In celebration of teenage birthdays

If you follow us on social media, you’ll know we’ve got A Bit Of A Thing about milestone teenage birthdays.  And we’re not just talking becoming a teenager at thirteen or an adult at eighteen – although obviously they’re the really big ones, we think that turning sixteen and seventeen are pretty momentous too.

It might be because as mums we’re counting down those last precious birthdays before they turn eighteen or because, in our houses at least, there is a huge amount of excitement each time a birthday rolls around.  Particularly when it’s a seventeenth – the provisional licence is applied for, the theory test booked and the days are counted down until they can finally get behind the wheel. With our full support, too, as we see mum taxi duties coming to an end!

So how do you make those birthdays as special as they feel to the teen in question?  It’s hard, as celebrations and presents have to be acceptably ‘cool’.  Having lived through eleven of these birthdays between us (not that we’re counting!), we’ve got a few tips that we hope will help.

• Make it extra special behind closed doors. They don’t have to share it on social media but they’ll secretly be delighted with a fuss just like you made when they were little.  We’re talking balloons, banners, doughnuts and piles of silly presents.
• Plan lots of different celebrations – with family, with friends. A quiet meal out on the day itself with just immediate family (if it’s a school night), plus a bigger family celebration, plus a party or gathering with friends at the weekend…. you get the idea.  This way, it feels as if the birthday goes on for ever and the birthday boy or girl feels very much loved!
• Buy them gifts that show them just how special they and their milestone birthdays are. We’ve picked just a few of our favourites to give you a few ideas.

#1 Food is close to every teenager’s heart.  This fab pennant is from the awesome Steph of Flat102 and tells it how it is in a way they will totally relate to. We love it and we know our teens would too  ????????

https://flat102.co.uk/collections/wall-hangings/products/spread-your-love-as-generously-as-you-spread-nutella-wooden-pennant

#2 The glorious https://deptstoreforthemind.com/ is launching a new teen section.  We’ve had a sneak peek – their Ten Deep Breaths bracelet is one of the best ideas we’ve seen for ages. It’s looks great but is also perfect for quietly managing stressful moments – and we love that it’s unisex ????????

https://deptstoreforthemind.com/product/ten-deep-breaths

#4 And, of course, we think our Sixteen, Seventeen and Eighteen cushions make a brilliant gift.  Super soft and cuddly, they remind them of their big birthdays long after the day itself, in a way that’s acceptably understated and stylish (tested on teens, of course!) ????????

 https://equipp.co.uk/products/seventeen-cushion

• Finally, make sure they document these all-important birthdays. Get them to take an ‘official’ birthday photo (in case the others aren’t as flattering as they’d like!) as well as reminding them to choose and print out some of their favourite photos from all the different celebrations.  Keep their cards for them to look back on in years to come – especially the ones from their friends, with all the funny, silly and cryptically meaningful messages.

We hope you’ve found this helpful. If you’ve got stories to tell or advice to pass on, please leave a comment! We’d absolutely love to hear from you.

Anna & Louise x