Really loved your dinner? Get the Chef’s autograph on a napkin or a copy of the menu. Thought your hotel was great, get the Hotel Manager’s John Hancock on a brochure. This way you can remember not only what made your trip special but who made it special.
Buy local art – Souvenir tip
Every traveler has been subjected to the blitz of souvenir stores filled with junk. A better option is to purchase an original painting created by street artists who, for a few euros or dollars, capture the location.
Since the picture is unframed and flat, it takes up virtually no suitcase room (a big consideration with all the “baggage hoopla” nowadays). Arriving home with your treasure, go to the local craft store, buy an inexpensive frame and viola! You have a pictorial memory that was easy to pack and will bring back memories for a long time.
Pro tip: Take a photo of yourself with the artist, paste on back.
Label your items – Souvenir tip
If you obtain a souvenir that does not have the city, state, country, and date already inscribed, make sure you write/paint/label this information in an innocuous place on your souvenir.
I failed to do this in the early years, and now after a lifetime of travel I have a beautiful collection of vases, decorative boxes, etc., but I can’t tell you what trip or what country many of them came from!
Turn spare change into jewelry – Souvenir tip
As a poor student in the 60’s, I was lucky to pull together the money for a trip to France, but didn’t have a single sou left to buy souvenirs. What I did instead was to carefully scour my change and collect one French coin of every denomination minted that year.
After I got home and got a little money together, I found a jeweler who made my centimes and francs into a beautiful charm bracelet. It represents the time and place of a life-changing trip, and decades later, I still wear my all-time favorite souvenir.
Buy local music – Souvenir tip
Most vacation spots sport all kinds of souvenirs at shops aimed at tourists. Many of these items were manufactured in other countries and have nothing to do with the location you came to visit. Take home a memory and support local creativity everywhere you go. Visit a club or an area with street performers and buy a CD from a musician.
Choose someone whose music you enjoy and strike up a conversation. Get the CD signed, and you’ve succeeded at supporting someone’s music and acquiring a personalized souvenir and a story to go with it.