Travel Tip #26 - Souvenirs

     When you go on vacation, a fun tradition is to get a souvenir from the place you are visiting. The problem is deciding what kind of souvenir to get. When I was young, my dad would give us souvenir money to buy something to remind us of our trip. Unfortunately, it was never enough to buy anything really cool; so we ended up buying something cheap and using the rest of the money to buy candy or comic books. As a result, most of my childhood souvenirs ended up getting broken thrown away within a year or two of the trip. The ones I do have are from when I was older and had a bit more money. In 1988, we went on a marathon 5 week trip across the United States. I was more particular about what I bought, and purchased three statuettes which I still have: Mount Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, and a Pony Express figurine.
     If you travel as much as we do, it's a good idea to find something small and inexpensive, yet durable, to collect as your standard souvenir. I would suggest choosing something that will be available at most vacation locales. For example, my wife has collected souvenir spoons since she was a young girl. Today she has more than 100 of them displayed on racks hanging on our wall. Not only do they serve as a reminder of the places we've been, but they are also an instant conversation starter whenever someone visits our home.
     Since my wife already collected spoons, my daughters each chose something else to collect. My oldest daughter collects pins and/or pressed pennies. She displays her pins on a banner in her room, and the pennies in a special collector's binder.
     My youngest daughter collects key chains. She's not old enough to drive, but she has enough key chains to own dozens of cars. Every trip we go on, she gets a lanyard to hang her key chains on and wears it everywhere. The added benefit of this is that it's easier to keep track of her in a crowded store because she jingles.

     I never really collected figurines after the 1988 trip because they were too expensive or would take up too much space in the tiny apartments we lived in as a young couple. Instead, I started collecting books of several of the places we've been. Some are picture books with awesome photos of some of the beautiful places we've visited. Others are historical books that let me learn more about the places we've toured.
     Other items I've seen people collect are postcards, T-shirts, rocks, soil samples in miniature bottles, hats, decorative plates, shot glasses, or Christmas tree ornaments. You can even go eclectic and choose something unique for each vacation. No matter what you choose to collect, make sure to give it some thought before deciding. Ask yourself where you are going to put it, and if it is something you will really want five years from now. You might decide to avoid souvenirs altogether, and collect your memories in the photos you take.
     Whatever you decide to collect, make sure you have fun doing it. If a destination doesn't carry "your souvenir," or if a souvenir breaks, don't let that negatively affect your enjoyment of the trip. Life is a journey; make sure you enjoy the ride!