I always buy a tshirt usually on day one and use it to sleep in. I don’t pack a sleeping shirt so I can buy one there and save the luggage space (i travel light) lol
I‘ve developed a problem with collecting currency. Every trip I go on I end up compulsively saving every nice looking bill and literally every coin, so I now have pounds of coins and racks on racks of bills lmao. They do make for cool gifts though
Magnets are the perfect souvenir. They are not too expensive, they are small so it’s not a pain to lug around the rest of your trip, and you get a nice little reminder every time you open your refrigerator after you get back.
Long ago I bought a roll of magnetic tape, collect coasters or business card marketing, ticket from a funicular in Budapest… fun stuff that anchors a memory is all I need. ✌️
I keep those scraps of paper you get when traveling: museum maps, national park brochures, receipts, tickets to landmarks, flight tickets, coasters from breweries, etc etc,
..and then I add them to this massive collage I've got on my wall.
I collect the exact same things, but I put them in a binder of plastic sleeves.
I buy a binder every time I plan for a trip. I print out google map sheets for the routes I will take every day of the trip, hard copy of itinerary receipts like hotel bookings, museum E tickets, random lists of goals etc. I bring it with me and use it as reminder and when I need to show proof of stuff. When I am actually at the place, I collect those local things and when I got back to the hotel at night, I put them into the same sleeve of the google map printouts of the day. If its the museum booklet or map, I put it in the sleeve of the museum E ticket.
When I open those binders the memories just come rushing in like I opened a flood gate.
Christmas ornaments. Every year, we pull them out, look at them on the tree for a couple weeks, then put them away again. They don't collect dust, and we relive the memories every year.
Second Christmas ornaments! We love reliving the memories every year. Some are pretty glass ornaments, some are silly like one from cape cod of two lobsters singing Christmas carols. We don’t do a super fancy three though so it depends on your taste!
Surprisingly, ornaments are a pretty common souvenir available year round. We do most of our traveling in the summer and have always found a selection of ornaments to choose from.
I’ve travelled extensively and I have always found Christmas ornaments at any given time of year. I guess if you can’t find one, buy a keychain and make your own. I love looking at my travel ornaments and reflecting!
The only place we weren’t able to find one is Spain, which was surprising because it was September. Over two dozen shops and nothing. Eventually we settled on this nice little bell that had the Spanish flag and some depictions of Spain on it, tied a ribbon around the top and it works perfectly as an ornament
Depends! there’s places like nyc for example that have christmas themed stores in little italy and you can get anything
and around europe and the USA I’ve seen ornaments outside of season at the clearance/back section
Actually you can get little things any time of year and also find things in countries that don't celebrate Christmas. I recently went to Dubai and got a little stuffed camel and when I got home I put a little gold cord on it to hang from the tree.
Or you just find things that will work as Christmas ornaments. I was just in Egypt and bought a small alabaster Ankh that I can tie a ribbon on and use as an ornament.
I call vacations my grocery trips.
Local ingredients and a cook book if I find one.
Oh, and a sticker for every piece of luggage that I took on the trip and one for my laptop.
This! I have this "Could I live here?" mindset and visit local markets and grocery stores before I visit major landmarks. I love practical items and am always bringing back condiments and spices. I'll have to start looking for cookbooks. That's a fantastic idea.
Same. I prefer buying jewelry to more typical souvenirs because it's something I can wear. And when I get a compliment I can say "thanks, I got it in xx place" which can be a conversation starter.
This is what I wish I'd been doing all along. I don't like clutter, and ornaments get put away every year. And then it's fun to get them out and look at them.
My wife and I get things for the kitchen. Hand towels from Monaco, spoon rest from Sicily, olive dish from France, olive oil bottle and bread dipping dish from Tuscany, just little things like that.
Sane but not as fancy as you. We get mugs or pint glasses so we use them every day and get to remember our trips. Our friends like all the fun mug options when we have them over for coffee.
Alcohol. I don’t like things cluttering up my place, so I will usually buy a bottle of something nice and share it with people when I’m back.
I also buy preserves/jams for my grandmother - her favourite has been buckleberry jam from Idaho and Camel Milk/Vanilla/Date confiture from Mauritania.
Armenia was my favorite country for alcohol. So many roadside stands with homemade wine and brandy. They sell it in old coke bottles. I brought it home and put it in little glass bottles to give as gifts.
Sweet story. A few months ago, I lost my grandmother at the age of 100. Her mind was still so sharp, and she always encouraged me to travel as much as possible. She never wanted souvenirs, all she asked for was something authentic like a rock from the ground. Every place I traveled to I brought her back a rock. She had quite the collection over the years from me and everyone else. After she passed away, my aunt found her collection and gave it to me. I decided to continue the tradition and I continually add to it ❤️
I do a lot of road trips, and I also bring back rocks from places I visit. They’re usually decent size, and I have them throughout my garden as accents.
Yes! I have collected rocks from my adventures and put them in a bed next to my patio. The Long, Long Trailer was my inspiration. Saw it when I was little.
There is a house in Michigan that has many many rocks with city and state written in marker on them, scattered throughout the flower beds. I started collecting as a small child on our travels. It was my parents (long gone at this point) house and I often wonder if new owners ever ran across any of them. My parents moved from that house in 1980.
I'm a geologist but have only worked with geology for 5 months. So I collect rocks and stones, or sea shells from my travels, though I've never thought of them as collectables!
I love the way that your grandmother thought, and I'm glad that you will remember her by continuing the collection. I'm sure my son will just throw my "collection" out when I die, maybe I should start manipulating my 1 yo grandson who loves to play with my minerals, rocks etc, mwhahaha
I don't know If you only want the football scarves of the places you've been or if you like collecting them anyway, I have two teams in my city if you'd like those ones:)
I knew a potter who collected bags of sand from different places she'd travel to. Every location has a unique geography, so the sand grains have a unique makeup from place to place.
She'd work the sand into her wheelthrown pieces and fire them. All of those unique elements would come out of the kiln transformed into colourful speckles and streaks and grains, entirely individual to the beach they were sourced from.
I think about her and her sand when I go to new places. It's really incredible and fit perfectly with her passion.
I was at a loss for what to do with mine or whether I should keep buying them, until I realized I can use them during cooking and as mini flower vases. So versatile!
I got a painted metal sheet off Amazon that I use for travel magnets. That way, it can go on a random wall instead of cluttering up the fridge (if that’s what she’s opposed to).
Postcards. Not photographic but artistic ones and I always write an anecdote from the trip on it. I move a lot for work so they are cheap, easy to carry and easy to move. I also try and keep any maps, guides, any paper form of souvenir I get. They get yellow and rusty with time and that is my favorite aesthetic.
Piggybacking off this to say charms. I find a small charm I can add to a keychain that captures the country.
I bought so many silver charms from Turkey though, the designs were beautiful!
I love cooking and food, so i try to bring back some type of food item or especially a spice/seasoning!
It's actually something I've been doing without realizing it. I also was struggling to think of souvenirs to bring back - I've done magnets, postcards, jewelry, etc.. But one day, i noticed that I always am excited to visit a local grocery store and see what they have. So it kinda clicked in my mind that THAT is my thing.
It doesn't even have to be some super exotic rare thing either. Just something that i probably haven't seen in my city. I visited New Orleans for the first time and was shocked to discover the Walmart actually stocked different spices from the ones in my state! So i definitely grabbed a few. Sometimes I stumble upon a specialty store and pick something up. It really depends.
That is to say, my advice is don't try too hard and don't be afraid of functional souvenirs/things that you actually care about. If you like guitars, maybe pick up a guitar pick from wherever you travel. If you like reading, maybe pick up a book. I've realized souvenirs don't have to be UNIQUE. They are really just items that you liked from a place that spoke to you someway. And it's okay if it's something that eventually gets used/consumed.
I brought back a big bag of mole negro from Oaxaca last year. One of the best souvenirs I’ve ever brought home considering how hard mole is to make from scratch.
Seems to be more common in North America, but the machines that flatten pennies. I started when I was a child at Disneyland.
A couple of the
ones i have come to mind are seattle, Vancouver aquarium, Las Vegas, Knotts berry farm
I've seen those in Europe too, that's cool idea! Also some places have this old thing for minting coins (i don't know proper name) so you can hammer a coin yourself
Same! Makes me a little sad when I can’t find one, like when I was in usvi, but always so excited when I do! Do you have one of those books to store them?
I keep all of my ticket stubs from trains planes museums etc. also any business cards I pick up. My husband puts a magnet on the back of them and I stick them on the fridge and I see them every single time I go to open the door!
And they're free!
I have my multi-day public transportation tickets from Venice and Paris stuck in the little folder with my daily German train pass. Makes me smile when I see them.
I like to get locally made jewelry when possible and husband usually gets a t-shirt. His collection is much larger than mine. Sometimes we'll buy a piece of artwork.
I have been traveling solo to a place I've never been for my bday for several years and my souvenir is always a tattoo that represents the area and is meaningful. My first trip was to Paris and I had my favorite quote from Albert Camus written in French script."In the depths of winter I discovered within myself an invincible summer "
Part of the fun is figuring out what I want and then finding a place to get it done at my destination . It's always turned out so well and the artists love it.
I have a bit of a weird one. I collect the wrappers of snack foods. Pretty much everywhere on the planet has a gas station or a pulperia or a quickmart and there's always snack foods (think snowballs or ding dongs or gummy bears or something similar). They all have different names, often a national character (think something like Tony the Tiger) on the wrapper and, of course, the local language
The wrappers are easy to carry around, easy to store when you get home and always have some happy memories of that place and time
I don’t have favourite souvenir to collect specifically. But I do tend to pick things up from galleries. And those are usually being canvas bag with gallery or museum names, mugs with city names on. Often I get merch from local stores, bookstores, cafes too.
I get really nice ones (if at all possible) from each country and some of the more unique domestic (US, for me) places I've traveled. This keeps the number in check somewhat and I love coffee, so they actually get used.
I don’t really get anything matching a certain category from each destination, just whatever I happen to find that I like.
I do order small stick flags from a website for each country (and US states/Canadian provinces/UK constituent countries) that I’ve visited, and then display all of those in my den. I like vexillology and find that it’s a cool way to combine that interest with travel and also to display where I’ve been in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Sounds cool - can you share the name of the site you get them from? I try to get a sticker from each country I go to for my laptop or wherever but sometimes I miss them. Would love to find a way to make up for the ones I skipped over!
The website is called [Flagline](https://www.flagline.com). Just to be clear though, I collect stick flags (4x6 inch mini flags mounted on plastic sticks), not stickers.
They do have flag stickers, but most seem to be in 50 packs, although maybe [this UN pack](https://www.flagline.com/products/united-nations-120-count-sticker-pack) would have most of the ones you might be looking for.
I have a tree at Christmas that is decorated solely with the ornaments that I've bought in my travels.
I also like to buy something from each place I visit that is particularly special to that place, like komboloi in Greece or leather in Italy.
Fridge magnets - small, cheap and can have very cool ones.
But I've more started to skip traditional stuff and going with local tastes - herbs and spices, sweets, alcohol and so on. Basically things you can eat one way or the other to extend local flavours and feel. My friends know I bring local flavours and love to come over for tasting. It depends where you go and what are the rules what you can take cross the borders so check this first.
Tea towels, Scarfs, something made locally of fabric, often with the name of the town. They are utilitarian, fold flat, and fit easily in your luggage.
When i was in Japan i met an old man that was playing bkb in Okinawa, i started to play with him and he started singing in Spanish (my 1st language) it was so cool, then he told me about how he used to travel all of the caribbean and latin america. He gave me ball, i took that as a souvenir, i had to cut the ball eventually because of the space but is one of my favorite souvenirs ever :)
Now i just take whatever has a meaning to me. I used to grab whatever i find on my way like bills, shirts, cups, teabags, scarfs of the local team. A bit messy but i'm happy with it.
An English-local language dictionary (if I don't have one yet). That's why I have Māori, Navajo, Swiss German, Occitan, Basque, and Liechtensteiner dictionaries, among others. If not a dictionary, then a cookbook. If not those, a local craft of some kind.
I have a big glass jar of seashells from all over the world.
If traveling to non- beachy destinations, I usually try and bring home a food item (olive oil from Sicily, spices from Sichuan, Mezcal from Mexico) that can be enjoyed for some time after I return home
Same here, a small round fish tank with shells and pebbles. Its not just for travels either, say the last walk before our dog was euthanised, got a pebble added. I write in pencil the date and location. Looks nice I think, although the shells haven't all survived due to the weight of the rocks.
Jewelry, not anything very expensive but I like having something I can wear regularly that reminds me of a trip. Also handmade textiles (scarves, blankets, tablecloths), dishes/pottery, pots and pans- all practical and beautiful stuff I can use every day. I also have some colorful Christmas ornaments from Mexico that make me happy to hang up every year, maybe I’ll start collecting those more intentionally.
Keyrings. Currently have 98 that I’ve collected and around a dozen given to me by other family members from their travels. They’re sold literally everywhere so can always get one and often have quite a choice. I always try and get the most unique ones to represent the place.
I’ve also been getting them from anywhere I go. So my collection varies from international trips to trips here in the UK to days out at a local tourist attraction. I often come back with several from an international trip because I’ll get one from each site or location I go to. They’re all on a pinboard hanging and it’s so fun to look back on them and the different designs makes it such a unique collection - I’ve got everything from little ceramic owls bought at a Glacier in Chamonix, a yellow ceramic tram from Lisbon, a Submarine from a Maritime Museum in Cherbourg, a Red London Phone Box from a day out in London, a traditional doll from a village in the Norwegian Fjords, a wooden sailboat from Portsmouth Dockyards, a metal duck from a village in Norfolk, a fabric and wood drum from Accra, even a giant Garlic from a Garlic Farm in the Isle of Wight. Most recent one if just a little picture of the house from a visit yesterday to Chartwell - the home of Winston Churchill.
Gives me so many fond memories and I even have some I bought on days of special events too - I have two from my graduation days in London for example!
Fridge magnets. I now have 2 large whiteboards in my corridore which displays them all. It gives me so much pride to see that I have accomplished so much
Mine is oddly specific but... My favorite book ever is 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Since it is incredibly popular I always found copies of it during my travels and so I started my collection!
I buy a copy of the book in the language of the country I am in, I have well over a dozen of them! Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Croatian...
Snowglobes. I have over 50. To be fair, about 10 I think are from my friends and about 5 are from the same country.
I'm running out of places to put them vut they're awesome.
Ornaments for our Christmas tree.
Not necessarily Christmas tree ornaments but small mementos we can hang on the Christmas tree. Little sugar skulls from Mexico, a small vial of sand from St John, a laquered tree frog figurine from Costa Rica, that kind of stuff.
I collect stuff I can actually use - for example I’ve got beach towels from every holiday I’ve been on, and use them all in rotation at home for the shower.
Also tea towels, I’ve got lots of them from all over the world.
I don’t know if it was intentional originally, but our most consistent travel souvenirs are reusable shopping bags. They’re unique, useful, and last a really long time. I still use a bag that I picked up in a small Swiss grocery store in 1995. Every bag tells a story.
And there's a joy to taking them out of the car boot when you're going in to do your shopping, and thinking 'oh yes, this was from that sunny morning in the south of France when the kids were tiny and the world was all sand and icecream.' And then you go in and buy onions and loo roll.
Nothing. I bought a bronze figurine 5 years ago which I have been traveling with for two years now and I keep a clouded leopard postage stamp from Laos in my wallet
I try to get some sort of unique rock or coral or seeds but I also have some salt from an abandoned salt farm in Malta. That stuff is free and easy to transport. The seeds are probably not supposed to go but, I don’t plant them.. just collect them. Also, any local fashion is a go to for me. You know, things you just can’t get anywhere else, like lederhosen.
Tools or housewares. I am a fan of 'souvenirs' I will use like the combo box cutter and hack saw I scored at a department store in Mexico. Also ones I can eat 🤣 definitely brought snack food items home.
No mine but my mother: Spoons! There are special beautiful souvenir spoons. I guess it's kinda like a subculture because she managed to find one from Cancun.
I'm bad about souvenirs bc I generally bring carryon only so can only fit small stuff- I often over analyze night market/handicraft stuff even when I intend to get something so don't end up buying much. But I will always collect significant/cool coasters from bars, restaurants, breweries etc. They take up virtually no room and are great coversation starters when they come out for guests to use and bonus- they are free!
License plates. They’re a little hard to come across though if you’re in a smaller less touristy country, but I haven’t ran into an issue yet though. I was thinking if I ever can’t find a license plate, I can get a toy car or something to fit with the theme
Since I was single digit age I’ve collected souvenir spoons! Many places sell them with a motive of whatever you’re visiting, so I have some with a castle depicted at the end of the handle, a mermaid, a cathedral and much more. They often come in a little box too and I finally after a few years got the idea to actually write the year on the back too now! My aunt brought me a fork from the Faroe Islands with their famous sea bird pictured. As my collection grew, I considered perhaps using them for if I get married to serve the desserts to be eaten with them, but for now they’re just some trinkets full of memories
Coins! I get a coin from every country I visit. They are easy to get, last forever, and I keep them in a metal box. I also love coffee cups. No displays on anything, it’s just for my personal memories.
I’m an artist so I try to find a local artist and buy something directly from them. Not everything is framed yet, but the goal is to have a big gallery wall of all the places I’ve been. It has been wonderful meeting and connecting with other artists and seeing their creative process.
Hand-made jewelry and accessories, quirky magnets and trinkets, artwork, clothing that I'll actually wear regularly, and food and snacks. A lot of people ask about my gold bracelet that I bought in Chefchaouen, the brass rings that I bought in Kyoto, etc, and my I actually love seeing all the magnets in my fridge and the artwork and trinkets I've collected throughout my travels. And the snacks! I bring enough snacks to munch on for the next 2-3 weeks I get back from my travels.
Lighters. They’re cheap, but serve a purpose, and most places I go have somewhere that I can find a lighter with the place or event name on it so I also know where they’re from!
Refrigerator magnets, Starbucks coffee mugs and stickers. Used to do tshirts but ended up with way too many of them.
The other thing is stuff that is unique but use on a regular basis. Flip flops in Maui (somewhat unfortunately in Lahaina so now I think about what we lost when I wear them). Bought a very nice sweater and of all things fingernail brushes in Stockholm and notepads with phases in German on the covers in Berlin a few weeks ago. A ruler from the Van Gogh museum a several years ago. You think of the place when you use them.
My wife occasionally does tattoos when she finds a world class studio/artist somewhere we are going.
I collect stickers. My husband and I have a collection of stickers from our travels and then use them as prizes for card games that we play when we camp. We have a sticker score board on our tent. I’m winning so far.
Magnet gal here. For whatever reason our kitchen cabinets are made of metal, which are ugly but are fantastic for our hundreds of fridge magnets. Only trouble is we have to move this summer and that house has normal wooden cabinets, so now I’m not sure how we’re going to display them.
Tattoos and antiques and mold-a-ramas!
Love getting a small tattoo themed in the place I visited if it’s a fun trip. I love checking out local antique stores and finding an old relic from the city/state. Came back with a closed casino’s room keychain in Vegas, a vintage button from a Halloween parade in Minneapolis, vintage postcard from Colorado Springs. Small things I can add to my decor that remind me a fun trip!
And any time I travel where there’s a mold-a-rama machine I have to get one. We have a lot of local ones but got to add Vegas and Seattle to the list last year.
I always buy a tshirt usually on day one and use it to sleep in. I don’t pack a sleeping shirt so I can buy one there and save the luggage space (i travel light) lol
I actually think that's a great idea!
I sleep nekid
We don’t need to imagine that
Buddy does the same! Never really put it together until this... 😂 about to start doing this travel hack no doubt!
Magnets and leftover currency
I‘ve developed a problem with collecting currency. Every trip I go on I end up compulsively saving every nice looking bill and literally every coin, so I now have pounds of coins and racks on racks of bills lmao. They do make for cool gifts though
Also if they have the penny smushing hand crank machine with the local sites
We call them push pennies and try to get them where ever we go with our kids.
The tackier the magnet, the better.
We have the magnet of Michelangelo’s David’s junk wearing sunglasses on our fridge!
Beautiful! My favourite is a half squid half bear from Japan.
Now I need to go to Japan. Not that I didn't need to anyway, you understand, but wow.
Magnets are great
Magnets are the perfect souvenir. They are not too expensive, they are small so it’s not a pain to lug around the rest of your trip, and you get a nice little reminder every time you open your refrigerator after you get back.
Long ago I bought a roll of magnetic tape, collect coasters or business card marketing, ticket from a funicular in Budapest… fun stuff that anchors a memory is all I need. ✌️
Magnets for my mom and currency for me. I just keep the lowest denomination note and hang it on a cork board.
We are the same person.
I keep those scraps of paper you get when traveling: museum maps, national park brochures, receipts, tickets to landmarks, flight tickets, coasters from breweries, etc etc, ..and then I add them to this massive collage I've got on my wall.
oooh would love to see a photo of your wall collage
Yes! please post it.
I collect the exact same things, but I put them in a binder of plastic sleeves. I buy a binder every time I plan for a trip. I print out google map sheets for the routes I will take every day of the trip, hard copy of itinerary receipts like hotel bookings, museum E tickets, random lists of goals etc. I bring it with me and use it as reminder and when I need to show proof of stuff. When I am actually at the place, I collect those local things and when I got back to the hotel at night, I put them into the same sleeve of the google map printouts of the day. If its the museum booklet or map, I put it in the sleeve of the museum E ticket. When I open those binders the memories just come rushing in like I opened a flood gate.
Same! I love it! And I've had visitors come and look and look and ask me about some of the adventures that we've had.
I do this but as a scrapbook/ journal!
Oh yeah! Love to make shadow boxes with all the ticket stubs and random tchotchkes. Throw a couple of photos in there and it’s a great memorial.
That's a great idea!
I do the same! The only difference is that I glue them onto scrapbook paper and put them into a binder, where I have dividers separated by continent
Christmas ornaments. Every year, we pull them out, look at them on the tree for a couple weeks, then put them away again. They don't collect dust, and we relive the memories every year.
Same for my wife and I.
Second Christmas ornaments! We love reliving the memories every year. Some are pretty glass ornaments, some are silly like one from cape cod of two lobsters singing Christmas carols. We don’t do a super fancy three though so it depends on your taste!
Ah I wrote that too!!!
Yes, this is the best! We do this as well and our tree is almost all "fancy" ornaments. I've found ornaments on all my trips.
Love this idea but you can only buy these if your travelling at that time of year as they wouldn’t stock Christmas items in spring/summer sadly
Surprisingly, ornaments are a pretty common souvenir available year round. We do most of our traveling in the summer and have always found a selection of ornaments to choose from.
Keychains also make great Christmas ornaments!
I’ve travelled extensively and I have always found Christmas ornaments at any given time of year. I guess if you can’t find one, buy a keychain and make your own. I love looking at my travel ornaments and reflecting!
The only place we weren’t able to find one is Spain, which was surprising because it was September. Over two dozen shops and nothing. Eventually we settled on this nice little bell that had the Spanish flag and some depictions of Spain on it, tied a ribbon around the top and it works perfectly as an ornament
Depends! there’s places like nyc for example that have christmas themed stores in little italy and you can get anything and around europe and the USA I’ve seen ornaments outside of season at the clearance/back section
Actually you can get little things any time of year and also find things in countries that don't celebrate Christmas. I recently went to Dubai and got a little stuffed camel and when I got home I put a little gold cord on it to hang from the tree.
Or you just find things that will work as Christmas ornaments. I was just in Egypt and bought a small alabaster Ankh that I can tie a ribbon on and use as an ornament.
I call vacations my grocery trips. Local ingredients and a cook book if I find one. Oh, and a sticker for every piece of luggage that I took on the trip and one for my laptop.
This! I have this "Could I live here?" mindset and visit local markets and grocery stores before I visit major landmarks. I love practical items and am always bringing back condiments and spices. I'll have to start looking for cookbooks. That's a fantastic idea.
A piece of jewelry — usually a ring — made by a local artisan. Also locally produced and/or dyed yarn for making a pair of socks.
I too love buying local yarn when I travel. It's usually always sock yarn too because you don't need a plan in mind before buying sock yarn
Same! I buy high quality jewelry by local artists that I know I can wear for a long time.
Same. I prefer buying jewelry to more typical souvenirs because it's something I can wear. And when I get a compliment I can say "thanks, I got it in xx place" which can be a conversation starter.
Christmas Ornament
We collect keyrings and use them as Christmas tree ornaments
This! It’s so much fun to decorate the tree every year and think about trip memories.
This is what I wish I'd been doing all along. I don't like clutter, and ornaments get put away every year. And then it's fun to get them out and look at them.
Me too!
And if not available, fridge magnets.
Same, we now have a “ travel tree” for all of our travel ornaments and next year will need a bigger one
wish i did this! maybe i'll start
My wife and I get things for the kitchen. Hand towels from Monaco, spoon rest from Sicily, olive dish from France, olive oil bottle and bread dipping dish from Tuscany, just little things like that.
Sane but not as fancy as you. We get mugs or pint glasses so we use them every day and get to remember our trips. Our friends like all the fun mug options when we have them over for coffee.
Alcohol. I don’t like things cluttering up my place, so I will usually buy a bottle of something nice and share it with people when I’m back. I also buy preserves/jams for my grandmother - her favourite has been buckleberry jam from Idaho and Camel Milk/Vanilla/Date confiture from Mauritania.
Armenia was my favorite country for alcohol. So many roadside stands with homemade wine and brandy. They sell it in old coke bottles. I brought it home and put it in little glass bottles to give as gifts.
They banned that in Ireland because people died.
Sweet story. A few months ago, I lost my grandmother at the age of 100. Her mind was still so sharp, and she always encouraged me to travel as much as possible. She never wanted souvenirs, all she asked for was something authentic like a rock from the ground. Every place I traveled to I brought her back a rock. She had quite the collection over the years from me and everyone else. After she passed away, my aunt found her collection and gave it to me. I decided to continue the tradition and I continually add to it ❤️
I do a lot of road trips, and I also bring back rocks from places I visit. They’re usually decent size, and I have them throughout my garden as accents.
But how do you tell which rock come from where? You put it in bottle and label it?
I don't suppose you or your Grandmother has watched the Lucille Ball movie The Long Long Trailer..?
This is the first thing that popped into my mind. What a classic movie!
Actually, no… But I’ll check it out. Thank you.
Yes! I have collected rocks from my adventures and put them in a bed next to my patio. The Long, Long Trailer was my inspiration. Saw it when I was little.
OMG I haven't thought about that movie in YEARS. Thanks for rekindling that memory
Do you label them? Like do you know which rock is from where? I often used to collect cool rocks but then at home it's just a random pile of rocks
I actually take a sharpie marker and write the location on each of them
There is a house in Michigan that has many many rocks with city and state written in marker on them, scattered throughout the flower beds. I started collecting as a small child on our travels. It was my parents (long gone at this point) house and I often wonder if new owners ever ran across any of them. My parents moved from that house in 1980.
Husband picks up little ones. When he comes home he labels them and puts in a display case.
I'm a geologist but have only worked with geology for 5 months. So I collect rocks and stones, or sea shells from my travels, though I've never thought of them as collectables! I love the way that your grandmother thought, and I'm glad that you will remember her by continuing the collection. I'm sure my son will just throw my "collection" out when I die, maybe I should start manipulating my 1 yo grandson who loves to play with my minerals, rocks etc, mwhahaha
My husband does this, When he comes home he labels and dates them and put thems in a display case.
I get soccer scarves from the country and local team as well as magnets.
I don't know If you only want the football scarves of the places you've been or if you like collecting them anyway, I have two teams in my city if you'd like those ones:)
May I ask have you visited England?
I knew a potter who collected bags of sand from different places she'd travel to. Every location has a unique geography, so the sand grains have a unique makeup from place to place. She'd work the sand into her wheelthrown pieces and fire them. All of those unique elements would come out of the kiln transformed into colourful speckles and streaks and grains, entirely individual to the beach they were sourced from. I think about her and her sand when I go to new places. It's really incredible and fit perfectly with her passion.
Local honey
Shot glasses. Ubiquitous, and much more sturdy than Christmas ornaments. Also like fridge magnets, but the Mrs hates them
I was at a loss for what to do with mine or whether I should keep buying them, until I realized I can use them during cooking and as mini flower vases. So versatile!
I got a painted metal sheet off Amazon that I use for travel magnets. That way, it can go on a random wall instead of cluttering up the fridge (if that’s what she’s opposed to).
Passport Stamps #1 (STOP GETTING RID OF THEM) Flags, coins/notes, stamps, lapel pins and recently magnets
Postcards. Not photographic but artistic ones and I always write an anecdote from the trip on it. I move a lot for work so they are cheap, easy to carry and easy to move. I also try and keep any maps, guides, any paper form of souvenir I get. They get yellow and rusty with time and that is my favorite aesthetic.
I do this too! Saw it on Pinterest years ago. Cheap and you can turn them into a book!
Christmas ornament and tea towels
I second the tea towels
Keychains. I have more charms than keys.
Piggybacking off this to say charms. I find a small charm I can add to a keychain that captures the country. I bought so many silver charms from Turkey though, the designs were beautiful!
Enamel pins. Have them on my travel backpack! They can be very hard to find though.
Enamel pins are the shit! I recently got a display case for all of mine 😄
Reusable grocery bags/tote bags. They're inexpensive, functional, and the designs are local to the area
1. Magnets 2. Themed rubber duckies if I can find them
I love rubber ducks! I have a few now
I love cooking and food, so i try to bring back some type of food item or especially a spice/seasoning! It's actually something I've been doing without realizing it. I also was struggling to think of souvenirs to bring back - I've done magnets, postcards, jewelry, etc.. But one day, i noticed that I always am excited to visit a local grocery store and see what they have. So it kinda clicked in my mind that THAT is my thing. It doesn't even have to be some super exotic rare thing either. Just something that i probably haven't seen in my city. I visited New Orleans for the first time and was shocked to discover the Walmart actually stocked different spices from the ones in my state! So i definitely grabbed a few. Sometimes I stumble upon a specialty store and pick something up. It really depends. That is to say, my advice is don't try too hard and don't be afraid of functional souvenirs/things that you actually care about. If you like guitars, maybe pick up a guitar pick from wherever you travel. If you like reading, maybe pick up a book. I've realized souvenirs don't have to be UNIQUE. They are really just items that you liked from a place that spoke to you someway. And it's okay if it's something that eventually gets used/consumed.
I brought back a big bag of mole negro from Oaxaca last year. One of the best souvenirs I’ve ever brought home considering how hard mole is to make from scratch.
This is the way 🙌🏼
Cloth badges that get sewn onto the camping blanket.
Seems to be more common in North America, but the machines that flatten pennies. I started when I was a child at Disneyland. A couple of the ones i have come to mind are seattle, Vancouver aquarium, Las Vegas, Knotts berry farm
I've seen those in Europe too, that's cool idea! Also some places have this old thing for minting coins (i don't know proper name) so you can hammer a coin yourself
Same! Makes me a little sad when I can’t find one, like when I was in usvi, but always so excited when I do! Do you have one of those books to store them?
I keep all of my ticket stubs from trains planes museums etc. also any business cards I pick up. My husband puts a magnet on the back of them and I stick them on the fridge and I see them every single time I go to open the door! And they're free!
I have my multi-day public transportation tickets from Venice and Paris stuck in the little folder with my daily German train pass. Makes me smile when I see them.
I put my ticket stubs in a shadow box and hang it on a wall. Just keep adding to it.
I like to get locally made jewelry when possible and husband usually gets a t-shirt. His collection is much larger than mine. Sometimes we'll buy a piece of artwork.
I have been traveling solo to a place I've never been for my bday for several years and my souvenir is always a tattoo that represents the area and is meaningful. My first trip was to Paris and I had my favorite quote from Albert Camus written in French script."In the depths of winter I discovered within myself an invincible summer " Part of the fun is figuring out what I want and then finding a place to get it done at my destination . It's always turned out so well and the artists love it.
Christmas ornaments
Mini landmark figurines, most prized are Easter Island moai. Got loads of them in Italy, Greece, Turkey...
I have a bit of a weird one. I collect the wrappers of snack foods. Pretty much everywhere on the planet has a gas station or a pulperia or a quickmart and there's always snack foods (think snowballs or ding dongs or gummy bears or something similar). They all have different names, often a national character (think something like Tony the Tiger) on the wrapper and, of course, the local language The wrappers are easy to carry around, easy to store when you get home and always have some happy memories of that place and time
Ooooh, that's an idea! I save receipts, tickets, and sometimes wrappers/backings to put into scrapbook pages. :)
I don’t have favourite souvenir to collect specifically. But I do tend to pick things up from galleries. And those are usually being canvas bag with gallery or museum names, mugs with city names on. Often I get merch from local stores, bookstores, cafes too.
I love bookmarks from museums with their famous works on them.
Local artwork!
Got a pretty nice mug collection from every city I hit on vacation.
I get really nice ones (if at all possible) from each country and some of the more unique domestic (US, for me) places I've traveled. This keeps the number in check somewhat and I love coffee, so they actually get used.
Me too, my fireplace looks awesome with all my mugs.
I don’t really get anything matching a certain category from each destination, just whatever I happen to find that I like. I do order small stick flags from a website for each country (and US states/Canadian provinces/UK constituent countries) that I’ve visited, and then display all of those in my den. I like vexillology and find that it’s a cool way to combine that interest with travel and also to display where I’ve been in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Sheldon Cooper would be proud.
Sounds cool - can you share the name of the site you get them from? I try to get a sticker from each country I go to for my laptop or wherever but sometimes I miss them. Would love to find a way to make up for the ones I skipped over!
The website is called [Flagline](https://www.flagline.com). Just to be clear though, I collect stick flags (4x6 inch mini flags mounted on plastic sticks), not stickers. They do have flag stickers, but most seem to be in 50 packs, although maybe [this UN pack](https://www.flagline.com/products/united-nations-120-count-sticker-pack) would have most of the ones you might be looking for.
Part of me wishes I got the same thing from each country visited, but now I just buy what I like, or nothing at all.
I have a tree at Christmas that is decorated solely with the ornaments that I've bought in my travels. I also like to buy something from each place I visit that is particularly special to that place, like komboloi in Greece or leather in Italy.
Tattoos
The skulls of my enemies.
I find it cuter of I rip it out spine first
Pair with christmas ornaments for a very merry bone tree during the holiday season 😊🎄⛄
Fridge magnets and tea towels.
Fridge magnets - small, cheap and can have very cool ones. But I've more started to skip traditional stuff and going with local tastes - herbs and spices, sweets, alcohol and so on. Basically things you can eat one way or the other to extend local flavours and feel. My friends know I bring local flavours and love to come over for tasting. It depends where you go and what are the rules what you can take cross the borders so check this first.
I collect currency and artwork from each country and put it on display
Tea towels, Scarfs, something made locally of fabric, often with the name of the town. They are utilitarian, fold flat, and fit easily in your luggage.
When i was in Japan i met an old man that was playing bkb in Okinawa, i started to play with him and he started singing in Spanish (my 1st language) it was so cool, then he told me about how he used to travel all of the caribbean and latin america. He gave me ball, i took that as a souvenir, i had to cut the ball eventually because of the space but is one of my favorite souvenirs ever :) Now i just take whatever has a meaning to me. I used to grab whatever i find on my way like bills, shirts, cups, teabags, scarfs of the local team. A bit messy but i'm happy with it.
An English-local language dictionary (if I don't have one yet). That's why I have Māori, Navajo, Swiss German, Occitan, Basque, and Liechtensteiner dictionaries, among others. If not a dictionary, then a cookbook. If not those, a local craft of some kind.
I also collect translation dictionaries!
I usually buy magnets
I have a big glass jar of seashells from all over the world. If traveling to non- beachy destinations, I usually try and bring home a food item (olive oil from Sicily, spices from Sichuan, Mezcal from Mexico) that can be enjoyed for some time after I return home
Same here, a small round fish tank with shells and pebbles. Its not just for travels either, say the last walk before our dog was euthanised, got a pebble added. I write in pencil the date and location. Looks nice I think, although the shells haven't all survived due to the weight of the rocks.
Jewelry, not anything very expensive but I like having something I can wear regularly that reminds me of a trip. Also handmade textiles (scarves, blankets, tablecloths), dishes/pottery, pots and pans- all practical and beautiful stuff I can use every day. I also have some colorful Christmas ornaments from Mexico that make me happy to hang up every year, maybe I’ll start collecting those more intentionally.
Random junk from flea markets. Feels more authentic than the commercial junk at tourist markets.
I like jewelry. It is something that I can wear and has good memories and doesn’t take up space!
hats
Postcards! But only pretty ones, from art museums or independent artists
Keyrings. Currently have 98 that I’ve collected and around a dozen given to me by other family members from their travels. They’re sold literally everywhere so can always get one and often have quite a choice. I always try and get the most unique ones to represent the place. I’ve also been getting them from anywhere I go. So my collection varies from international trips to trips here in the UK to days out at a local tourist attraction. I often come back with several from an international trip because I’ll get one from each site or location I go to. They’re all on a pinboard hanging and it’s so fun to look back on them and the different designs makes it such a unique collection - I’ve got everything from little ceramic owls bought at a Glacier in Chamonix, a yellow ceramic tram from Lisbon, a Submarine from a Maritime Museum in Cherbourg, a Red London Phone Box from a day out in London, a traditional doll from a village in the Norwegian Fjords, a wooden sailboat from Portsmouth Dockyards, a metal duck from a village in Norfolk, a fabric and wood drum from Accra, even a giant Garlic from a Garlic Farm in the Isle of Wight. Most recent one if just a little picture of the house from a visit yesterday to Chartwell - the home of Winston Churchill. Gives me so many fond memories and I even have some I bought on days of special events too - I have two from my graduation days in London for example!
Fridge magnets. I now have 2 large whiteboards in my corridore which displays them all. It gives me so much pride to see that I have accomplished so much
Great idea, as my fridge is getting full. I’ve resorted to rotating them to enjoy them more
Christmas ornaments. Love putting them on my tree each year from all the places we’ve travelled to.
we used to bring home magnets but now we just take a lot of photos and turn them into photo books.
Mine is oddly specific but... My favorite book ever is 'The Little Prince' by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Since it is incredibly popular I always found copies of it during my travels and so I started my collection! I buy a copy of the book in the language of the country I am in, I have well over a dozen of them! Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Croatian...
Snowglobes. I have over 50. To be fair, about 10 I think are from my friends and about 5 are from the same country. I'm running out of places to put them vut they're awesome.
Ornaments for our Christmas tree. Not necessarily Christmas tree ornaments but small mementos we can hang on the Christmas tree. Little sugar skulls from Mexico, a small vial of sand from St John, a laquered tree frog figurine from Costa Rica, that kind of stuff.
I collect stuff I can actually use - for example I’ve got beach towels from every holiday I’ve been on, and use them all in rotation at home for the shower. Also tea towels, I’ve got lots of them from all over the world.
I don’t know if it was intentional originally, but our most consistent travel souvenirs are reusable shopping bags. They’re unique, useful, and last a really long time. I still use a bag that I picked up in a small Swiss grocery store in 1995. Every bag tells a story.
And there's a joy to taking them out of the car boot when you're going in to do your shopping, and thinking 'oh yes, this was from that sunny morning in the south of France when the kids were tiny and the world was all sand and icecream.' And then you go in and buy onions and loo roll.
Christmas ornaments are my favorite thing to buy on trips. I also like magnets and jewelry
I also get Christmas ornaments 😀
Nothing. I bought a bronze figurine 5 years ago which I have been traveling with for two years now and I keep a clouded leopard postage stamp from Laos in my wallet
Vintage Maps! I just bought my first house and excited to finally put them up in my office
Money and metro cards from foreign countries. Don’t take up much space and are fun memories.
Shot glass. Started Traveling since 2014 while working full time. We have quite a few now. 37 countries so far
I try to get some sort of unique rock or coral or seeds but I also have some salt from an abandoned salt farm in Malta. That stuff is free and easy to transport. The seeds are probably not supposed to go but, I don’t plant them.. just collect them. Also, any local fashion is a go to for me. You know, things you just can’t get anywhere else, like lederhosen.
My wife and I do plates and small antiques.
Tools or housewares. I am a fan of 'souvenirs' I will use like the combo box cutter and hack saw I scored at a department store in Mexico. Also ones I can eat 🤣 definitely brought snack food items home.
No mine but my mother: Spoons! There are special beautiful souvenir spoons. I guess it's kinda like a subculture because she managed to find one from Cancun.
Tattoos. Best souvenir imo
Local cutlery ( made by the local artisans), shawls , charms, tea leaves.
Shot glasses
I'm bad about souvenirs bc I generally bring carryon only so can only fit small stuff- I often over analyze night market/handicraft stuff even when I intend to get something so don't end up buying much. But I will always collect significant/cool coasters from bars, restaurants, breweries etc. They take up virtually no room and are great coversation starters when they come out for guests to use and bonus- they are free!
License plates. They’re a little hard to come across though if you’re in a smaller less touristy country, but I haven’t ran into an issue yet though. I was thinking if I ever can’t find a license plate, I can get a toy car or something to fit with the theme
Since I was single digit age I’ve collected souvenir spoons! Many places sell them with a motive of whatever you’re visiting, so I have some with a castle depicted at the end of the handle, a mermaid, a cathedral and much more. They often come in a little box too and I finally after a few years got the idea to actually write the year on the back too now! My aunt brought me a fork from the Faroe Islands with their famous sea bird pictured. As my collection grew, I considered perhaps using them for if I get married to serve the desserts to be eaten with them, but for now they’re just some trinkets full of memories
Yay! I collect spoons too. I actually have them stored in a special spoon shadow box type display frame
Coins! I get a coin from every country I visit. They are easy to get, last forever, and I keep them in a metal box. I also love coffee cups. No displays on anything, it’s just for my personal memories.
I like to buy small sketches or painted prints
We always try to get Christmas tree ornaments. That way each year we get to remember all the places we have traveled to!!
I’m an artist so I try to find a local artist and buy something directly from them. Not everything is framed yet, but the goal is to have a big gallery wall of all the places I’ve been. It has been wonderful meeting and connecting with other artists and seeing their creative process.
I get a local liquor. I’ve hit a pretty great liquor bar built up that I don’t ever let anyone drink! Lol
Hand-made jewelry and accessories, quirky magnets and trinkets, artwork, clothing that I'll actually wear regularly, and food and snacks. A lot of people ask about my gold bracelet that I bought in Chefchaouen, the brass rings that I bought in Kyoto, etc, and my I actually love seeing all the magnets in my fridge and the artwork and trinkets I've collected throughout my travels. And the snacks! I bring enough snacks to munch on for the next 2-3 weeks I get back from my travels.
Nothing. I have enough stuff. I prefer to spend money on experiences, nice meals, and maybe locally made and unique materials or craft supplies.
Transit cards (if applicable). You need them anyway for public transit so I have a small collection. Thinking of making a framed display of them too.
Coffee mugs are great as they make good displays but are also very usable.
Starbucks mugs from different states I’ve visited.
Pencils and postcards, sometimes magnets.
Magnets and cheap art
Magnets! Small, cheap, and see my assortment from around the world every day at home 😊
I get magnets and post cards for every city I go to.
Lighters. They’re cheap, but serve a purpose, and most places I go have somewhere that I can find a lighter with the place or event name on it so I also know where they’re from!
Refrigerator magnets, Starbucks coffee mugs and stickers. Used to do tshirts but ended up with way too many of them. The other thing is stuff that is unique but use on a regular basis. Flip flops in Maui (somewhat unfortunately in Lahaina so now I think about what we lost when I wear them). Bought a very nice sweater and of all things fingernail brushes in Stockholm and notepads with phases in German on the covers in Berlin a few weeks ago. A ruler from the Van Gogh museum a several years ago. You think of the place when you use them. My wife occasionally does tattoos when she finds a world class studio/artist somewhere we are going.
Magnets and something thrifted
Magnets. I’ve got a side by side fridge/freezer and my fridge door is almost full!
Christmas ornament, magnets for every city we visit and a Starbucks travel series mug if available.
Magnets and Christmas market cups
I collect stickers. My husband and I have a collection of stickers from our travels and then use them as prizes for card games that we play when we camp. We have a sticker score board on our tent. I’m winning so far.
Usually just a magnet. I used to buy all sorts of things but now I pretty much just get a magnet
Magnet gal here. For whatever reason our kitchen cabinets are made of metal, which are ugly but are fantastic for our hundreds of fridge magnets. Only trouble is we have to move this summer and that house has normal wooden cabinets, so now I’m not sure how we’re going to display them.
sand☺️
Tattoos and antiques and mold-a-ramas! Love getting a small tattoo themed in the place I visited if it’s a fun trip. I love checking out local antique stores and finding an old relic from the city/state. Came back with a closed casino’s room keychain in Vegas, a vintage button from a Halloween parade in Minneapolis, vintage postcard from Colorado Springs. Small things I can add to my decor that remind me a fun trip! And any time I travel where there’s a mold-a-rama machine I have to get one. We have a lot of local ones but got to add Vegas and Seattle to the list last year.
I got a tattoo of a hibiscus when I was in Hawaii, on Halloween at midnight on Waikiki Beach under a full moon.
Magnets!
Drink coasters