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What do you usually get as souvenirs for yourself?
When taking vacations just after college, it was shot glasses (then I "grew out" of that, or the decoration would wash off). Then, I switched to t-shirts (but rarely wore them), then picture frames, but after my last trip out of the country, I just couldn't find anything that appealed to me and came back empty handed. Then I almost wished that I was consistant with all of my souvenirs and chose something I could display all together (thimbles or spoons, any of the cheesy stuff you see at all of the shops).
I do like the picture frame idea. The ones I have have the name of the country (or area) on it, and it usually has landmarks on it - then I put a pic of me, or the group that went, with some sort of landmark behind us. It's something I can display, but also doesn't take up too much room, and they usually aren't too expensive. But I haven't been consistant with buying them everywhere, or sometimes they are hard to find, so my "collection" is incomplete. (I wouldn't mind buying them online now, but I haven't been able to find what I want).
One of my coworkers said that he usually gets something "nice" each place - like jewelry, or a leather jacket, etc. I try to look for something nice - possibly unique to the area, but rarely found anything (at least worth spending so much money on). And usually the items are not even made there, anyway. I did get some paintings in Greece that were nice, and they are hanging in our guest bath.
Are you consistant with souvenirs? Do you get cheesy items, usable items, nice items, or just forego them all together? Do you display them?
Re: What do you usually get as souvenirs for yourself?
fridge magnets. they're cheap, small, and you always need a magnet to hold stuff on the fridge!
i also collect little turtles, so if i'm somehwere and see something awesome that's a turtle, i'll get it. i got some cool antique stacking turtles in chinatown when we were in san fran... and a neat stone one in mexico. i have a few other things, but they don't scream "LAS VEGAS" or anything.
my mom does snowglobes. she has a whole curio cabinet of them. i tell my sister i will graciously let her have them when my mom is no longer with us ; )
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usually i get something for the kids mostly but for big trips i do like to get something that i could use as a Christmas ornament...that way we can think about our trips when we decorate for the holidays.
We also do fridge magnets. They serve two purposes - hold crap up and a reminder of where we've been.
I collect gold charms on a charm bracelet and get one whenever I go some place new or special. It always has something to do with the place/culture I am visiting. In some countries I have visited they are quite pricey so that is usually the only thing I splurge on. I rarely wear the bracelet but I love looking at it and remember where I got them all.
I started a charm bracelet for my DD when she was born. I get her a charm on each trip too and for special occasions. I plan on giving it to her when she graduates from HS or college along with the little journal I keep of where/when I purchased the charms for her.
I also try and get and get a Christmas ornament from each place as well.
Collin Thayne 10.11.2010
We do magnets as well. Besides the fridge, I have a large magnetic board over my desk so we have a couple of places to put them.
Like your friend, we have 'graduated' in to nicer items as well, primarily art or jewelry. I always try to get something locally produced, not mass manufactured. Sometimes, if everything is too $ or I don't find anything I like, I just rely on pictures and memories. With 2 kids' worth of crap, not to mention 40 years of my own junk, it's just not worth it to bring something insignificant in to the house.
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My favorite thing is pictures. I take tons of pictures and some day I will get around to making the photo books I keep talking about. We haven't been anywhere since I got pregnant with Evan and probably won't go anywhere for a while. It just isn't in the budget.
Starting with our honeymoon and trips since then we have collected home decor/art on our trips. We also have a picture wall of our trips in our bedroom, so I always remember where we have been.
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We don't really travel these days other than to visit family, but when we do go somewhere new or interesting, I try to buy a koozie. It's cheap, and for some reason I just love koozies. I am rather thrifty (that's the nice way of putting it), so fancy souvenirs are unlikely to make it home with us.
Other than that, I take a boatload of pictures. Those are really my favorite mementos from everything we do. I have started making a Shutterfly photo album every year. I do a 12 x 12 one for us and an 8 x 8 for the grandparents. It's a whole lot of work, but I treasure the end result.
DH usually looks for a koozie, too! I tried to find one in Switzerland recently, and looked high and low and couldn't find one. Sometimes they are hard to come by (souvenir-wise).
This also. My Mum started us off actually! You can get some really nice ones, and you see them everyday, which remind you of awesome holidays! Plus, as the other ladies mentioned, very useful to hold reminders/papers/etc on the fridge!
Usually nothing. I'm not a souvenir-type person. I mean, when we went to Hawaii, I think I got some jewelry, but it wasn't specifically "Hawaiian"...it does remind me of Hawaii when I wear it, though.
The only thing I sometimes get is Christmas ornaments, but I don't get one JUST to get one...I only get it if I really truly like it (obviously), not solely to remind me of the place where we went. One can only have so many Christmas ornaments
hehehe.. me too!
Ditto. and/or coffee mugs or christmas ornaments
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I haven't travelled much in years, but my MIL does. To make her stop bringing me ugly t-shirts, I asked for dish towels or food. So I have linen dish towels from London and Ireland that are really nice but useful too. And she brings back spices and rum cakes from her cruises.
The last souveniers I bought were earrings. I like the Christmas ornament idea too.