Souvenir Tips
by Emma Larkins (RSS feed) on Mar 7th, 2010 at 5:56PM
Most hotels now use
keycards to unlock room doors (instead of keys). Some hotels suggest you return the keycard after your stay, or leave it in your hotel room.
However, you don't have to do either of these things. Hotel keycards are deactivated as soon as your stay is complete, and you are free to take them if you wish.
Keycards can provide a fun memory of the hotels you've stayed in, and you can even show off your growing pile to admiring friends and family members.
by Hillary Marshall (RSS feed) on Mar 7th, 2010 at 5:51PM
Tourist attractions are peppered with refreshment stands where visitors quench their thirst and satisfy their hunger. These stands also present a wonderful opportunity to grab cheap souvenirs.
The majority of tourist attractions offer their goods in reusable cups and containers. These reusable cups and containers can be purchased in most cases for a nominal cost above the cost of the item you're already purchasing.
Souvenirs like this are great for kids (and for adults). You can buy a frozen drink in a reusable cup, or cotton candy in a reusable bucket, and you have an instant, affordable memento of your trip. Every time you use that cup in the future, you'll think about the great trip you had!
by Dee Power (RSS feed) on Mar 7th, 2010 at 11:31AM
Many people have a nice bottle of
wine when they dine out on vacation. When you're on vacation, scan the wine list for locally produced wines or choose a bottle with the restaurant's label. Instead of packing the bottles to lug home, ship them home as you leave each city.
Alternatively, if you don't have room for the bottles, soak the labels off the bottle in your hotel room, let dry overnight and press between the pages a book. At the very least, they make for a great color insert in your
Moleskine.
Related:
The 25 greatest cities in the world for drinking wineby Erika Strauss-Meister (RSS feed) on Mar 7th, 2010 at 9:58AM
As a student in Aix, I kept a paper journal (the Internet was not nearly as hot, and those French keyboards really threw me!). Later, while backpacking through
South America, I e-mailed home lengthy, descriptive notes. My friend dubbed them "1940's Dispatches From Far Away." And, now, wherever I go, I blog.
Recently, while visiting my grandmother, she produced a folder. She had printed out
every electronic communication I had ever sent her. I read through them, laughed, and then immediately went home to find my journal from Aix.
Re-reading your stream-of-consciousness thoughts from "there"? That's the best souvenir. It's almost as good as going back.
by Tamar Auber (RSS feed) on Mar 5th, 2010 at 12:04PM
A favorite stuffed toy can be an excellent way to create an inexpensive and creative souvenir for your child.
Everywhere you go with your child, be sure to take a picture of your child and the toy doing something fun (making faces, pretending to run away, etc.). Make sure you get a good view of the sight in the picture as well.
Then, when you get home, combine these images into a storybook and use your imagination to create a storyline. Don't forget to include a 'blooper' page for pictures that did not make the 'final cut'.
by Janet Aanderud (RSS feed) on Mar 4th, 2010 at 10:55PM
Although it isn't for everyone, a favorite souvenir to bring back with you could be one that will last forever: a tattoo!
When I was 18 I visited a friend in
Chicago and we went to get our first tattoos. After that, every time I travel to a new city, I am completely tempted to get inked.
Getting different tattoos was already on my to-do list and now, not only does the tattoo itself tell a story, there is always the story of the places I've been and the things I've done.
by Patricia Marroquin (RSS feed) on Mar 3rd, 2010 at 12:06PM
A calendar will remind you of a cherished vacation for an entire year. Whether it's Rome or
Maui, you can usually find a calendar in a gift shop or general store for the following year.
Pro tip: use the photos you took of your vacation to create your own calendar online and display your calendar proudly! Mark the days off until your next exciting adventure!
by Valarie Stewart (RSS feed) on Mar 3rd, 2010 at 10:00AM
If you love gardening, it's fun to purchase seeds of flowering plants from distant lands to add uncommon beauty and interest to your landscape. If the plant blooms, you'll get loads of compliments or questions, and that allows you to share the memories of your travels.
Try to purchase seeds that closely match your
climate or gardening zone, but many times plants will flower in your area during a different season that closely matches their native land.
Pro tip: You can also grow them indoors or in your greenhouse. Harvest seeds from plants for the following year and to share with friends.
[Ed's note: be sure to avoid introducing invasive species into your region!]by Vincent Price (RSS feed) on Feb 25th, 2010 at 12:02PM
Every trip has a good memory, something you laughed at then or something you will laugh at later. Nothing is better than finding that one thing that brings the entire experience back to mind... and makes you laugh again.
It may be something as small as a snowman statue that resembles that hideous one you made -- or a map that outlines a trail you followed on an eventful, hilarious hiking trip.
In any case, each time you look at it, you'll get a smile on your face and think back to that great trip.
by Dawn Meisch (RSS feed) on Feb 20th, 2010 at 9:11AM
A great idea for remembering a special trip is to get a local map in the local language. Maps can range in detail from neighborhood streets to an overview of the region. Find a special interest map, like wine regions throughout France or boutiques along Magazine Street in New Orleans.
Use your map to mark a favorite spots during your trip -- or to plan your next day. Write down your experiences and attach it to your map for an instant travelogue. Maps fold up small and are easy to pack on the trip home.
Bonus: you can share your map with friends when you get home, when they decide to go on a similar trip.
by John Toivonen (RSS feed) on Feb 20th, 2010 at 8:02AM
When most visitors to
Europe think of art they imagine oil-on-canvas masterpieces hanging in distinguished
museums. But beer companies adorn their coasters with colorful symbols and European scenes. Collecting them is not only fun, it doesn't cost anything. When you leave the bar, just grab the circular print of the hearty fraulein holding onto the beer stein and pop it in your pocket.
The multitude of local brews allows you to collect a myriad of regal symbols and pastoral scenes. These remembrances of beers past can mark your trek through local London pubs and Berlin beer gardens.
by Fran Fisher (RSS feed) on Feb 19th, 2010 at 12:55PM
If you're traveling abroad on a tight budget with absolutely no extra room in your suitcase for a souvenir, then buy a stamp. Even the lowest denomination stamp of any country is colorful, cheap, and easy to find.
When you get home, mount the stamp in the middle of a piece of poster board, write the details of your trip on the back of the poster board, and put in an inexpensive frame. You'll have a decorator look on a backpacker's budget.
by Anita Cole (RSS feed) on Feb 18th, 2010 at 1:14PM
If you're like me, you have to have a t-shirt commemorating every place you've visited. However, often times you end up with a drawer full of shirts you use when it's time to paint the house or mow the lawn. Those "souvenirs" often become less appealing once you're home.
Don't despair: turn those shirts into something you can truly treasure by cutting out the front portion of each one, sewing them together, and making a travel quilt. This one-of-a-kind souvenir will bring back wonderful memories every time you snuggle up with it.
by Jean E. Jump (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2010 at 7:15PM
Our best souvenirs when vacationing have been the ones we've collected through geocaching.
Geocaching is high-tech treasure hunt using GPS devices and satellites. Currently there are nearly 1 million locations throughout the world to visit.
The objective is to find hidden containers, or
geocaches, in outdoor locations and then collect a treasure from those containers. Frequently, we get to explore part of a city we'd never ordinarily think to visit.
The treasure found in these caches may only be dollar trinkets, but the true souvenir is the adventure of trekking through the outdoors with my family.
by Sam Eggleston (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2010 at 1:09PM
Hit up a local
bookstore for a good, unique souvenir.
Many self-published authors sell their books through the local storefront and many of those books are based in the area in which they live. The souvenir is not only unique, but it's entertaining and lacks the gaudiness that many souvenirs display.
Plus, you may get smarter about your destination, which makes any trip more satisfying.
by Jean Scaraglino (RSS feed) on Feb 15th, 2010 at 10:16AM
Let's face it: How many souvenir t-shirts can somebody have? Most people take generic souvenir photos, as well! Think outside the "souvenir box," and make your photos unique! How? Bring along something "unexpected" to place in the photographs -- a beloved childhood character perhaps, or maybe a small stuffed animal that represents the location you're in -- and purposely
photobomb your own pictures.
You can have great fun with this. Get creative, and you'll make lots of funny memories -- and probably entertain a lot of other tourists as well!
Try it sometime: WE had great fun with this idea!
by Natalie Alchadeff (RSS feed) on Feb 14th, 2010 at 6:35AM
The simplest and cheapest way to do your souvenir shopping is at a supermarket.
Almost anyplace you travel, there will be a traditional food, like "Vermont maple syrup" or "Scottish shortbread." Great supermarket gifts include a specialty bottle of oil and vinegar, a local bottle of wine or alcohol, exotic spices, teas and coffee -- and don't get me started on snacks like chocolate, dried fruit, and nuts.
Your friends will be delighted to receive a box of cookies from a foreign country, and you'll remember your trip every time you prepare some hot chocolate you purchased in Switzerland.
by Victoria Hunter (RSS feed) on Feb 12th, 2010 at 8:54AM
...even small ones.
Madame Pele, goddess of Hawaii's volcanoes, has been known to reach out as far as the mainland to make you very sorry that you took her stuff.
The
Hawaii Visitor's Bureau receives rocks in the mail every day from folks who have suddenly hit a run of bad luck. Returning the rocks will get you back in the goddess' good graces. Even the County of
Maui, on their
website, lists an address to where one can return the rocks they pocketed.
Buy an aloha shirt and leave Pele's rocks alone.
by Susan Hance (RSS feed) on Feb 11th, 2010 at 12:59PM
Hopefully when we visit other places, we can take a bit of the culture home with us. Knowledge is the best souvenir. So take a class with the locals. Learn:
- To do a local dance
- To sing a song in their language
- To play an unusual instrument
- To cook a special recipe
No time to take a class? If food is your favorite,
buy a local cookbook or ask the chef for a recipe. Purchase a songbook or a video of local dances. You can learn it when you return home or continue practicing the lessons you did take.
by VA Rowden (RSS feed) on Feb 10th, 2010 at 6:39AM
As an undergrad traveling around Europe, I didn't have a lot of money to spend on souvenirs, but I still wanted a memento from every city and town that I visited. Though I couldn't afford, say, a miniature plastic Eiffel Tower, I did stumble upon the perfect souvenir for anyone looking to save money: transit maps and tickets.
By keeping tickets, I not only had a physical keepsake of my trip, but I also had a great way of documenting exactly what I did and when. And by keeping maps, I could literally retrace my steps at any time.
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