Are you in a souvenir rut?
Have you not even thought about starting a souvenir collection?
Whether you are a beginner traveler or a seasoned one.
Even if you already have a well stocked souvenir collection.
I’ll share with you some 10+ of my favorites.
Ones that will let you remember your trip and some that will not only be fun to have but functional too.
Souvenirs
I love the idea of souvenirs!
They help remind you of your trip, vacation or time away.
And if done right, they will be in plain sight so that can be a daily thing 🙂
Related Post: How to Pack
Decisions
So let’s just say you haven’t really started traveling and so you haven’t even thought about what type of souvenir collector you’d be.
Here are some thoughts:
Drinks
Are you a drinker of coffee or maybe the harder stuff?
*Mugs were a favorite in our household for a long time.
My parents love their coffee but I’ll be honest, we got a little overrun with them lol!
So much so we actually stopped collecting them.
We’ve even given some away over the years but the ones we have left we do love to use.
And so with every coffee or tea we get reminded of that trip.
*Shot glasses are a popular choice.
Not only are they small and so fairly easy to pack and travel with, they are of course functional too!
Pictures
Maybe you’re a picture taker?
I love taking scenery pictures during trips.
But, after having my son and my parents getting older, I have made it a point to take more family photos.
So, one of my new favorite souvenir options is picture frames with the location on it.
Related Product: photo album
Country Specific
Flags and coins from the country.
Both should be fairly easy to find, especially within the airport.
Even if you don’t normally change money when you travel it’s always good to have a few bucks on you, if for no other reason than for tips.
One thing to note, if you happen to have a lot of change, those coins normally cannot be exchanged back.
Now, my all-time favorite, country-specific souvenir are customary dolls from each country.
We have at least two curios full of them and let me tell you, it’s so awesome to see them everyday and think about and relive those trips!
Smaller Items
Now, if you are not interested in having something big or bulky then consider pins.
Whether they be a pin you can put on a shirt, lanyard, suitcase or hat, or a walking stick pin to keep as a memento.
Magnets are another great small option that can then, of course, be put on your fridge, filing cabinet, or all those great whiteboards floating around your house 🙂
Do you already have a small collection of something that you could grow when you travel?
Musical instruments are a great option, especially for those of us who love music.
You may be able to find some with a country put on the instrument, but even if not, finding a local/customary instruments should be easy.
Jewelry
Love jewelry?
Recently mom and I started to collect those beautiful but kind of expensive bracelet charms.
I do love them and of course they are ‘functional’ if you wear bracelets a lot.
I have a tendency to save mine for special occasions which I know is not the best use of them 🙂
If you cruise and are willing to sit through some jewelry seminars you can get free (yes free) charms and bracelets.
These I have really enjoyed.
They charms are cute and they look like another expensive jewelry brand out there that uses blue shades for their boxes
Christmas
Really into Christmas?
How about finding an ornament from your trip.
Now, I’ve never tried looking for these so I’m not sure how easy or difficult it is to find them but I love the idea.
Stationary
Whether you are staying in a hotel, hostel, or another establishment more than likely they will have pens or stationary available.
And if not, you would easily be able to find options at the airport, train station, etc.
In Conclusion
Of course, this is just a small segment of what all of your options are but hopefully it will give you a great starting point.
Whether you want something small, big, playful, or outdoorsy, I hope you’ve found something to get you started.
