a nice sentiment and also recognition of her becoming an adult. I'll try to find it...it was very pretty.

Found it easier than I thought: https://www.bestamericanarts.com/Protect-This-Woman-Bracelet

I gave my daughter pearl earrings when she turned 18. ( Full disclosure – – it may have been her graduation present as her birthday was a day or two after.) She seems to wear them very often.

It's a tough one. Plus you feel like you have already done 16, and then on top of 18 you have HS grad and college grad...it is hard to think of things "you will have forever" for all those occasions.

Pearl studs or diamond studs are pretty darn timeless but they can feel boring. (Unless of course they are huge and wildly expensive, but that'd be dumb and looks odd on a young woman anyway.)

I do like the Elsa Peretti initials at Tiffany, in yellow gold. Very personal taste though. I think they are youthful but timeless.

The classic of course is a watch, but IMHO a watch that is for life is pretty pricey and should be for a college grad.

You could get nice luggage, if you think she'd like that.

My parents gave me stock, which is what I did for my son too, but for a lot of kids that is a total yawn.

My DGD loves jewelry, all kinds. She is very careful with her ‘good’ stuff, so has been gifted with nice pieces off and on since she was 13. I gave her rings for both her 18th birthday last November and for her HS graduation. Yes, I know it sounds redundant, but she truly loves nice rings more than nice necklaces or earrings and they were different, with one having a more casual look than the other with a small diamond in a twisted white gold band she could wear in a middle finger.

My 16th, 18th, and 21st birthday gifts were family jewelry items: a gold and ruby lavalier that was my maternal grandmother's, a double pearl ring in a silver filigree setting that was my paternal grandmother's, and a tsavarite and diamond ring that was my favorite aunt's. Anything you're willing to pass on now rather than later?

So many formal occasions are on the horizon for an 18 year old. Pearl studs seem practical and special at the same time.

We did the trip option for both kid's 18th. The girl (as always) was more complex as I drove she and five friends to Las Vegas to see Britney Spears in the first month of her residency. My husband took our son and his buddies to a couple Red Sox games in the Bay Area. They were both thrilled with their choices. I'm thinking we also gave them a nice gift but uhhhhh I can't recall. Must not have been that "nice"!

Terri, I love that last ring! Where did you find it?

This is what DD wears a lot — she likes plain and simple and small (she is small herself!).

She got this for 8th grade graduation.

And I think this was for her 16th bday.

And she has a similar single pearl necklace to this, which I bought on Amazon for like $30 last Christmas and she wears it almost every day.

She also has a Korean charm necklace she wears a lot — the adoption agency gave it to her when we visited last year.

She has pearl earrings that we bought in Hawaii...

I’m thinking maybe a ring or bracelet since she seems happy with her current selection of necklaces and fake diamond earrings. She has a Cape Cod bracelet that she wears quite a bit.

I think she‘d like something like this. I have a couple of pieces myself from this Etsy artist.

Delilah, I wish there was family jewelry to pass along! There’s nothing except for a couple of things from my mom that are pretty blah. I should peek in my old jewelry box and double check, though. My mother’s idea of good jewelry was Monet — anyone remember Monet jewelry??

Would she wear a simple signet ring with her initials or monogram? A good quality gold one is very classic and I wore won with other rings pretty much until I had an engagement ring.

I like the jewelry ideas but just to throw a wrench in the works, what about some good Frye boots or a designer purse or backpack?

Sue, I remember Monet jewelry lol. I'm not sure where I found that last ring as I just did an estate Art Deco ring google search. Actually I did that search looking for a much simpler white gold and diamond estate Deco ring like mine. It was my most favorite ring ever. I had to have it cut off when I broke my finger and havent had it fixed because I can't find the little blue bag after the move. Anyway, I liked it because it was somewhat wide but not sticky-out-y. I received so many compliments on that ring. It was an easy everyday ring to wear.

Sueb, I like that ring a lot, especially with that setting. It's a lot more durable than the ones with prongs. Maybe with her birth stone?

Just stumbled on the Mejuri jewelry site...delicate, well priced stuff. Never heard of it before. Cute gold signet rings too, Mtn! I think she would wear one.

Unfortunately she doesn’t like her birthstone (like Mtn, she is anti-red).

Purse could be a good idea but she has a couple that she likes a lot. And she has a Kate Spade wallet that she inherited from me. Omg she really is spoiled.

We gave Emily pearl earrings for her 18th birthday. They turned out to be the perfect gift, as all the girls in her college sorority wanted or already had a set of pearl earrings. I also gifted her with a number of my inherited pieces of good jewelry. But, we also gifted her with a small personal safe that attached to her (under) bed in the dorm (freshman year), sorority house, etc., with a state-of-the-art chain and lock (LOL). She still wears the jewelry. . . and still loves and uses the safe in her grad school apartment. THAT was also a very good gift!

What a good gift idea Lynn. How did the safe attach? Can you share the one you bought?

Terrilynn: I found it on Amazon then, and just found it again for you. It’s called “The best college dorm safe V5.0” for $249.99. There were many less expensive ones, but those could realistically be picked up and carried off by some thief. I wanted a small personal safe that she could physically attach to the underside of her bed, etc. The added expense, in my mind, was worth it to safely hold her passport, drivers license (freshman year =no car), good jewelry, etc. And, when her sorority house caught fire during her sophomore year, that safe kept everything in it from being destroyed. Just then, it earned every cent we payed for it!

Taking notes, dd's 18th is 1/7.....

Just wanted to say that your birthstone can include your zodiac sign Stone or your month of July or whatever Stone. So if she falls on a certain zodiac sign she could use moonstone etc. "Because these two Zodiac signs span part of July, both are listed in this table. Birthstones for the calendar month of July are ruby, sapphire, onyx, sardonyx, and carnelian. The Zodiac signs of Cancer and Leo include five additional stones: emerald, moonstone, pearl, diamond, and tourmaline." http://www.bernardine.com/birthstone/july.htm

Signet ring! Yes! I still have mine from 12th birthday, but it doesn’t even fit my pinkie. I hope I remember this mtn when my granddaughter turns 12!

Also thinking maybe stacking rings, that way she can wear just one or three or whatever.

Sueb20, I have given DD 2 stacking rings so far from Pandora and she wears them everyday. She doesn't stack them though, she wears one on each hand. She wants another one instead of a class ring...works for me ;-)