General discussion: Your go-to souvenir

Christmas tree ornaments. We call our tree the "Travel Tree" as we purchase an ornament from every place we visit, and it takes a loooong afternoon (and a few adult beverages) to put it together as we have to talk about the place we bought THIS one and the day we got THAT one. It's a great visual reminder of how lucky we are to have been able to have as many adventures as we have.

CDs from talented street performers is our other fave, and I usually buy a pin from each US National Park/Monument we visit.

A tower of accumulated beer coasters is about to tumble from being too tall. Nevertheless, I'll still collect them as they remind me of the places visited.

Kathy -

I thought it was just us with the Christmas Tree Decorations!

I also buy a t-shirt or two. I have A LOT of t-shirts!

Ian

I agree about hat-pins. My father is obsessed with fridge magnets and asks me to collect them wherever I go.

We like to buy reusable shopping bags. (I got that idea on this forum!) We then have a little reminder of each place we visited every weekend when we do our shopping. They are inexpensive, practical, and easy to pack.

And I thought I was the original person with the Christmas ornaments! Sometimes they are a bit hard to find out of season, but the search is fun.

I also seem to accumulate linens (placemats and runners) and recently latched onto buying really nice fold-up shopping totes from different places. These make great gifts for friends, are lightweight, small, and (can be) elegant. The best ones are often in museum gift shops. And It's fun for me to use a bag I bought in Amsterdam or London to go shopping at home.

Another vote for Christmas ornaments! We even buy things that weren't originally planned as tree ornaments and 'repurpose' them! Chandelier pendants, sun catchers, blown glass items, etc. It is now to the point that we have to select which ones will 'make' it onto the tree as we can't fit all of them on there.

We also do the fridge magnets. We like the metal ones over the 'photo' ones generally.

I also love to buy earrings or necklaces and the occasional scarf.

I buy refrigerator magnets...easy to bring home! I get reusable shopping bags from the various grocery stores we shop in. I also buy coffee spoons so every day when I have coffee it comes with a great memory!

I also do Christmas ornaments! It started with an impulse buy in Görlitz (a Santa, dressed in purple, playing the sax, which I also play) and grew from there. I have several painted Easter eggs from Krakow that I also have repurposed as ornaments. Unfortunately, the ornament I bought in Salzburg broke this year, but, knock wood, it's been the only causality so far.

Earrings, one fridge magnet -- every trip.

For domestic trips it is a Christmas ornament and/or a t-shirt. For international trips, I try to buy one nice, country-specific craft that I can add to my "international" wall in our sunroom. For example, I have a cuckoo clock from Germany, a cow-bell from Switzerland, pottery from Italy, a woven blanket from Guatemala, etc.

Another collector of Christmas tree ornaments here. Biggest problem is when my trip involves several countries and I have to have one from each country. Twice I had to buy a an additional bag so I could check my dirty clothes and carry on my precious ornaments.

Fridge magnets, Christmas ornaments and this last trip, because my husband is an avid supporter of foreign economies (aka "shopper"), plastic placemats. The grandkids love choosing for meals, the photography is excellent and we have a nice memory. Plus, they are very easy to pack.

Another fridge magnets and earrings fan here- you can often find cool and unique jewelry in museum and national park gift shops for pretty reasonable prices. (My earrings from Brecon Beacons NP in Wales were made by Margie according to the volunteer who was staffing the shop that day)

The thing I saw and absolutely had to have- a FC Bayern Munich rubber duckie that is also wearing lederhosen. He's got a peak vantage spot on our fireplace mantle.

I like to buy either something I can use while cooking such as locally grown spices, olive oil, wine (okay, that one may be used for something besides cooking), a cookbook in English or a really good chocolate. That way when we return home, we can still share a taste of where we were and prolong the adventure a little longer.

We only buy 'souvenirs' if we see something small and light, which has some practical use that will remind us of the holiday whenever we use it. For example, we bought a Bialetti moka pot in Italy and a pair of fine porcelain teacups in Japan.

The moka pot in particular has been a good buy because we travel a fair bit within Australia and, being small and light, we pack it always, to be sure we can make a good espresso wherever we stay. The process of making the coffee, the aroma it produces and the flavour of the coffee transport us back to Tuscany every time. Bliss!

Who would have thought the Christmas tree ornament would be one of the go to souvenirs? I like to buy something the area is known for and turn it into an ornament, like hand made Burano lace that I starched and hung on the tree, it looks like a snowflake, or a Celtic cross from Ireland, little wooden dala horse that all I had to do was screw an eye at the top for the hook...I LOVE my tree!

A sketch or painting from a local artist. Everyroom in our house has “art” from some trip.

I collect miniature vases. They range in height from about 2-5 inches. I have about 80 vases in my collection. Not all are from travel. Some I've acquired locally, and some were gifts. But I try to find at least one in each country I visit, and often I find more than one. I steer clear of anything that looks like a souvenir. Most are ceramic, but I have glass, stone, and metal as well. For the most part I find them for relatively cheap (some under $5, most under $20) but I've spent over $100 on one or two that I fell in love with.

They are fun to collect because they are not commonplace, so I often have to ask around, and it creates an opportunity to engage with locals when I'm traveling.

I have quite a few I can't remember where I got them, so I've started putting stickers on the bottom to identify where they're from.

Scarves! And Glühwein cups from Christmas markets. The scarves are easier to carry, though.

LOL. Seems that Yule ornaments are a hot item!

Yep, I've had to 'repurpose' some trinkets as well when they've been tough to find. Two of my faves are a wee, fuzzy bear in a sweater than says "Antwerpen" that came off a keychain, and a tiny-but-authentic (came with certificate) woven Navajo rug. Like you, Toni, I'm having to focus on SMALL baubles as the tree is getting a little crowded. :O)

Add me to the Christmas ornament crew!

Christmas ornaments, cheesy tea towels, magnets and hard rock pins for me. Maybe an occasional print by local artists.

Plus I do a hardback scrapbook with all my trip info, pics, etc

My great grandmother and great aunt collected swizzle sticks. We still have a big tin of them, mostly glass. Of course, they're hard to find now. And they're plastic. I got a few from the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.

Our go to souvenir is bookmarks. We average a couple a day, usually from museum gift shops. We keep them in side table drawers and in little "bouquets" in low vases where we read. They get used and often left in books. So when we read, we get little travel reminders.

Beyond book marks, we are all over the map, but we lean towards the light weight and useful: cork screws, coasters, t-shirts, scarves, jewelry, a Turkish coffee pot, spices, reusable shopping bags, pillow covers. This last trip, my husband bought a couple very Barcelonian Buffs which he used on the trip and I bought a tie clip for him and a pendant for me.

I usually get not-too-expensive earrings made my a local artist. I also like bookmarks, both for myself and for inexpensive gifts.
I usually get them from a museum gift shop with pictures of the great art I saw. This is a fun question!

For us, it is a variety of categories. Sometimes we bring back just memories. But, when things are brought back, they are small, packable and useful.

Small painting from Paris (it was more expensive to have it framed than the cost of the painting, since standard canvases there don't match the pre-made frames in the US), but we love it,

Christmas ornaments if I love the ornament.......and there should be a law against owning as many ornaments as we do.....two days to put them all on the tree/two days to take down and pack them all. Disclaimer: we did not put up the tree this past year, as we had no guests coming....sometimes one just has to give themselves a "pass"

Scarves - especially if one is found at a very good price. My 5-euro street scarf from Florence gets compliments every time I wear it (it could pass for a $200 scarf from a high-end boutique), but I always am straight forward about my great bargain.

Books, if special (like the book about the SeaCloud, purchased on board, signed by the Captain with the dates of the journey), and a book about fairy rings in Ireland that a driver we hired kindly gave to my husband when he expressed an interest in them.

Maps (such as the large nautical marked-up map from our small ship cruise to New Zealand and Australia, also signed/dated by the captain. We just happened to very casually ask what they do with the maps after the journey, and bingo we were surprised & delighted when a staff member later surprised us with his kind follow-up :),

Ballcaps are also winners for us, especially if they are of a nice quality and serve as a subtle brag item for my spouse to wear at home or on future travels .... he loves his Antarctica one and when people ask "Have you been there?"

Polar jacket from National Geographic trip...it's amazing how others that have gone on those journeys recognize "the jackets" in Kroger on super cold days...good conversation starters with other world travelers)

Sometimes a special liquor (ice wine from Eastern Canada)

Hand-crafted jewelry item (love my white porcelain/clay-like polar bear pin from Alaska with a red ribbon....Christmas favorite and gets lots of compliments each year)

Something we will NEVER do again (two cartons of fresh (de-headed/gutted) salmon we caught on a fishing trip in Alaska).......we were up until 1 am cutting and packing the night we arrived home. Lots of Salmon dinners with friends that summer (and I personally don't eat fish!!!)

What I am glad I CAN'T bring back home: Live plants.......oh how tempted I would otherwise be :)

What I just could not bring myself to buy its own plane seat for: A life-sized wool sheep that I fell in love with at a flower shop off Key Street in Galway. But, he sure was cute. Sometimes practicality does save me from myself :) :) :) He really was cute!!!!

My go-to souvenir is pretty much nothing. Neither my budget nor my living space allow the collection of more things!!! Other than the odd card or bottle of wine of course. And books when I go to the UK, but those are pretty much book-buying trips in and of themselves and one of the big motivations behind and pleasures of any trip there!

I like my fridge magnets and wear a lot of t-shirts/sweatshirts so look for those. But what I've started doing is looking for a sweater/blouse that I can wear at home. Not that I want to spend a lot of time shopping, but really enjoy wearing it and 'I' know where it came from. And a great recent memory from Venice is not even the sweater, but that the B&B host recommended the store to me (when I asked for a non-designer shop), and it was way out of the tourist area - a wonderful walk and experience there!

Someone mentioned bookmarks? Prayer cards from the churches make great bookmarks, even if you're not religious (I'm not). They often have nice illustrations on them, a lot of the Italian churches had stacks of them all over the place, and they don't take up any room at all. Of course, a small exchange offering for the alms box is recommended!

I buy guide books at favorite museums and attractions, too.

Christmas ornaments for us, too. Although I discovered this year that we've reached the limit on the tree's capacity. Lol. Something has to break before I can get any more. But darling grandson will no doubt take care of that next year. Sigh.

We used to buy a watercolour or print from interesting places as well, but alas the walls are now full, with some paintings in storage that are occasionally rotated out. Funny story- when I was on a solo trip to Paris about 20 years ago, my daughter (who was decorating her first apartment) asked me to bring back a couple of prints of typical street scenes. Knowing her taste, I was on the lookout all week for the perfect prints, and late in the week spied exactly that, through the window of a small shop. And she LOVED them, and proudly hung them on her living room wall. Out of curiosity, and boredom, I Googled the artist's name. Turned out he was a Canadian who lived in the same city as my daughter (although he had spent time in Paris). We still chuckle about that one.

For others, I always make a quick stop at a grocery store for local non-perishable items - anchovy paste (Italy), paprika (Hungary, Spain), coffee (Vietnam), candies, etc. In my family we have a "joke" souvenir of sugar packets from cafes - not sure who started it, but it's now expected you'll bring some back, even if it's from the airline.

For myself, I collect a bit of sand and shells from beaches - though I know some day the customs people are going to get me for it, I still take the risk to add to the collection of little bottles on my fireplace mantle. I also find a small keychain or trinket that I can tack up on a bulletin board that has my scratch off world map - I look at this every day and love remembering my past travels (and daydreaming of those to come).

Repeats but non-breakable Christmas ornaments, magnets, those souvenir coins for our nieces and nephew. The souvenir coins are a bit hard to find these days.

CJean that is so funny about the artist's being from your daughter's town.

These last couple of posts have reminded me that when I was in middle school, our geography teacher, Mr. Carr, sought to stimulate our interest in other places by asking anyone who traveled to bring back a plastic film canister (remember those) filled with air from wherever we had visited. Of course this was just a gimmick, but he had a way of making you interested enough to do it and then come back and talk about wherever you had visited!!!

Well, i used to collect those cloisson ( sp?) pins. But when i relocated in retirement, i misplaced/lost nearly all. My MOST memorable collectibles are Pewter drinking mugs. Most notably from Central Europe. Pricy but very useful at home. They usually have carved scenes around the mug. Always reminds me of the place i visited.

I occasionally get a fridge magnet.. other than that.. nothing really . I don't like shopping much but there is an exception , I love food shopping, so I often look in food stores for ittle packages of mixes or spices.. I love love love the different bouillon cubes I have from France.. ones like Court Bouillon ( which you cant get here ) .. perfect for poaching fish.

I enjoy our plastic placemats and linen tea towels, which remind me of many wonderful trips. I also often get a pair of socks; I have large feet and somehow European socks seem to fit me better. Solid, striped, argyle - and a fun pair with roadrunner birds from Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in New Mexico.

I discovered reusable shopping bags from the grocery stores on my first trip in 2008 and continue to search them out. I now have about 80 fridge magnets, I had so many requests from friends I decided to start my own collection.
I do like to get one piece of china or porcelain from each country. My other small easy to pack souvenir are the black and white car stickers for each country.

I use to collect Christmas ornaments but now we are gone every Christmas and the tree got crowded. We do a lot of photos and will make a shutterfly book. My go to now for souvenirs and gifts for home are tea towels (easy to travel with and very usable) and shopping bags.

Shot glasses and refrigerator magnets!

I like to bring back at least one jar of local jam, and some coffee. We also like to get a piece of art - painting or photo - that shows a recognizable landmark - to frame and put on wall, although we are about three trips behind on that.

Looks like xmas ornaments, refrigerator magnets, tea towels, and such are the winners.

+1 for cloth bags. Last trip to Italy though it was leather goods but that's rare.

On a trip I am basically not a souvenir buyer, other than postcards. From Germany and France I try to bring back coffee provided that I don't forget it before leaving. If I do buy little knick knacks, then it's the fridge magnet.

I thought stainless steel refrigerators made magnets obsolete? My fridge doesn't take magnets.

I've been bringing back much less souvenirs, only small gifts for loved ones. I don't have any "go to" souvenir, it really depends on what product is unique about that country (and only if I truly can't find anything like it at home, which is also less common these days). My best souvenir is photos and they don't weigh anything, which is a major plus.

We bring home cooking tools/accessories and textiles from Europe. We have cheese graters, frothers, früstuck knives, gnocchi rollers, Alfi carafes, wooden olive spoons, raclette maker, bier glasses, lots of specialized WMF eating utinsel, etc. For textiles all of our cloth napkins and some of our tablecloths/runners, towels and shopping bags are from Europe. I can't pass up a good kitchen shop or small hardware store in Europe.

Chocolate, cookies, coffee, jewelry for my daughter or myself, anything with a hedgehog for my daughter (and the Christmas markets were hedgehog heaven!), postcards of artworks that I saw in museums.

I buy spices at grocery stores. Many aren't available in the US. If they are sold here, they are mass-produced commercially and the quality is severely lacking. Spices don't weigh much, cost much, or take up much room. I tend to focus on spices that are commonly used in the area I'm traveling, then I come home and focus on local recipes for that area (sound like I'm a foodie, but I just like to eat the local food - not fancy).

I am a collector of a variety of old things so my first souvenir choice will always be some interesting little item from the 1920s-1950s, usually a small pottery item--matchholder of a jazz band ukulele player from London, 2 matchholders from Prague, a raven and a Scottie dog, several small Komlos and Herend pieces from Hungary. Then there are the fabulous WWII commemorative Delft fles picture tiles from Amsterdam, heavy but so worth it. I seek out flea markets wherever I travel, one of my most favorite things to do.

I don't do a Christmas tree but if I did I'd be buying ornaments as mementos. I like hand-crafted jewelry so also make a point to buy a nice piece (or two) wherever I go, always reminds me of my trip when I wear them.

Christmas Ornaments made by local artisans and handmade tiles with drawings of local buildings or panoramas. They are small and easily packed. Display them in my kitchen year round.
Scored a real cool small Raku clock in Rome this past trip.

We do the xmas ornaments and fridge magnets and a must is coffee mugs.

We've picked up a few tree ornaments - at Kinderdijk, in California, at the Tower of London - I do like putting them on the tree every year and remembering where I got them. I was going to do country or city patches and put them on my suitcase, but that fizzled pretty fast.

We've been to Venice 4 times and I always buy a small glass bird.

Hubby will pick up t-shirts in a few places.

But - it seems to be coffee mugs - and the collection is getting the be a little much...Netherlands, London, NYC, SeaWorld, Toronto Zoo...last year ended up coming home with 3! The aforementioned Netherlands (which we got at Starbucks - and I ALMOST bought a Paris Starbucks one) and two really cute tin mugs with birds that I picked up in Brighton.

Hubby has also picked up bookends in a few spots - some really cool raven ones from the NY Public Library - which we walked halfway across town for, only to arrive after the library gift shop closed, necessitating a return the next day...and some knights in Venice - what a time getting those suckers into the carry on...it took some creative packing.

Great topic Paul!

I will pick-up bookmarks at museum or specialty store like Ampelmann in Berlin which remind me of my trip; coffee mugs if the design is particularly memorable; and often postcards, especially if it is something hard to photograph well.
I have inadvertently collected re-usable bags from various stores and agree that this is a wonderful memory when I go shopping back home. Now you all have inspired me to keep that practice up!

I also like to seek out flea markets for unique items. In Vienna, I found a watercolor that I love from the late '20s, as well as some vintage maps and theater programs. The city museum In Munich has an interesting little shop with vintage items -- I bought some old apothecary jars for my mom there. I'm not a big clothes shopper, but when I have bought a few things -- a couple of shirts in London, one in Paris, a pair of trousers in Rome. Every time I wear them I remember the trip.

We buy a variety of souvenirs. A fridge magnet, a Christmas ornament, a small piece of porcelain such as a bowl to use for jewelry, a cloth shopping bag, and something for my wall/shelf such as a painting from an artist on the Charles Bridge, hand carved Santas from Germany and Russia, an embroidery piece at the market in Bratislava, lace from Brussels I framed, whatever catches our eye.
But my absolute favorite is my gold charm bracelet. I try and find a charm in each country (two trips to Budapest and no luck). I have one space left before I have to purchase a new bracelet. I wear it and it is a conversation starter. My girls each have bracelets too. It is very special to me because my grnadmother used to go to Europe by ship in the 50's and she had a bracelet, when she wore it, the charms would dangle and shine and she would tell me stories about each place she visited.

For friends of mine, shot glasses and thimbles.
For me, cheeses from CH

Ditto for the Cristmas ornaments! Enjoy bringing back bookmarks for my friends at work.

I buy a bracelet, better if it’s abalone which I have about 6 or 7. Wear them everyday with many comments. Plus coffee cups and fridge magnet.

More interesting responses.

I was expecting that someone would be the "snow-globe" collector. This was a big deal before 9/11. Many people collected them. After 9/11 and the restrictions on liquids this is a much more difficult matter. I wonder if anyone has considered the idea of a dry snow globe that you would add the liquid to at home?

@Agnes, I stopped displaying my magnets on my refrigerator for just that reason. Instead, I picked up some magnetic tiles and have them hanging with my magnets in my home office. It is really cute and it is almost time to invest in a few more tiles. They are filling up!

Yeah...snow globes and fridge magnets sound very retro (I don't mean that in a bad way, but it sure is a throwback to the past!) I'm with George Carlin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac) on collecting stuff to fill your house...I just try not to do it. I like putting art on the walls (from overseas art galleries) because it doesn't take up much space and that's what they're for.

Something not mentioned: ball-point pens usually from museums. I sometimes buy "food" items. On our trip to Italy after eating lots of faro soup, I bought dried faro, only to discover them in bulk at our local grocery store. Oh, well.

Im in the retro camp. I have been collecting snow globes for years and still get them if I go to a place I've never been before. They are small, inexpensive, and always invite good convetsations when they are displayed.

I have never even thought about them being an issue regarding liquids. Since it's always on the way back home I just packed them in any space I have and have never been questioned about them.

We are all in on the Christmas ornament...with a slight variation. We don't look for ornaments per se, but anything that can become an ornament. It may be that spoon with a small hole drilled in it for the hanging pin that reminds of the best strudel we ever had. Or the small stone from the Danube outside Passau were we ate lunch along the river while cycling to Vienna. Or....the list goes on and on....

My wife and I each buy a coffee cup on each trip. We use them year around so we're reminded every morning of our trips. Today it was London & Paris. Last weekend we used our Ireland cups.

We also buy reusable grocery bags. California banned the throw away plastic ones so everyone uses reusable bags. When I put down our "Monoprix" bag on the belt, it brings back fun memories.

We buy small (16-50 page) souvenir books from museums, etc. When we get home, we learn more about the places we've been while remembering what we've seen. We'd buy bigger books but they can get pretty heavy.

The last isn't a souvenir as such but....we write a blog for interested family and friends each evening during our travels and then turn the blogs into a book using Shutterfly. The blogs contain lots of photos so the books are part blog/part picture book.

I also collect Christmas ornaments and find it fun to remember travels as we decorate. We were just talking about how we needed to take photos and create a journal/book to pass down when the time comes.
In addition, I collect the Starbucks Icon Mugs. While I prefer to drink local coffee, especially while abroad, I love the color of the inside of the mugs and the fact that each mug has images of the city on it. So, if a city I visit has a mug, I will stop in just for the mug (and potentially the free wifi and a restroom break!). At home, I have a hutch that I use to display these (I rotate them out) with travel books, old cameras, globes, and other fun travel finds. They are definitely harder to carry, but I can usually at least wrap the ornament up well and place it in the mug for safe travels!

Kristen - I guess that's the style of Starbucks mug I got - I got a Netherlands one with the orange inside - had a hard time choosing between that and the green Rotterdam one - and wanted so badly to get one when we were in Paris (I love me some red), but since I had already bought the NL one, I passed. It's now my fav mug for tea.

For me its always postcards. They remind me of the places I have been and can put them with any photo books I might have put together. I especially like the ones with an overview of the place as its something I can't take myself or in places no photos are allowed.

Nicole -- Yes! That is the kind that I collect. They are great coffee/tea mugs. :) I have affinity for mugs -- my boyfriend will tell you I never need to buy another! Regardless, I think it's a fun concept and it makes for a nice display or memory over a cup of coffee.

I rarely buy souvenirs but if I do it's typically always food and fridge magnets. I'm going to visit the Black Forest on my next trip. I'm splurging and buying cuckoo clocks 1 for myself and 3 for family members (the small ones). =D