Happy 18th birthday: wishes, GIFs and a grown-up video

A timeline works because everyone watching knows how it ends. Give each stage roughly the same screen time, about three photos a year, fifty or so in all:

1. Baby and toddler: the first photo, the first birthday cake, first steps.
2. Primary school: uniform photos, school plays, a lost tooth.
3. Secondary school: holidays, hobbies, the haircut they would rather forget.
4. Now: a recent photo with friends, then the messages.

Gather the photos into one album on your phone and put them in order there, then Add photos and clips brings them in that order.

Eighteen is often the last birthday with the same school friends before people move away, so their messages mean a lot. Ask each friend, grandparent, aunt or uncle to film a short clip and send it to you; one person makes the video.

What to ask people to say

• One memory of the birthday person, in a sentence or two.
• One wish for the year ahead: university, a first job, travelling, the driving test.
• Their own name at the start, so older relatives are easy to recognise.

Fifteen seconds each keeps the messages from taking over. The what to say in a birthday video message guide has prompts to pass on.

If the video is the centrepiece of an 18th party, set Format to Landscape 16:9 so it fills a TV or projector, and export it a day early to test on the actual screen. A laptop connected to the TV is the most reliable set-up. Export a second copy in Story 9:16 for them to keep on their phone.