How can I find a meaningful memento?
Photo by colros 
When I got off the plane in Milwaukee last weekend, one of the first things I saw was the warm glow of a souvenir shop. Stuffed with brightly colored T-shirts, sassy shot glasses, and magnets of all shapes and sizes, the shop looked exactly like its counterpart in the Minneapolis airport where I had changed planes. This was my first trip to Milwaukee and I hoped to bring back a memento, but a ‘Bronze the Fonz‘ floaty pen just wasn’t going to cut it.
The trouble with looking for souvenirs is the best ones are always unique to a time and place, so a good souvenir from Milwaukee wouldn’t be the same as one from Moscow. As Billy the Fish points out, “Tourist souvenirs can be impersonal,” so how can you find something more meaningful?
Jessica C writes, “I always try to get something that you can’t get anywhere else.” So a good starting point would be figuring out what makes the place you’re visiting unique. Another approach is bringing gifts with you in hopes of receiving something in return. After all, according to shoshanamom, “the best souvenirs/gifts are those that were given to me by a local or someone I met while traveling.”
Although it can be dicey, I prefer to let the right souvenir find me, trusting that I’ll know it when I see it. As it turned out, I was at a show with raffle prizes, and one of the prizes was five pounds of sausage. Half-jokingly, I kept talking about how badly I wanted it, but the woman next to me had the winning ticket. I was pretty bummed. But a few minutes later, the woman came up to me and offered me one of the sausages. This souvenir is not going to last forever, but every bite of that sausage brings back good memories of Milwaukee.
Whether you’ve got useful ideas or fond memories, please share them. How do you find the best souvenir when you’re traveling?
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I get shot glasses. Yes, I know a lot of them are made in china and just applique’d on or somesuch, but I do try to pick ones that are more specific to the area involved, or have a motto – “Pura Vida” for Costa Rica, or the “Conch Republic” for Key west, or the Absecon lighthouse in Atlantic City. So now I have about 40-50 up on a shot glass cabinet that I display them in, and every one has a story.
I try to get something different from each place I go, rather than the same thing over and over. For example, when we lived in Germany the Berlin Wall came down, and I got a small chunk of the wall.
When we traveled through the Swiss Alps I got a small Alpenhorn made from a cow’s horn.
And when she went to the Smoky Mountains last year, my mom bought me a beautiful necklace from an independent artisan there – it is hand-crafted, so each necklace is unique.
I find that picture frames or photo albums from those cheesy shops can serve as great gifts for travel partners. I sneak away sometimes, buy the frame with a beachy theme with “Key West” splashed across it, and add a picture of my travel buddies and myself. Obviously, any locale works but what makes it unique is the personal touch of a snapshot of the vacation. Other than that, I would suggest hitting up local farmers markets or antique shops. Often you will find small treasures there that are one-of-a-kind or just perfect for your eclectic friend back home.
I get cool bags with the holiday place embroidered on abroad, and in this country little badges – e.g “lONDON”
I always get t-shirts. That way I always use them and they don’t sit around and have to be dusted.
After several years throw the old worn ones out and go someplace different for a new shirt.
Shot glasses are good in that you can pretty much find them anywhere you travel. A collection of 50 of them all with different locations is pretty cool. The novelty is in the repetitious variety. My wife and I don’t drink and so it’s kind of a classy way to remember where we’ve been. (If we did drink it would be more of a reminder of where we partied and got drunk. Not quite as classy.)
Aside from the glasses, though, I’ve taken to collecting rocks that kind of embody the locale. My large, round, orangish red rock from Sedona or my chunky, white and black spotted one from Alaska are good examples.
Another thing I would be tempted to do is to buy small wooden boxes from each place and put a handful of dirt from a particularly memorable location on each trip.
The possibilities are endless.
my birthdate , is the most memorable occassion:
for me.
Rocks are lovely.
I get shot glasses as well. I also like to get things that are cute, unique, or funny; and are meaningful to me at the time. For example, in Colorado last summer for vacation, I went into a neat little shop. This woman had teapots with strainers—I love tea, but have always made it in bags, so I never had a teapot. At the time, it was something I wanted, figured I could use, and it was pretty, unique, and local. So, I bought it (I dont use it–it’s for display).
When I went on a trip with some of my friends; I got funny things. A funny wooden sign, silly looking glasses, and the best thing: an old-fashioned picture with all of us in it. It was great–and helps me to remember not only the place, but the time and people as well.
I tend to get jewelry or Christmas ornaments when I’m traveling. The jewelry doesn’t have to be expensive, but it travels well and can be enjoyed for years. It can be made by a local artist or it can be a charm for a charm bracelet that reflects the location where I’ve traveled. Christmas ornaments can also travel well if they aren’t made of glass. They can be made of metal, wood, fabric, plastic, shells, beads or a variety of other materials. A friend of mine collects keychains, which are inexpensive, easy to pack, and often reflect the vacation locale.
get a christmas ornament, that way every year when decorating your tree you are reminded of all the places you visited throughout a life time. If they don’t have ornaments i usually look for key chains that i can use in place of an ornament. When guest visit at xmas time that always ask about the different ornaments and it’s a great conversation piece.
This is why photography is so important, it is always your best souvenir.
I am happy you had a good time in my hometown of Milwaukee. Honestly for suvineers, I do try to get something you can’t get anywhere else, espically from a place that doesn’t ship stuff. I know that you can order majority of Milwaukee’s sausages online, but there are some things that you have to experience to enjoy. I.e. buying a tee shirt a music festival that comes once a year that you attended (i.e. Summerfest) or a chip from a casino where you won alot of money (Los Vegas) or just a stone from a place you went camping. Those are the real stuff.. that helps create great memories of a trip.
GET A GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR USINGERS NATURAL CASING WEINERS!!!!!!!
Wow I didn’t know hamsters could travel and all that…
I always buy a “state pin” from the state I am visiting and I now have a shadow box with many colorful enamel pins from each state I have visited. I didn’t want shirts, glasses, novelty items which get put away and are not seen very often so decided on the pins as my souvenier. I also take photographs of the places I have visited and put them in an album and also display some in a collage frame.
You ask: How can I find a meaningful memento? That’s an easy question. Just look out for mori.
When I was younger and had no money I would take a small interesting rock or shell from the places that my family would go on vacation. I would wright the name of the place on the item with a permanent marker so I could rememeber what was from where.
It depends on who it’s for. Some people love T-shirts (I’m not one of them), some love anything edible (regardless of whether it’s traditional to the area visited). For myself, I usually buy a Christmas ornament…no, not the ones made in China and imprinted with the name of the city on it, anything that will MAKE a good ornament, a shell, a kitchy keychain, a small wooden fish from an island…anything that when I decorate the tree each year I go “remember our vacation to…”
I like those stamped pennies. They’re small, and have a picture relevant to the area.
i never get anything unless i get a warm fuzzy feeling about it.. picking up random things wont mean anything to you or to the person you give it too (if you are giving it to someone)
A foreign coin with a hole in the middle (like 25 egyptian piastres) makes a great keychain. I once wanted to remember a place I lived in another state, so i took a leaf from a tree outside my house and pressed it, and put it in a small frame. A shot glass from a beach destination could be put as a small vase with some sand (a film cannister can be used to transport it) and a few dry beach grasses.
Hi…. My friend once brought back a piece of Birch bark from a tree on an Island she had visited. It was the nicest souvenier ever ! Better than anything she could have bought
I would find out what each place you travel to is known for…Example: Milwaukee= Harley Davidson, Miller Beer, Brewers, Sprecher, Packers, etc.
This may noy apply at all, but my neice has rock collection and when i went traveling for a year, i was laid over in many an airport – kentucky, denver, miami, san fransisco, detroit – to pass the time i would go just outside of the airport and find some rocks around the area and find special ones for her and put them in a plastic ziploc and label them with the city. I came back with 20+ bags of really special rocks. She’s 18 now and she still has them and treasures them. I’m about to go to Rome and Italy and she requested a bag of rocks from each city I go to!She also requested some European soil to grow a plant in.
Just a thought for a special and *cheap* gift!
Well I enjoy looking for a nice hat from the city, state or Country I am visiting. It is inexpensive and it keeps my bald head warm with the memories.
Inside those “look alike” shops, one can usually find Christmas ornaments. Great gifts for those who would like a momento from your travels. Every state has a bird or tree or landmark to link to it’s identity.
I always get magnets. That way I can not only show them off on my fridge so others can see where I’ve been, but I also see them daily and it brings back good memories of my travels.
Most of us take pic’s of where we have been. I try and buy a frame in the city where I had been and put a pic in it. I also write on the back of the frame, the date and city in which it was taken.
At any stop, my mementos are from activities, like tickets to the swamp tour outside New Orleans coupled with photos from the tour itself. I rarely buy the “tourist trap” items, since they are rarely made locally, any way. On a recent trip to Carlsbad Caverns, we donated to the “bat” charity, and the memento was the little packet of information that went along. We also saved the map of the cavern walking tour, and keyed photos and post cards of particularly impressive formations to the site on the map where we saw them.
No matter where you go, you’ll get a program, a flyer, or even a business card from somewhere you went that will help you keep those fond memories sharp.
If your goal is to bring back a gift with a local flavor, a specialty food from a local shop is really a great gift. The recipient will never have to figure out what to do with the little plastic frog, because there really is always room for that locally famous praline or butter-brickle.
We recently brought back a six-pack of Abita Beer from southern Louisiana to a friend in west Texas who had moved here from Baton Rouge. It was not expensive, but exactly the sort of taste of home he would not be able to get here.
I collect bells, and I have since I was very little. I have all of mine along a bookcase, and they look beautiful. Some, I admit, are pretty repetitive, but some are beautiful. For example, the bell with a giant 3D moose on it from Minnesota, the clay, hand-painted, chunky bell from Costa Rica, the delicate silver bell from England, and the wooden bell from Iceland are all beautiful souvenirs. Whenever I glance at them, or ring them, I’m reminded of a place I visited. Today, when I got off the plan from Jamaica, I took home with me a bell, in the shape and features of Bob Marley’s head! Plus, they come in handy, especially when I’m sick, and need to call room service (my family) from my bed! Always a nice joke…
My favorite souvenir is a hand woven blanket I bought in Mexico because it was sooooo cold that winter and there was little or no heat in the places I was staying. I also have gloves I bought in London and a hat I bought in San Antonio to fend off the sun. I like things that I used while I was there and can keep using back home.
I like things unique to an area.. best ones have been: from a junk shop in Wales..a gnarly walking stick and a shamrock mug.. Ireland: lap shawl, small crystal vase. England: porceline egg poacher. France: 2 beautiful tableclothes from Arles. Aruba: cute tourist type spoon rest with ARUBA on it.(not so unique but it’s by the stove and used all the time.)
Almost always a t-shirt.. And always photographs.
Keep everything from your trip. Sometimes the best mementoes you bring back cannot be bought. My last trip’s best mementoes are photos of my friend, who since passed away, and a multicultural folk festival ‘passport’ which I toured with my friend and in which my name is written in Japanese and Arabic.
I would have bought shotglasses but I tend to fill them with JD.
I always think the best souvenir are free. I always take a small rock from each place I travel too. I mark it with the date or state or country. You will always remember how you found it and why you picked this stone.
I know it sounds strange, but I try to save receipts or ticket stubs to places or events I went to while traveling. I don’t save the receipt if I went to a McDonald’s or some other nation-wide food chain or other similar business, unless I paid with my credit card and need to keep the receipt to record my transactions. If I ate at some locally-owned restaurant, I would ask for a receipt from that place. If I attended a play or movie at some local theater, I would save the stub.
The best souvenirs are the ones you make yourself. Whether it’s a few dozen pictures you take, or receipts and ticket stubs you save, it’s more a part of you than some shot glass or T-shirt with the city, state, or country emblazoned on the front.
Other self-souvenirs could include an interesting-shaped rock, or a weird plant you’ve never seen before. If the rock is small enough, take it home with you. For the plant, take a picture of it, and then look it up on the Internet.
Another thing you can do in relation to any locally-owned restaurants: If you get your drink or food to go, and they give you a cup or container with the restaurant’s name on it, keep that. It may seem tacky, but again, it’ll be more of a reminder of your time spent in that city or state than some tacky souvenir at some tacky souvenir shop, especially a souvenir that’s just as easy to purchase off the Internet as it is to find in one of many shops around the state or city.
don’t buy things in souvenier shops!! that is the worst thing u can do if you want a meaningful momento. find something out about the place you are and try to find something that matches that fact. or you could just find something that has special meaning to you… for instance, if you are in mexico, dont get a shot glass or another cheap momento, go to the beach and pick out the most beautiful shell or rock you can find. hold it to your lips and make a prayer of thanks for the trip or something and take it home. you will always remember why you chose that stone or shell and what you said. i think thats a great momento.
I love to do crafts so I had gone to a beach and collected shells while on vacation and in my free time I made them in to necklaces for my granddaughters and gave them to them when I came home. They cost very little and were beautiful. Something else you can do is small corked bottles of dirt or sand from places you have been to and label the bottles with location and date. You can do most of these after you come home if you bring home the makings.
i always try to get something that has the name of the place on it. for example, while i was in Orlando, i got this awesome hat that said Orlando.
Having worked in downtown Sacramento gave me access to Old Sacramento, the staging area for the gold rush of the 1860s, and the shop-laden downtown mall. There were the common T-shirt shops, and one souvenir shop that had the nerve to put “Old Sacramento” on seashells. Sacramento is about 90 miles from the closest ocean beach.
Contained in the same area was an artists’ collective that sold lots of small items, all unique pieces that were not made in molds, that were perfect mementos of a visit to Sacramento. It taught me to look for artist’s and local gift shops for unusual items representative of the area I was visiting. It hasn’t failed me yet.
Bringing back some sort of local cuisine is usually a good bet for me. I love food, and one of the best souvenirs I ever received was some “real Alaskan wild smoked salmon” from my grandparents’ cruise to Alaska a few years ago. It was so neat to enjoy some local fare from the place that they visited, and by bringing back quite a bit to freeze, they were able to enjoy the cruise long after they landed back in the Midwest.
That’s totally cool! i always happen upon things – try to just enjoy the experience and not look for something great – let it find you.
I like to buy playing cards wherever I go, even if they are kind of expensive (I’ve paid $10 for one set from Disney). I do this because it’s a souvenir you can get almost everywhere and then they are useful and I can tell the story of them later! I have about 60 decks so far.
The best souvenir i got was a cute baseball money box from the white sox stadium – it wasn’t unique or imaginative, but it always reminds me of a reli good day
I always get collectors spoons from the places I go to and then display them at home. Now, people I know get me spoons when they go places too! I have some from Bermuda and Germany and I haven’t even been there. They are wonderful collectors items and a real conversation starter.
I recently started the tradition of buying a ring everytime I go somewhere new. Each one has a story and everytime I wear them if someone asks me about them I get to tell them about my travels.
I always get magnets which I either put on my fridge or my cubicle at work. I know it sounds cheesy but when I’m having a stressed out period I can look at these magnets and remember the great time we had a place X.
I would not buy mementos to clutter up my home, clean and dust. I would however have my memories and enjoy my pictures. If I so happened to come across something there I though I could not live without I would get that but i personally don’t feel the need to buy something on every trip.
I grew up with a father in the air force and got to travel all over the world.A few others mentioned my same experiences like being in Germany when the Berlin wall fell. I like the things a country has that is both unavailable and taboo in the U.S. I prize my little assortment of rare foreign liqueurs the most, the look on peoples faces is amusing when they realize what is actually in the bottles.
I like to get locally made crafts or antiques. For example, when I went to Sweden, I picked up little wooden butter spreaders with paintings on them; in Pennsylvania, we got locally made pottery; in Florida, antique dishes (they weren’t from Florida, but I always remember, and there are great antiques there); at the Grand Canyon, a rock; at San Diego beaches, shells; after a hurricane, we picked up shells that were blown out in the hollowest part by the wind; in Appalacia, hand carved stick people; in England, teacups. Those kind of things are very regionally appropriate, and not cheesy. We use many of them on a daily basis.
The only cheesy thing we get is bumper stickers that we put on the door to our dog pen. Those are hilarious!
We always get a Christmas ornament as a souvenier. Our rules are that they should be unique not only to the area, but a unique ornament as well (not just your standard glass ball that say Las Vegas) we’ve gotten mardi gras masks from New Orleans, a Hawiian quilt square, a painting of a lighthouse on a sand dollar in Maine, mini maracas from Barbados, etc. They are always our favorite ornaments to hang on the tree and bring back great memories.
I always try to something from the land itself. I have lava from Hawaii, lava from Stromboli, palm bark from Los Angles, Sand from the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico, shells from the American Virgin Islands. Any thing that relates to land. I have an entire box of pebbles that I picked up on roadsides, beaches, mountains and lake shores.
When I have friends who are travelling, and offer to pick me up something, I ask for 1. shot glass for my collection – nearly 100 now. and 2. a piece of the earth. Sand from the beach, a broken piece of a building. I actually have a piece of a building from Auschwitz-Birkenau (although that’s illegal…).
I’m a geologist. I always bring home rocks.
I love traveling. When I went to Washington D.C. at the age of 20 (my first trip away from home, alone)I got two things I knew would last: a refillable lighter and a high quality shirt (which I’m wearing now, 7 years later). Whenever I got home (Chicago), I get books from the area (photobooks, art books, history, etc) so I know more about my home state. When I lived in Minnesota I collected postcards, because I was one of the funnest states I ever lived in, and I always wanted to remember it. I live in Wisconsin, and I’ve got a photography photo collection from places I’ve been here (on my flickr acct), taken right from the car, in a train, or hiking. I put all the postcards in a huge frame (it was a heck of a chore putting them in) and I get compliments on them all the time. I wish all of you safety and happiness in your travels
All of the suggestions are good and valid. But, the best momento is what you can bring back in your heart – the memories of meeting people, tasting the different foods from the region, learning local customs, living the experience. That is what is going to stay with you no matter where you go in your life. As I’m getting ready to retire and move to another country, a lot of my possessions will be sold or given away. But all my travel experiences that are in my heart will be with me no matter where I go.
i think the best souvenir is whatever you know will remind you the most of your trip and what you did there.
How about smashed pennies? inexpensive, don;t take up much space, and it’s fun to try to find the machines. Also an easy thing to ask for when someone wants to bring you back something from where they are visiting.
I send my sick father a postcard. It seems like a cliche, but before I started doing it, he had never received one.
Sorry to hear that our city left such a Fonzie memory with you. We really do have a lot more to our hometown than Happy Days would have you believe. Most of us wish we could shake that 1950′s image. I travel alot for work, and most of the time, I try to bring home something that suits my hobby – bicycling. Either a jersey or a map of local bike trails – it goes into a file for when I go back to that city. Think of a hobby that you have, and find things to bring home that complement that fun pastime activity.
I know when my mom and I travel (or if i’m by myself), we try to get a postcard from every state (including our home state of Virginia) we go to. We try to get the ones with the state on it and the information about it on the back.
I went to Paris in December when I was a kid. I flew all the way there by myself and met my sister there. I couldn’t believe I was going I was so amazed. I packed as if I was spending 2 days at my friends house where its very warm not a week in a very snowy Europe. I was freezing the whole time and finally on the last day my sister dragged me into a convenience store and bought me some gloves so I wouldn’t get frost bite! Best souvenir ever!!
I have started to buy Christmas tree ornaments whenever we go someplace we haven’t been before. They make a nice addition to the Christmas tree and I can always remember where we were when they were bought.
Last year my sister went to Ukraine and brought back things that were VERY unique. Like she found a gorgeous china saucer and cup that was inlaid with gold, and that had been blessed and on the side was written a prayer in Russian.
you should get a t shirt i get one every time i go to a place.its not that great but i love when i wear one and say i went there and when you tell someone that you can tell about your bad time good or inbetween.
My best personal souvenir was the tattoo I had done while in Scotland. My friend and I wanted a permanent momento that would always remind us of our fantastic trip and had tattoos done by a wonderful artist in Edinburgh of whom we’d heard great things.
For the people I need to bring a small token back I try to keep their personal tastes in mind and their place on the totem pole that is my life. That can vary from inexpensive pins or pens for office personnel, to pieces by local artists for close personal friends and family.
My funniest experience was with the same trip to Scotland, my Dad’s not much for the souvenir, but I felt I must bring him something, so I purchased a really cool t-shirt bearing an image of Edinburgh castle. Well, months later I asked my Sister if he liked it or ever wore it and her response was that she’d never seen him in it. About a week later she called back to inform me that Dad was shocked to learn it was a t-shirt having thought it was a piece of art, he couldn’t understand why I brought a picture back for him. He had never removed the shrink wrap, put it in his closet and forgot all about it! My Sister and I had a great laugh over this!
We always get a magnet. On one wall in the family room it is painted with magnetic paint
http://www.kling.com/
under the coat of paint to match the room. If the magnet is too heavy it goes on the fridge. We must have 200 magnets that we’ve collected from anywhere from the local pizza shop to our furthest destination
My father taught me how to gather mementos. He always said avoid the gift shops and airports which are nothing other than “tourist traps”. Instead, look for something that helps remind you of the area’s culture. Well I decided that food was the largest variable in culture. Every continent, country, and even US state has a different food culture. Naturally, I want to experience them all. Ask a few locals about good restuarants. Don’t worry, they won’t point you towards pizza hut or an Applebees. They know what they are talking about and almost always have given me good advice. Then, at the restuarant you have o be adventurous. Search for unfamilier foods or local delicasies. After the meal, whether i enjoyed it or not, as long as it defined the areas culture, i make sure to take home a coaster from the bar that has the place’s name and town written on it. By now i have two full bulliton boards of coasters from around the world and my collection is growing.
Another memento i add to that collection is a map of the area aquired from any truck stop or gas station. Both of these are cheap and unique to the area and much more meaningful than 200 shot glasses with different stickers on them.
(sorry about the poor spelling, Its been a while since Ive spoke english)
My husband and I have a running joke: when he travels for work, he tries to find me the tackiest gift in the airport gift shop. I have a wonderful collection of goofy stuff, like a bobble head buffalo from Colorado, and a carved wooden sea captain from Seattle.
In all seriousness, though, when I travel, I try to find a piece of distinctive jewelry made by a local artisan. I have a beautiful silver necklace with a Tree of Life pendant I got at Pike’s Market in Seattle, and another favorite piece is an unusual and lovely hand crafted necklace I got in Amsterdam. Each piece is unique, and I select carefully so that I know I will wear it. It’s great because they are made by hand, and one of a kind, and when I wear them, I am instantly reminded of where I was when I bought them. The other big bonus is that they usually don’t break my travel budget–because they are made by local artisans, they usually don’t cost too much more than a mug or shot glass. The few extra dollars allow me to purchase a great reminder of a visit to someplace special.
My suggestions:
Something natural like seashells, rocks, etc.
Something official like coins, banknotes, postage stamps, etc.
Something social like beer pads from bars, maps, flyers, local crafts, collectable pins, etc.
Collect small stuff so you can bring home a lot without worrying about how much space it takes up.
Take a pic with your polaroid camera and tattoo your body.
I like to get a cookbook that has recipes from the area, the local Junior League, etc. I have church cookbooks and several that are from local tourist attractions: the zoo in Nashville, Dollywood, and Marshall spaceflight center.
I am too discouraged by traveling nowadays. When you disembarg from the plane and walk into the street you don’t know if you are in Chicago, New York, or Atlanta. Everything looks the same. There are the mandatory McDonalds, and Burger King’s and all the other chains. Our collective fear of the the unknown has generated a planet of sameness that had degenerated into a sea of bland. I ti harder and harder to find “local” culture from which to take a momento. It is very sad really.
If i got to go some where different ,I would like to go into an old book store and pick a book for a souvenir.
I like refridgerator magnets from the place that I visit. Something else really cool are coasters that you turn into magnets from the fun places that you eat. I have a coaster from Haight Ashbury from a little pub called the Magnollia. I put glue on the back and recycled a pizza magnet. It is a great coaster/magnet and I have it on my fridge.
A memento doesn’t have to be something that you buy. I try to collect found items from the places I visit. For example, shells or stones, or even a baggie of soil. Also, matchbooks, napkins, menus, etc. from restaurants that I want to remember, ticket stubs from events, brochures. I might also buy art by local artists, cookbooks from local churches, silver charms for my bracelet, etc. Each item that I bring home must evoke a pleasant memory of my trip. That’s why I avoid things like shot glasses and T-shirts.
It’s been a year since you first posted this question, but it remains a great one! My answer will probably be the most inexpensive of all. When I go on vacation or even go to a special place, the one thing that I have found everywhere is…..are you ready for this? Rocks. I will collect a stone just large enough to write on. I’ll put the place, the date and state the occasion if there is room. I now proudly display my “rocks” in a beautiful dish. It’s unique, don’t you think? Maybe not for everyone, but it suits me and my budget just fine.
When it comes to momentos from a trip, there is no right or wrong thing to get. The entire purpose of a souvenir from a trip is something to remind you of that trip.
As long as whatever you decide on brings back the memory of the trip, then the souvenir is a good one. This could be the ever cliche shotglass (which I as well do have quite an extensive collection), a picture frame, or even a refrigerator magnet. But it can also include a book of matches with the hotel logo and name on it, ticket stub from a show or event you went to while there, or even as simple as a napkin from a fantastic restaurant you at at.
If it has a significant meaning to you, then it’s a souvenir. It can be any price or even free. The point is, have a great time where ever you go and bring back anything that can take you down memory lane years from now.
my parents have been collecting shot glasses, in my travels I have contributed to this collection and hope to someday inherite. I personally collect unique iteims. (a totum pole from Victoria, a puzzle box from chinatown in San Fransiso, an orkit music box from a polish nun etc.) I also am an avide coin collector. I just try to get a nice example of the local money, as an Olympian I also collect pins, and my brother does the pressed pennies. All pretty cheap Idea and every single one is unique.
I usually try to pick up a souvenir spanking paddle. They have cute phrases stamped on them like “attitude adjuster”, “dad’s rules”, or “grandma’s paddle”. Also, each has an imprint of where it’s from. We hang them up on the wall at home and they are wonderful conversation pieces.
I managed to luck out and got what I already had hoped for. We recently came back from a trip to Disney and stayed at their Animal Kingdom Lodge. I’d seen photos of the place online already…a few that included these great hand-carved (by craftsmen in Kenya) decorative animal “masks” on the walls. Was thrilled that I actually found them for sale in the Lodge’s gift shop.
Get what meant something to you.Mybae since you are looking so hard for meanin, then get something concerning your search cause it seems to be the topic for this trip.I can’t say exactly what you should posses but within your own version of momento, you will figure it out.
I like to frequent stores that show case local artists’ works. Of course, this can be expensive… but crafts are art work too. It doesn’t have to be an expensive painting or something like that. While in Seattle I visited a glass shop, where the glass was hand blown on site. I bought myself and my daughter a necklace from there. For my sister’s christmas present I searched diligently, while in New Braunsfel, TX, for a unique craft for her and found a beautiful glass pendent for her that was handmade.
I try to find out something about the place I am going and get something that reflects that. For instance when I went to P’cola Florida I got a blue angels airplane, in Scotland I got a shawl made with my family plaid, at Graceland I got a music box with Love Me Tender on it. They weren’t cheesy things and they weren’t all the same where I had to buy something to put them in and they all give me fond memories whenever I use them.
if all else fails, a picture of you and indigenous person of the area. Like a shop keeper. Buy a trinket from him/her like a necklace. Frame the two together for a one of a kind memento
I’ve sort of always followed what Sandra in post #2 says she does – I get something unique from the place itself that I’m visiting. For example, I went to the Black Hills and visited Crazy Horse Mtn., where they are carving out that gigantic indian head sculpture. I picked up a piece of the rock that was blasted off the mountain by the sculptors, and it didn’t cost anything – I still have that piece of granite that has a partial drill-hole where they stick the charges of dynamite. Another time I was at the Colorado River and got an agate rock out of the river in the mountains in Colorado. The Berlin Wall has been torn down now (so I’ve heard anyway) so I can’t get a piece of it if I went there, but that’s the sort of momentos I like to collect when I visit places. These “gift shops” have a lot of cheap tacky stuff that’s made in China and Taiwan that you can really get anywhere. Try to get something from the place itself, like say if you go to an Indian reservation out West, get some real native crafts and make sure they are genuine, not something made in Hong Kong
Almost exactly south of the souvenir shop you were in Was a great Harley Davidson Motor Cycle Shop for Clothes ,Souvenirs.Sorry only One Harley on Display Milwaukee is where Harley was built built since the beginning . Sorry You missed a great chance to buy a great souvenir. Next time you come check it out
I have my mother to thank for this idea, when I was coming home after being away for a couple of years working in a hotel in a resort town I spent my last hours before jumping on the plane running up and down the main street of my soon to be ex home looking for something to take home that would remind me of the town where I’d spent 3 happy years. After walking out of the umpteenth t-shirt and tacky shell sculpture souvenir shop in despair I phoned my mother for ideas. She told me to go to the nearest art gallery and get a print or piece of sculpture by a local artist. 10 years later there is a beautiful framed print of a painting by a local artist hanging on my bedroom wall that I only have to look at and it instantly takes me back to that town…THANKS MUM
My son has a plush Praying Mantis puppet that has become a family mascot. Everywhere we go, we buy Milo Mantis some sort of accessory and take a picture of him with it at some land mark. It’s funny and the photos are a great addition to our scrapbook and web postings!
I know to some this might seem odd but I like to collect matches, coasters, shot glasses or beer mugs but not any of the ones you can get from a gift shop. It need to be something original to that place and time. For example, I am from Milwaukee and if I were going to take something that truly embodied what it means for me to be here it would have to be a mug from my favorite bar. Then when I would drink out of it you are back at that bar for a moment.Any time you can look at something from some other place and you go back to that moment then it is a keep sake, unlike any of the worthless things they sell at gift shops.
heyy
i tend to buy traditional things from that country
just recently i went to Japan
and bought a heaps of traditional Japanese jewellery and traditional souvenirs
when going to another country go to small towns and things to do your souvenir shopping because you tend to find things you won’t find anywhere else
It’s tough. When I went to Paris I had the same problem. I heart Paris mugs – they same stuff as elsewhere and nothing even had French on it except some shirts in a Paris Harley Boutique. However, most other places I was able to get interesting coffee mugs and we use them every day. I have about 15 mugs from different places in the US and abroad. I really think the best mementos are going to be what you remember, so visit the best places any visitor would go to. I still remember all of those places.
Milwaukee is the city of BEER! Shoulda brought back a nice microbrew like Riverwest Stein or East Side Dark.
I used to get charms for a charm bracelet. Something specific to the place, or something that had meaning for me in that time and place. For instance, in one country I bought an elephant charm because the name of the place I was in translated as “mammoth”. At the end of my three month trip around Europe, I had a lovely piece of jewellery as well as some great and meaningful mementos.
I used to get a T-Shirt from the areas I visited, but they can get old and eventually tossed, so now I’ve started collecting Coffee Mugs from places I’ve visited. I like mine to be hand painted and whimsical with the name of the state or country I’ve visited. I have several from states around the US that say the name of the location and a couple from different countries. It’s always best to get hand painted ones as they do last longer. Unfortunately my mother picked me one up in Italy that was only a sticker decal on the front and one trip in the dishwasher destroyed it totally, now it’s just a blank white mug. I have gotten some beautiful ones but since I use them daily they have gotten broken and it’s difficult to replace them. But picking something up that is “local” to where you are visiting is always a good idea, but just make sure it’s some thing you can display or use regularly or they just end up gathering dust at the back of a closet.
Dear I’m always trying to get souvenirs from many places, however, replace Altzkart Try reefs
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I like collecting decorative pieces. Whether it’s a vase or a rug or a table centerpiece, I like to decorate with things from various places so that I can remember my trips. As long as you can find something that goes with your home, it’s easy and they are things that you would have bought anyway. And it’s great… people will ask me where I got my beautiful lamp and I tell them it’s when I travelled to Atlanta and found a cute little lamp shop downtown. Or my clock that I got in the Black Forrests of Germany or my wall art that I got in California…. they are all great every day reminders that serve a purpose in my home, instead of sitting there doing nothing but collecting dust on a knick knack shelf.
Here’s something I do that I thought was unique… I always buy the local newspaper when I go somewhere and I clip out some things that are local and I modpodge the clippings to a tile. After that’s done, I frame it and I have them hanging on the wall over my fireplace in my den. It’s fun because then you can not only remember the places, but what was going on at the time too. Be sure to modpodge a portion of the paper with the date on it!
I always look for practical souviners. I don’t drink, so collecting shot glasses isn’t going to mean much to me. But I found a beautiful scarf in Paris with “Paris” written all over it with pictures of two of its most famous landmarks. In Berlin, I got a door hanger featuring the appelman, an icon native to Berlin. I want to be able to use my souviners regularly. I like responding to compliments with, “Thanks! Actually, I bought this on the street in Florence.”
I think it’s important that your souviner remind you of your experience. The tacky little things in the souviner shops usually can’t do that. Ok, except for the leaning mug I bought in Pisa and drink root beer floats out of.
I’ve also found maps to be a wonderful souviner! I always buy one as soon as I can upon entering a foreign city. I save it until I get back home and then can put it up on my wall and show off where I’ve been. Then it’s fun to look back at it and see the places I circled, the neighborhoods I got lost in, and the streets I spent hours on. Ahh, good times!
I get Christmas tree ornaments. I know a young girl who collects sand and puts it in a decorative glass in layers. That’s a pretty inexpensive way to go!
souvenir’s=junk
Start a charm bracelet and buy a charm from each place, never goes out of style and very fun.
Just seems like a lot of unnecessary consumerism to me… Unless it is something I love and am sure I will still love in 20 years, I say pass on trinkets. Americans have too much junk. If I feel I have to bring something back for a friend, I usually go with local wines so it is at least somewhat practical.
umm MILWAUKEEE
in the mil, basically you should get something that has to do with cows or cheese or drinking
because thats what the mil is all about
you should try and do this everywhere you go
but whatever it is, it should be cool or funny, and not something that you just got in miami with dolphins on it or something
it has to be something you’ll actually use
When I went to Hawaii, the best thing I got was a shell bracelet that a hula dancer gave me at a restaurant.
No I don’t keep it cause I like the girl, I’m straight.
It has meaning because it was given to me, it’s handmade, and it’s not something I say like “Oh I bought that at a shop.”
It just gives it a “Hawaiian-ish” feel.
Mementos are so hard to get.
I just went on a vacation which spanned London, all over Italy and finally Dubai. You want to get something relevant to where you are but also useful for the person you are giving it to.
I had a most wonderful idea in Dubai and brought back as many pashmina scarves as I could fit into a new (fake) suitcase I bought. I gave one to each of my female friends and they all LOVED it.
Hi! I rarely buy souveniers as I believe they will create clutter. Imagine 50 years of travel and picking something up from each place. Pictures are enough for me. Brings a lot of memories back i a way that a momento doesn’t.
Small items from local shops that can be made into tree ornaments is what I look for. Airport shops are not a good idea for meaningful mementos because as pointed out–the items look the same, just have different words. I found tiny cuckoo clocks in Switzerland, a miniscule jug of wine in Italy, and I wrote in permanent marker the place and date, attached a string, and voila! I had a new holiday ornament for my tree or to give to a loved one.
for my 16 bday i asked that everyone bring a gift card to toys r us, i managed to earn +$500 some brought toys and some didnt put how much was on the card, but the children hospital that i gave it to was sooo appreciative and it was an amazing experience. Also an organization called good shepard takes care of mentally retarded people. I have helped out there and it can be really fun to do with friends
congrats on helping out!
I got a lovely hand-painted parasol in a chinatown shop, and there were some adorable slippers, but I had no money…basically, just buy something that you know your friends will like!
Ever since I went to Florida for the first time, back when I was about eleven years old, I’ve collected postcards. They’re cheap and don’t take up a lot of space. You can put them in a photo album, hang them on your walls, or keep them in a box. I always try to pick out ones that show different landmarks or buildings I visited while visiting. If you wanted to, I suppose you could even write a discription of the memory you have of the place pictured on the front. I’ve done that with a few, but for the most part, the picture on the front is enough to bring back the memories.
I’ll tell you the very best way and almost always alot less expensive than buy a souveneir at the airport or a gift shop is your ‘local Walgreens’, wherever it is you have travelled to. Yes, I promise you every Walgreens has designated souveniers for that designated store location. Check it out, you’ll see!
My favorite souvenir is a painting or professional photograph capturing some special element of the location. My house tells a delightful story of my travels without appearing cluttered. I’m picky and try and get something from an art fair or small local artist. It doesn’t have to be an original or cost much but needs to capture my time in that location. When I can’t find one of those I try to find another local artisan piece…pottery, sculpture, etc. or even a special sauce or food.
I like interesting spoons, when I was in BC I got one with a bear on it to commemmorate my first time seeing a bear in the wild. and they’re usually pretty inexpensive and easy to find.
I try and get a t-shirt from a place in where I’m staying. Like a t-shirt from a unique restaurant or business.
I can’t believe people actually collect shot glasses, of all things, and display them thinking its fancy or classy or something. They scream “trashy” to me. Anyway, the best memento is to buy one of those US National Parks Passport books and go to the nearest National Park and get it rubber stamped there and buy the paper stamp for the Park and put it in the Passport. You get rubber stamped for nothing, the paper stamp, if there is one, isn’t much, you get to see a Park, and all your mementos fit inside the Passport for you to look at and tell people about if you want and they will listen. And you can get a rock too if you want and put it in your yard where you will probably forget where it came from but its a decoration anyway.
I like to collect unique little paintings or photographs from local artists, usually sold on the street. They are usually no more than $20 and sometimes come framed. If not, frame them when you get home with inexpensive frames and hang them up. I also framed gorgeous photo postcards from Anguilla (they happened to be inset with a white outline, so they look like they were matted) and framed them in nice stainless steel frames and they hang in our bathroom.
First, if you are in Milwaukee looking for a memento, your life has no meaning. What do you expect to find anyway, a Jeffrey Dahmer Signature Makita Drill? Maybe an original Ed Gein lampshade would be more to your taste?
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I like to collect key chains and souveneir spoons. My friend brought me back an awesome key chain from the philippenes it has a crab shell(i think it looks like a real crab but i dont think it is) sometimes even t-shirts can be cool try to get something you cant get anywhere else(or at least not everywhere!) or you could get something from an experience you had there another cool thihng to do is collect sand or dirt or rocks from a place you went or shells from a beach last but not least take pictures they’re your best momentos
another thing I do is take pictures of all the dogs at a place abroad such as france or belgium all the locals think im crazy but its worth it to see all the cute dogs and actually a great way to remember a place also you should try the local food go ahead be adventurous if locals can eat it so can you
We buy pretty jars and collect one jar of sand and the other with seashells and use a labelmaker to label the place