Travel tip: Souvenirs

A recent posting in the travel section of Canadian Living magazine’s website (5 tricks to avoid overspending on vacation) started me thinking about the souvenirs we have purchased over the years. While I reject the idea that souvenirs are not necessary, I do agree that buying souvenirs just for the sake of buying “something” is not wise.

Many of the trinkets that I just had to have were thrown out long ago…key chains that broke, figurines that looked gaudy once they got into the house, souvenir spoons that tarnished beyond recognition.

On the other hand there are souvenirs that I wish I had purchased when I had the opportunity. Items that were everywhere in the country we were visiting…so easily accessible there that they seemed common place and not special enough to bring back all the way across an ocean with me. But upon arriving home realizing how unique the item was. Now there is no way to get one of them without returning to the other country. Hmm…maybe, unconsciously, that was the strategy, eh?

Here is some of what I have learned about souvenirs

1. Buy only for yourself. Filling your suitcase with little gifts for everyone you know is a waste of money and space in your suitcase. The trinket is only meaningful if you have been there yourself. Okay, I know there likely will be exceptions, but on the whole this “rule” is sound.

2. Limit yourself to one souvenir. Depending on the circumstances that might mean one souvenir per trip or it could mean one souvenir per unique experience within a longer trip.

3. Consider weight and size (and price!). If you will be carrying the souvenirs in your luggage, fees for exceeding weight limits when flying are rather steep. On a long trip we have been known to mail larger items back home to ourselves. One should investigate the efficiency of the mail service before considering this. For example, post cards I have mailed from Mexico and some regions of Africa have never made it to their destination. However a huge box mailed from the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia made it to our home within a few weeks.

4. How will you display/use the souvenir when you get home? If the honest answer is “I will never look at it again” then perhaps it is wiser not to purchase it. Instead use your shopping expedition as a memory of the trip.

5. Display your souvenirs One friend has a special treasure box where she stores trip memorabilia…bringing it out from time to time when she wishes to relive her trips. My one “big” souvenir is a piece of art/sculpture typical of the region we have just visited. This art becomes an integral part of our home’s decor and brings back memories of the trip each time I look at it.

My “small” souvenir of choice is a fridge magnet. Our fridge will not hold magnets (go figure!). So rather than keeping them in a box, never to be seen again, they are displayed around a door frame. Rather unusual I know but it works for me.

One final idea… Postcards. (Inexpensive, easy to store, light weight, has a photo of the region visited.) Write on the back of the card while you are still in the region, preferably on the day you purchased the card. That way your memories are still fresh in your mind and will include details/impressions you might otherwise forget.

I like to look for unusual shaped postcards. For example, a teddy bear dressed in a kilt from Scotland or a postcard in the shape of an elephant from Africa. You might know someone who mailed a coconut (real coconut shell) as a postcard from Hawaii.

The final touch is mail some of them to yourself. That way you have a stamp from the country too…and you experience even more of the country as you search for stamps, and learn where/how to mail things. We mailed a special message in a plastic bottle from a tall ship race in Aalborg, Denmark. It arrived at our home, cancelled stamp and all!

 

Happy souvenir shopping!

 

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