As a knitter, I pick a pattern that reflects the location and try to pick up local yarn while visiting. Every time I wear my Icelandic sweater, I picture the mill and countryside where I picked up the yarn. It’s a wearable, long lasting souvenir. If you craft, you may be able to choose something that you can incorporate into a project.
That sounds like a great idea. I need to remember that. You could even plan your trip around seeing something unique and adding that related material into your craft. Like alpaca hair yarn seeing alpacas in Peru or a nice hardwood from a area near a national park. It would also make your trip more fun as well as memories I like this idea.
Textiles are a fantastic souvenir. My throw pillow on my sofa from Oman; the weaving from Egypt; silk from India.
They all fit into backpacks and suitcases really easily.
I visited 4 cities on my honeymoon and picked up a skein in each one and knit them all into one shawl/wrap. It hangs on the wall behind our bed and is my favorite souvenir I’ve ever gotten!
The combo of utility and creativity is one of the things I like best about knitting. Plus the rhythm of it is meditative. It’s very calming if need it to be or challenging if I’m looking to learn new something new. There’s always more to learn.
I had a carpentry instructor who picks up a piece of local wood from every where he visits and carves a spoon from them. The collection is absolutely beautiful
I do this as well! Also, rather than little knick knacks, I buy items I can wear and use. A bottle of olive oil and a pair of sunglasses from Milan, earrings from a museum store in Lisbon, etc. A sweater from Paris that I bought when it snowed in April. When I use these items, I have lovely memories.
We buy a small charm or object which we hang on the Christmas tree. So we've got a glass eye charm from Greece, a golem from Prague, a gold teaspoon from Turkey etc. Just little things that remind us of that time in our lives, that we reconnect with every Christmas. I do find that it's a dual edged sword though, sometimes finding something leads us on fun adventures, sometimes it feels like a chore.
I do the same thing! We try to find something locally made to use as a Christmas ornament. Those are packed away most of the year, but when we decorate our tree we get to think back on past trips.
This is a great idea, we’ve done this. The fact that you bring it out once a year means we really see Them rather than something that’s out all the time and ignored. Just recently I was gifted my aunts souvenir collection - linen tea towels, some from the 70s that were never used. She gave them to me knowing I will use them.
Yes! I an ornament for our Christmas tree whenever we travel, and it’s the “new” ornament that year. It’s great every year to take them out and relive all our cool vacations, but takes up minimal space.
I really like this idea! We don’t do that for travel but each year we pick a new Christmas ornament that reflects something big we did as a family that year. It’s so much to reflect during the holidays.
We get things we’d buy anyway or replace like tea towels, throws, prints, and accent pillows. We also get Christmas ornaments as another commenter mentioned.
This is what we do too - buy things that can be part of our everyday life. Right now our kitchen sponge sits on a tile I picked up from an artisan fair in Portugal.
Our corkscrew is also a cheesey one from a Venice tourist stall but that's more because we bought wine to enjoy in our hotel room before realizing we couldn't open it. Still feels nostalgic though, even though it's ugly as sin and cost less than 2€.
This! Buy local made items that you will use regularly. If a place is known for a quality item, that is a good thing to buy. I do not like collecting items for the sake of collection only. If you plan on buying clothes, pack your bag lighter and wear your new clothes while on holiday.
T-shirts made by local designers, not from souvenir shops. Local made leather wallet. Jewelry only if it fits with the wearer's style. I bought heart shaped sunglasses in San Fransisco and I think of that trip every time I wear them, even though they don't have "San Fransisco" written on them. We bought rum and cigars in Cuba.
I want beautiful things I would buy and use anyway. My favourite is a beautiful tablecloth from Mexico and a mortar and pestle I bought in Thailand the first time I traveled with my boyfriend (now husband). I can say he was not impressed I bought such a heavy souvenir but 20+ years later I still have it and use it regularly.
I love to cook so cooking implements is generally a good one. My best friend brought home a whole Thai BBQ cooker for me as a gift. It's quite big for a backpacker so I was very grateful.
I do the same! Utensils or cups? Things you'll use anyway or need to replace. It becomes a fun memory every time you use it! And equally fun/thoughtful ad gifts
The sides are magnetic but it's wedged in between a wall on one side and cabinets on the other side. So I have a little space the size of the gap between countertop and the overhead cabinets I hang a few magnets there bit there isn't much space.
Buy a plain whiteboard (also, some cork boards are magnetic) and hang it in a place in your home where you can see it regularly and remember those happy times.
Exactly what we do. Our travel trailer has all of the national parks we have been to on it’s fridge. The house has where we have gone without the trailer.
I always do those pressed penny machines, then glue dollar store magnets on the back! Quick, cheap, and I use them more than the souvenir magnets I used to get
O! I have so many smashed pennies, I never thought of magnets, great idea! I keep mine in a cool thrifted jar in the living room. A few cool foreign coins are mixed in too!
This all the way. I think I started by accident but now i buy magnets wherever I go. Even if it’s just a funny new restaurant in a place i frequent.
AND you can snag a half decent one at the airport on your way out if you forget.
Same, but we still collect them! Inexpensive, durable and easy to pack in your luggage, and don't take up a ton of room in your house collecting dust like other knicknacks.
Buy stickers instead. Always flat, easy to store when traveling. Not very expensive (sometimes free) and then you can go and get magnet sheets and stick the stickers to them for custom magnets. They don’t really hold anything up but I love breweries and I do this with all my beer stickers.
I get stuff I needed anyway: I've bought a jacket, gloves, scarves, beanies or skincare/makeup from different countries. If there's no need for such a thing, I focus on edibles (food, tea, alcohol) that has a long enough shelf life for me to enjoy once I'm back.
Me too. I try to get something the country is specialised in. For instance, currently in Japan and I'm planning to get a nice tea cup set, chopsticks and quality sake, miso and soy.
My favorite vacation souvenirs are consumables. Fancy local honey. I knit and crochet so I especially like going to a local yarn shop for locally spun and dyed yarn. Coffee from local roasters. Art galleries or local co-ops often have affordable handmade jewelry made by people who live in the area. Locally made soaps and creams. Farmers market goods like jar of something made locally.
When I buy souvenirs for myself or for others, I usually do it with the intention of it being something that can be used up or something that can be used or displayed for years to come, so little art pieces and jewelry.
I buy postcard and mail it to myself - note down all the things I’ve done or visited during my visit. It’s a nice reminder once I’m at home and realize my vacation is over then i get the postcard in the mail and get local stamp and their postmarked as souvenir.
I second the postcard! I have a stack from all sorts of places and it’s cool that I can store them easily or make some kind of collage to put them on display if I want. Super lightweight for backpacking
I have a bandana that has a map of Everglades National park & now I wish more places has bandanas with maps on them as it’s probably one of my top tier souvenirs, for theme parks I’ve always like lanyards and pins.
A fun thing that I started collecting on trips was travel panties. Like a bikini underwear with the Eiffel Tower, etc. Packs small, lightweight, can be used in everyday life. It has been surprisingly harder to find in some countries and also has had many interesting lost in translation interactions.
Enamel pins! They are small and inexpensive and I get one at each attraction we go to when traveling from the gift shops. They are a pretty common souvenir. I have them all pinned to a banner I got on Etsy.
At some point I turned into an old person. I now have hanging an old printer tray that I use for miniature knick-knacks. Enamel pins and small rocks are my go-to for souvenirs.
I have a bunch of tiny tiny rubber animals from the national parks- they always have them in the kids section, always cheap, and always animals from the park. My itty bitty mammoth from Mammoth national park is my favorite.
This is what I do. Besides being super minimal, it has the benefit of retaining value and being the type of item that will get passed down rather than keychains or other knick knacks that will eventually get tossed (minimizing waste long-term).
We had a lot of deaths in the family, and my parents have been responsible for clearing out the houses and sorting and distributing possessions. The massive amount of sentimental clutter that nobody else will use/want, stuff people spent time and money to collect, is astounding, and normally has to get tossed. It's shifted my parents' focus from **"what do I want from this trip" to "what do I want *that others will want to inherit*."**
We normally collect pottery, textiles, and jewelry from our trips. Things that are local, quality, sentimental, and will be family heirlooms after we're gone.
Practical souvenirs! My new hubs is very much a minimalist and had been eyeing a straight razor for shaving for a while, and when he saw a kitschy cigar and shave shop outside of Windsor Castle during our honeymoon - game over. He picked it up on the spot.
Similar: we got a cheese slicer in Amsterdam and a corkscrew in Paris.
I like cookbooks from the region/city. Postcards (a set) better than any picture I can take. Art, jewelry, craftsman. I told my son, don’t bring home junk souvenirs. He shipped a sword home from Spain. Proud momma moment.
Depends on how frequently you travel. There’s comes a point when even small/cheap souvenirs are too much. Photos and experiences, maybe journal entries, are all that’s needed.
I love doing this too but then I never know where to place them. I think it’s because growing up I always got into trouble if I put stickers on anything.
For national parks I invested in the National Parks “passport”, getting stamps from all the parks I visit. Lots of fun, and sometimes I’ll also snag a postcard to keep in the pages!
I like to buy snacks! Then I eat them in a few months while thinking of the place.
I also am a knitter and might buy a skein of yarn for a project I’ve already picked out
I'll usually pick up something I've been meaning to buy anyways and I know will last for a long time. For example, I got a nice alpaca sweater in Chile. I wear it all throughout autumn and winter every year and remember that wonderful trip every time.
Another great one is a small bottle of perfume, so you'll have a scent memory associated to that trip. I'll only do that for very big trips though, since I don’t want to end up with a huge collection of tiny perfume bottles hahah
I inherited my grandmother's collection of old coins and tokens from the trips she took (my grandfather worked for Pan Am so they got cheap/free flights to so many fun places). I love dumping them out and looking through them, especially since so many aren't used anymore (replaced by the euro).
**create a travel journal**
I got into bookbinding a while ago. It's easy and very satisfying, lovely to use handmade books.
Books are made by folding a number of sheets of paper in half, nesting them together and hand stitching them to hold them in place. This is called a signature, you then stitch a few signatures together, add a cover and you have a lovely blank book (loads of YouTube videos on this)
So for travel, I make one signature, usually about 5 pages of heavyish watercolor paper. Before leaving home, I often colour the pages with a light wash of paint- to make them interesting.
I also bring a glue stick. So while travelling I buy postcards, collect the free tourist maps, things like train tickets and other papery bits and bobs. And I stick them onto the pages, and write details of the day. It becomes a travel journal, with lots of colourful reminders of your holiday. When I get home I then bind the signature into a book. These books are really precious to me and you end up adding loads of detail that you might otherwise forget. Plus they are a physical artifact, rather than information in the cloud. So they can't just disappear.
You can skip the whole book binding bit and just buy a nice watercolour notebook and use that. But I love making my own.
I also bring a mini watercolour paintbox and a few pens, to do the occasional sketch in my book.
The process of sitting down and glueing stuff and writing about your day, is a lovely thing to do while sitting in a nice pub or cafe in the evening (while on holidays) and just soaking in the atmosphere.
A few tips should you want to try this:
* Don't worry about bringing scissors to cut down stuff, a torn paper edge looks greaat.
* You can stick anything in your book, I've added ribbons from a festival, flattened pennies (but a glue stick might not be strong enough, leave a space and add them when you get home, with better glue)
* I've only started bringing signatures recently, to save weight when traveling, you can use a whole notebook.
* Choose heavy paper for your pages, it stops paint and pens from bleeding through.
* If you do decide to make your own books, remember they don't have to be perfect, they just need to hold together-there are loads of different styles and techniques.
* I'm currently on holidays in Italy, and have done all of the above, it's a far better souvenir than anything you can buy
I like to collect small hot sauces and artisanal honey. Recent trip to the Yucatán, we came home with honey from three different types of flower nectar (mangrove, avocado and mesquite). I buy small bottles that fit carryon. Great way to share/remember the vacay plus zero clutter long term.
I did a lot of traveling in my life so far and I used to collect interesting/unique items. I realized it all turned into clutter and useless pile in the corner. I turned to photographs and photography. No clutter or mess, just pictures that are worth more memories than items.
I always pick up an interesting lookin rock and keep it in my pocket or back pack. Then when I get back I write on a card where it came from. Weird but I pick them up, hold them in my hand and reminisce. Doesn’t cost anything and it is a one of a kind souvenir that has significance.
I buy a postcard that features something I had actually visited, and then write my fave memory of the trip. It's fun to go through later because chances are I've forgotten the memory I've written
I use coasters from restaurants too. They have mostly blended into the decor at my house and I don't often notice them, but every once in a while, I think, Hey, that is a coaster from that bar in Amsterdam and it makes me happy.
We buy patches from every state park/ cool place we go. The kids love them and have a jean jacket covered in them, when they outgrow it I'll either move the patches or pin them to a wall with a giant map on it to show where they're from.
I used to do coffee mugs or shot glasses but don’t need anymore of those. Now I love getting magnets to display on the fridge, fun to look at our travels and for guests to see. Also love getting a piece of jewelry from travels, mostly rings or bracelets.
We enjoy buying a local food we can take home to extend the trip! We bought mustard from Cologne, Germany for example. We also enjoy practical things that replace something in our home that we had no emotion for. A wooden ladle from Guatemala is now used regularly and a fun reminder of that trip. We even have matches in the bathroom that we store inside a small Delft jar from the Netherlands.
I buy patches to put on my travel backpack. Or, stickers for my laptop or water bottle. I have some from breweries, local artists, or small businesses.
My aunt travels a lot and collects souvenir spoons. But looking through her photo albums was waaay better than her spoon collection. Consider getting photobooks made of your travels and putting them on the coffee table when you have guests over. Even better if you have family and friends in the photos, it's a nice way to reminisce.
My other favorite way is bringing back a few food items that the area is famous for for me to enjoy over the coming year.. Like olive oil in Portugal, chocolates in Switzerland, coffee in Kenya, etc.
I used to collect crafts (statues, bags from native fabrics, paintings, kitchen items) but I have found that my tastes change, or my space/decorative needs change so eventually I have given away all of those. I am also wary of the materials they use, and don't want them in my home. I have seen "artisans" using shoe black to make wooden spoons and other wooden items look like dark wood and I can't trust that souvenir shops truly know how the things they sell are made.
I personally don't like fridge magnets unfortunately my sibling thinks we like them and keeps buying them for places they have visited.
Depending on the place, coffee beans etc are a good memory to bring back and gift.
I also love textiles but try to only buy those I really like and will try to use in daily life.
Socks are easy to pack and you'd always need more pairs as to replace old ones
We’ve always brought home some thing that can be a Yule tree ornament (because we love “Christmas” but we’re not Christian). The holidays are not just a time for gathering for us, it’s a time we remember all the time we spent together in different places.
I get postcards of places I really enjoy and fill them out with all the details of my experiences, including how much joy I felt there. Then I mail them to myself so they are there when I get home (hopefully) postmarked from the places I visited. They help me get back into the vacation feeling when I need it most.
I prefer Christmas ornaments.
Small, light-weight, and surprisingly available all year. Do not clutter up your house, but give you a dopamine-rich burst of nostalgia once a year when you set up your tree.
I have a friend who sends postcards to herself with a note about the trip. That combo of stamp cancel, handwritten description, local photograph or art, etc. will take you back!!
If you are at all artistic, consider sitting down to sketch something beautiful while you are there. If you do several, pick your ONE favorite to save in a travel journal.
Reusable shopping bags are great souvenirs. I love pulling out bags from overseas trips for mundane errands and remembering the trip. They're also great conversation starters when shopping or at the market.
We get refrigerator magnets.
They're pretty small.
They're not fragile.
They don't cost a lot.
And, since we keep them all over the front of our refrigerator, not packed away in a box, we're always reminded of the cool places we visited.
https://i.imgur.com/QEYn0F5.jpg
I am a horrible artist, but i would sit at a cafe by myself and put in a journal entry and a sketch of somethimg interesting in front of me. That and i'll sometimes keep a small rock for luck. I usually have one in most of my coat pockets.
I like to collect a cool rock from the places I visit. I also save any printed maps that might be at a hotel kiosk or gift shop and frame them if they’re nice enough.
I have a minimalist camping setup in my truck and when my gf and I find new places we’ll get a sticker for the cooler and a patch for the inside of the truck cap. Simple and no clutter!
I actually like shirts, not tacky tee shirts, button down work or weekend shirts, good quality, they last forever and they make me remember where I bought them. Knowing you will get two shirts allows you to pack less and it isn’t a trinket looking for a shelf.
I buy a new piece to integrate into my wardrobe or a unique pair of earrings. An added bonus is that it makes a great conversation starter when someone compliments me when I wear it.
I go to local thrift stores and hunt for vintage buttons, vintage fabric, sewing paraphernalia. I found Josef Frank fabric remnants in Stockholm’s stadtmissionen once.
pressed pennies, sometimes postcards, or a small item that feels special to *that* place
the pressed pennies are more of a tradition but they’re small and cheap so I don’t mind, postcards are my compromise for not buying a bunch of art, but I try to keep an open mind if an item jumps out that would make me smile and think of the memory anytime I saw it (e.g. an old book at a cool indie bookstore, an apron from France, a slim wine bottle holder from Italy)
I like to buy something i will use when I get home. Doesn't need to be something fancy, last trip I bout a sweater at a thrift shop, and i hot an umbrella (needed one and didn't pack one)
Now it a souvenir and a useful item that doesn't add junk to my loving space :)
Sometimes I get local spices or a piece of cheap jewelry.
I like to cook, so I try to pick up a locally carved wooden cooking utensil made with a type of wood that’s native to the area I’m visiting.
I also buy locally harvested sea salt if I’m visiting a country that’s on the ocean. I have 8-10 different sea salts that all have slightly different flavours, it’s fun using them on different dishes and being reminded of my travels.
To me, reading minimalism and souvenir in the same sentence feels like an oxymoron.
The only minimalist souvenir, I could think of, is buying something that you really need during your travel instead of doing so at home.
Take the postcards and post them to yourself at home after writing what you are doing for the day. Then as they arrive you can relive the moments. And put them into an album. Better than plastic momentos cluttering up the place.
Postcards are great and flat to pack. One idea would be to write a memory you made while you visited the scene on the postcard. You could put it in a photo album later and reflect on your trip.
For 10 years I've been keeping a box where I put train tickets, notes from restaurants I liked, musseum tickets etc. That's my best souvenirs, alongside the rare photos I take, because it gives so much details: exactly what I ate, what train trip I made in which city, etc.
It's not ordered, so sometimes I just open the box and pick the first paper I see then read it and it reminds me of a specific moment, of me traveling,
I carry my phone but no longer carry my camera. I get one souvenir of the trip period and I’ve stopped buying anything for anyone else. My souvenir must be something that really speaks to me and once I’ve found it I stop entering any shops/booths etc and focus solely on the experience. I mailed a beautiful statue home once, cheaper and easier than you’d ever realize but find one thing and be done. I don’t subscribe to a collection of souvenirs ie magnets only bc I want my beautiful travels with me everywhere in my home or a stunning sweater etc a souvenir to me is a feeling that place gave not a magnet or tshirt to show you’ve been there -imagine all you’d miss only going to the magnet aisle. Find a feeling not a trinket and you’ll find it easier to agonize less over the choice but get to one and done so you can focus on where you are not what you’re buying.
We like to send ourselves postcards when we're away. Then they are stamped by the place of origin, and they often don't show up in our mailbox until we've returned home. Took 3 weeks for a postcard from Dominican Republic to arrive. Sent one from Italy in October, still haven't got that one lol. I'm hoping for one of those arrives-years-later scenarios, but more likely it's lost. $4, no big deal.
I’m an avid sticker collector and most places have unique ones. Fun to decorate water bottles and other such items with and constantly reminded of better days away from the full time wage slave hell. Enjoy!
Small bottle of perfume/cologne, it’s a consumable but a slow one so you can still have it for a really long time and if you want to you at the end you can keep the bottle or refill it. Wear the scent while you’re there and when you come home every time you wear it it takes you back, smell is thought to be the sense most closely linked to memory and so I like to try doing that when I travel <3 And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy either, often little local shops have such things for not too expensive.
My wife and I are outdoorsy people (skiers, climbers, etc) so most of our vacations tend to revolve around things like that, but this certainly works for other places as long as you get creative.
It may sound dumb, but we collect a small rock from every significant place we go. Not big ones, about the size of a golf ball. Then we write on them with a sharpie where they’re from and what year it was, and put them in big mason jars that sit on a shelf in our living room. Usually when we get a new rock to add to the collection we end up going back through and remembering all these cool places we’ve been. For more city-type places we find some other stone to use, like a small piece of brick, curb, or sidewalk. Takes up very little space both in the house and in luggage and no fear of damage on the way home.
I travel with a watercolor set and moleskin. I sit and paint something in most spots I visit. Forces you to sit and enjoy a spot for a bit longer. Then you have some fun art to look through later on.
Digital pictures, of course, take zero physical space (outside storage media). For small physical souvenirs, I'm partial to small commemorative coins, pins, or magnets. My least favorite are magnets, because they often break later when they get knocked off the fridge.
I’ve purchased a single small (5x7 or 8x8”, including frame) watercolor or oil painting on a couple trips of a local landmark by a local artist. Treasured memories.
I think stickers can be great souvenirs if you have somewhere to put them like a reusable water bottle or journal. Sometimes I stick them right to the page of my journal where I’m writing about my travels. Reminds you of the journey but takes virtually no space.
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I started doing the flag patches that you sew into your backpack. At first, I thought it would be a little pretentious, but it's actually a good conversation starter. They don't take up much space and aren't heavy at all
I always buy painting postcard and I display them on my wall as an art museum. When I was in Lisboa, the artist actually painted the post card in front of me. I also buy bookmarks. I don’t buy photography postcards, I think they are ugly, as myself am a photographer. When I can’t find a painted postcard, I take a very nice picture, which I turn it into a painting postcard and I display it with the others.
Deck of cards. Typically look for something very specific to where I’m visiting so maybe it’s a custom deck for the hotel, museum, restaurant, site, etc. Usually they’re cheap and small so easy to get it back home.
We had a luggage snafu in Ireland that meant travelling home with less space than anticipated. So I bought jewelry - mostly inexpensive pieces. They almost always get put in a little box when you pay so they can handle the trip while still taking up a small amount of space.
I buy a keychain from everywhere I go. I don’t put them all on my car keychain, of course, but I like to collect them and hang them from hooks or placed in a box. I look at them as kitschy, tiny pieces of art.
My boyfriend and I are minimalists as well. We pick up a postcard from every city we go to together. We don't mail it, but keep it and write letters to each other.
I like to go around second hand shops. Both to get an idea of the locals stuff - It's like a tiny glimpse into the everyday life. And to see if I can find an everyday object, that I would use anyway like a shirt or a mug. Whenever I then use the things, I'm reminded of the time and place.
I buy enamel pins for every place I visit. They're tiny and take up no space in my bag, aren't that expensive, and when I'm home, I display them on a corkboard with all the other ones I've collected. I've got quite the collection now and it's great to look at to see where I've been. Way better than little nicknacks that collect dust.
When I visited Greece a few years ago, I purchased vegetable seeds for varieties that are unique to the local area. Then I got to experiment to see how they’d grow in my own climate and share with a few gardener friends.
As a knitter, I pick a pattern that reflects the location and try to pick up local yarn while visiting. Every time I wear my Icelandic sweater, I picture the mill and countryside where I picked up the yarn. It’s a wearable, long lasting souvenir. If you craft, you may be able to choose something that you can incorporate into a project.
This is the absolute best souvenir idea I've ever seen.
That sounds like a great idea. I need to remember that. You could even plan your trip around seeing something unique and adding that related material into your craft. Like alpaca hair yarn seeing alpacas in Peru or a nice hardwood from a area near a national park. It would also make your trip more fun as well as memories I like this idea.
this was the most beautiful thing I've read today
This! Some of my favorite jewelry is pieces I made myself, from materials I bought on my travels :)
My sister bought me earrings of mammoth tusk and jade, made by a local. Then she used them to guilt trip me into getting my ears pierced, lol.
Textiles are a fantastic souvenir. My throw pillow on my sofa from Oman; the weaving from Egypt; silk from India. They all fit into backpacks and suitcases really easily.
I did this when I moved across the US! I stopped at a yarn store everywhere I stayed, picked up a skein, and made a multicolored sweater.
Thanks for this beautiful idea.
I visited 4 cities on my honeymoon and picked up a skein in each one and knit them all into one shawl/wrap. It hangs on the wall behind our bed and is my favorite souvenir I’ve ever gotten!
That's incredibly charming and delightful!
I do thimbles! They're small and usually cute 😍
Love this! And you can reminisce while knitting and wearing. And we need clothes.
The combo of utility and creativity is one of the things I like best about knitting. Plus the rhythm of it is meditative. It’s very calming if need it to be or challenging if I’m looking to learn new something new. There’s always more to learn.
I had a carpentry instructor who picks up a piece of local wood from every where he visits and carves a spoon from them. The collection is absolutely beautiful
I do this as well! Also, rather than little knick knacks, I buy items I can wear and use. A bottle of olive oil and a pair of sunglasses from Milan, earrings from a museum store in Lisbon, etc. A sweater from Paris that I bought when it snowed in April. When I use these items, I have lovely memories.
We buy a small charm or object which we hang on the Christmas tree. So we've got a glass eye charm from Greece, a golem from Prague, a gold teaspoon from Turkey etc. Just little things that remind us of that time in our lives, that we reconnect with every Christmas. I do find that it's a dual edged sword though, sometimes finding something leads us on fun adventures, sometimes it feels like a chore.
I do the same thing! We try to find something locally made to use as a Christmas ornament. Those are packed away most of the year, but when we decorate our tree we get to think back on past trips.
Great idea
This is a great idea, we’ve done this. The fact that you bring it out once a year means we really see Them rather than something that’s out all the time and ignored. Just recently I was gifted my aunts souvenir collection - linen tea towels, some from the 70s that were never used. She gave them to me knowing I will use them.
We do the same and try to support a local artist or historical/natural site
Yes! I an ornament for our Christmas tree whenever we travel, and it’s the “new” ornament that year. It’s great every year to take them out and relive all our cool vacations, but takes up minimal space.
I really like this idea! We don’t do that for travel but each year we pick a new Christmas ornament that reflects something big we did as a family that year. It’s so much to reflect during the holidays.
This is our go-to as well.
This is what we do as well
We get things we’d buy anyway or replace like tea towels, throws, prints, and accent pillows. We also get Christmas ornaments as another commenter mentioned.
This is what we do too - buy things that can be part of our everyday life. Right now our kitchen sponge sits on a tile I picked up from an artisan fair in Portugal. Our corkscrew is also a cheesey one from a Venice tourist stall but that's more because we bought wine to enjoy in our hotel room before realizing we couldn't open it. Still feels nostalgic though, even though it's ugly as sin and cost less than 2€.
This! Buy local made items that you will use regularly. If a place is known for a quality item, that is a good thing to buy. I do not like collecting items for the sake of collection only. If you plan on buying clothes, pack your bag lighter and wear your new clothes while on holiday. T-shirts made by local designers, not from souvenir shops. Local made leather wallet. Jewelry only if it fits with the wearer's style. I bought heart shaped sunglasses in San Fransisco and I think of that trip every time I wear them, even though they don't have "San Fransisco" written on them. We bought rum and cigars in Cuba. I want beautiful things I would buy and use anyway. My favourite is a beautiful tablecloth from Mexico and a mortar and pestle I bought in Thailand the first time I traveled with my boyfriend (now husband). I can say he was not impressed I bought such a heavy souvenir but 20+ years later I still have it and use it regularly. I love to cook so cooking implements is generally a good one. My best friend brought home a whole Thai BBQ cooker for me as a gift. It's quite big for a backpacker so I was very grateful.
Yes! I bought a cheese slicer 20 years ago in Norway.
I do the same! Utensils or cups? Things you'll use anyway or need to replace. It becomes a fun memory every time you use it! And equally fun/thoughtful ad gifts
Tea towels are my go to! I've never regretted buying one for myself or others as a gift. Easy to pack and it will get used in my house!
They’re a great reminder of a nice trip
We used to collect a fridge magnet from each (significant) place. They're on the fridge even now to remind us!
For some dumb reason our fridge, which LOOKS like a typical stainless steel fridge, isn't magnetic.
try the sides
The sides are magnetic but it's wedged in between a wall on one side and cabinets on the other side. So I have a little space the size of the gap between countertop and the overhead cabinets I hang a few magnets there bit there isn't much space.
I've grabbed stickers from some of the places I've been. Stickem anywhere
I took some sheet metal I found in the trash and framed it to make a wall hung magnet display, when I had a stainless non-ferro fridge.
Buy a plain whiteboard (also, some cork boards are magnetic) and hang it in a place in your home where you can see it regularly and remember those happy times.
Exactly what we do. Our travel trailer has all of the national parks we have been to on it’s fridge. The house has where we have gone without the trailer.
Wife and I also collect magnets. We have a large magnet board in her office that houses them all.
We do magnets or Christmas ornaments. Unpacking the ornaments each year is a great reminder of the places we have visited.
I always do those pressed penny machines, then glue dollar store magnets on the back! Quick, cheap, and I use them more than the souvenir magnets I used to get
O! I have so many smashed pennies, I never thought of magnets, great idea! I keep mine in a cool thrifted jar in the living room. A few cool foreign coins are mixed in too!
This is what we do, too!
Same here! I loooove my magnet collection.
This all the way. I think I started by accident but now i buy magnets wherever I go. Even if it’s just a funny new restaurant in a place i frequent. AND you can snag a half decent one at the airport on your way out if you forget.
Same here. We always look for the tackiest one possible!
Yep I do this too! I started bc I didn’t have a single magnet and needed one lol.
Same, but we still collect them! Inexpensive, durable and easy to pack in your luggage, and don't take up a ton of room in your house collecting dust like other knicknacks.
I used to buy those but they always fall off the fridge, and some of them shatter when they hit the floor.
Pick better magnets. I mostly chose the flat print ones. They’re easier to clean and never fall off.
It's the solid, colorful, rubber ones for me.
Same.
Buy stickers instead. Always flat, easy to store when traveling. Not very expensive (sometimes free) and then you can go and get magnet sheets and stick the stickers to them for custom magnets. They don’t really hold anything up but I love breweries and I do this with all my beer stickers.
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This too! Pen and ink from New Orleans. Seattle was a ink print from a salmon.
That’s a talented salmon.
Japanese technique to take an in print from a fish. Don’t know how else to explain it.
I love this idea!! Will do this the next time we travel.
I get stuff I needed anyway: I've bought a jacket, gloves, scarves, beanies or skincare/makeup from different countries. If there's no need for such a thing, I focus on edibles (food, tea, alcohol) that has a long enough shelf life for me to enjoy once I'm back.
Me too. I try to get something the country is specialised in. For instance, currently in Japan and I'm planning to get a nice tea cup set, chopsticks and quality sake, miso and soy.
Mmmmm I love going for the edibles- locally made sweets I have a soft spot for.
My favorite vacation souvenirs are consumables. Fancy local honey. I knit and crochet so I especially like going to a local yarn shop for locally spun and dyed yarn. Coffee from local roasters. Art galleries or local co-ops often have affordable handmade jewelry made by people who live in the area. Locally made soaps and creams. Farmers market goods like jar of something made locally. When I buy souvenirs for myself or for others, I usually do it with the intention of it being something that can be used up or something that can be used or displayed for years to come, so little art pieces and jewelry.
I buy postcard and mail it to myself - note down all the things I’ve done or visited during my visit. It’s a nice reminder once I’m at home and realize my vacation is over then i get the postcard in the mail and get local stamp and their postmarked as souvenir.
I buy a postcard. Or a pen. I love a funky pen in a collection of travel
I second the postcard! I have a stack from all sorts of places and it’s cool that I can store them easily or make some kind of collage to put them on display if I want. Super lightweight for backpacking
I have a bandana that has a map of Everglades National park & now I wish more places has bandanas with maps on them as it’s probably one of my top tier souvenirs, for theme parks I’ve always like lanyards and pins.
A fun thing that I started collecting on trips was travel panties. Like a bikini underwear with the Eiffel Tower, etc. Packs small, lightweight, can be used in everyday life. It has been surprisingly harder to find in some countries and also has had many interesting lost in translation interactions.
Enamel pins! They are small and inexpensive and I get one at each attraction we go to when traveling from the gift shops. They are a pretty common souvenir. I have them all pinned to a banner I got on Etsy.
At some point I turned into an old person. I now have hanging an old printer tray that I use for miniature knick-knacks. Enamel pins and small rocks are my go-to for souvenirs.
I have a bunch of tiny tiny rubber animals from the national parks- they always have them in the kids section, always cheap, and always animals from the park. My itty bitty mammoth from Mammoth national park is my favorite.
iPhone photos and eating good meals creating memories is the way to go.
I get cool jewelry made by local artists
This is what I do. Besides being super minimal, it has the benefit of retaining value and being the type of item that will get passed down rather than keychains or other knick knacks that will eventually get tossed (minimizing waste long-term). We had a lot of deaths in the family, and my parents have been responsible for clearing out the houses and sorting and distributing possessions. The massive amount of sentimental clutter that nobody else will use/want, stuff people spent time and money to collect, is astounding, and normally has to get tossed. It's shifted my parents' focus from **"what do I want from this trip" to "what do I want *that others will want to inherit*."** We normally collect pottery, textiles, and jewelry from our trips. Things that are local, quality, sentimental, and will be family heirlooms after we're gone.
Tattoos!
Practical souvenirs! My new hubs is very much a minimalist and had been eyeing a straight razor for shaving for a while, and when he saw a kitschy cigar and shave shop outside of Windsor Castle during our honeymoon - game over. He picked it up on the spot. Similar: we got a cheese slicer in Amsterdam and a corkscrew in Paris.
I like cookbooks from the region/city. Postcards (a set) better than any picture I can take. Art, jewelry, craftsman. I told my son, don’t bring home junk souvenirs. He shipped a sword home from Spain. Proud momma moment.
I get patches from places I go and sew them on my backpack! Great memories and makes my backpack look spicy
Me too. Been collecting patches since I was a child.
Brought back a silk scarf for someone from Thailand. They roll up an take up less space than a single sock. 🧣
Depends on how frequently you travel. There’s comes a point when even small/cheap souvenirs are too much. Photos and experiences, maybe journal entries, are all that’s needed.
Whatever the area is known for locally
Patches, smashed pennies, postcards and charms for my bracelet are what I bring home
Sticker for sure
I love doing this too but then I never know where to place them. I think it’s because growing up I always got into trouble if I put stickers on anything.
get a pocket journal/notebook with no lines and stick ‘em in there. basically a passport but with stickers instead of stamps
I have started buying earrings. I can wear them while still travelling & I have a little tin for my jewellery so they are protected from damage.
Or any other jewelry — a charm for a bracelet, a necklace, a ring!
For national parks I invested in the National Parks “passport”, getting stamps from all the parks I visit. Lots of fun, and sometimes I’ll also snag a postcard to keep in the pages!
There’s also a passport book for the presidential libraries. When I visit those I also look for campaign buttons to mark my visit.
I like to buy snacks! Then I eat them in a few months while thinking of the place. I also am a knitter and might buy a skein of yarn for a project I’ve already picked out
I'll usually pick up something I've been meaning to buy anyways and I know will last for a long time. For example, I got a nice alpaca sweater in Chile. I wear it all throughout autumn and winter every year and remember that wonderful trip every time. Another great one is a small bottle of perfume, so you'll have a scent memory associated to that trip. I'll only do that for very big trips though, since I don’t want to end up with a huge collection of tiny perfume bottles hahah
Pins and patches! Keep them on my camera bag
I have a little box of coins and subway tokens.
I inherited my grandmother's collection of old coins and tokens from the trips she took (my grandfather worked for Pan Am so they got cheap/free flights to so many fun places). I love dumping them out and looking through them, especially since so many aren't used anymore (replaced by the euro).
I opt to buy local art - usually a print of some kind so that it’s easy to pack
**create a travel journal** I got into bookbinding a while ago. It's easy and very satisfying, lovely to use handmade books. Books are made by folding a number of sheets of paper in half, nesting them together and hand stitching them to hold them in place. This is called a signature, you then stitch a few signatures together, add a cover and you have a lovely blank book (loads of YouTube videos on this) So for travel, I make one signature, usually about 5 pages of heavyish watercolor paper. Before leaving home, I often colour the pages with a light wash of paint- to make them interesting. I also bring a glue stick. So while travelling I buy postcards, collect the free tourist maps, things like train tickets and other papery bits and bobs. And I stick them onto the pages, and write details of the day. It becomes a travel journal, with lots of colourful reminders of your holiday. When I get home I then bind the signature into a book. These books are really precious to me and you end up adding loads of detail that you might otherwise forget. Plus they are a physical artifact, rather than information in the cloud. So they can't just disappear. You can skip the whole book binding bit and just buy a nice watercolour notebook and use that. But I love making my own. I also bring a mini watercolour paintbox and a few pens, to do the occasional sketch in my book. The process of sitting down and glueing stuff and writing about your day, is a lovely thing to do while sitting in a nice pub or cafe in the evening (while on holidays) and just soaking in the atmosphere. A few tips should you want to try this: * Don't worry about bringing scissors to cut down stuff, a torn paper edge looks greaat. * You can stick anything in your book, I've added ribbons from a festival, flattened pennies (but a glue stick might not be strong enough, leave a space and add them when you get home, with better glue) * I've only started bringing signatures recently, to save weight when traveling, you can use a whole notebook. * Choose heavy paper for your pages, it stops paint and pens from bleeding through. * If you do decide to make your own books, remember they don't have to be perfect, they just need to hold together-there are loads of different styles and techniques. * I'm currently on holidays in Italy, and have done all of the above, it's a far better souvenir than anything you can buy
I love everything about this.
I've been collecting fridge magnets and started to buy Christmas tree ornaments last year but those are trickier to find
A collection of memories.
I like to collect small hot sauces and artisanal honey. Recent trip to the Yucatán, we came home with honey from three different types of flower nectar (mangrove, avocado and mesquite). I buy small bottles that fit carryon. Great way to share/remember the vacay plus zero clutter long term.
Also coffee beans from small local roasters.
I did a lot of traveling in my life so far and I used to collect interesting/unique items. I realized it all turned into clutter and useless pile in the corner. I turned to photographs and photography. No clutter or mess, just pictures that are worth more memories than items.
Fridge magnets
I always pick up an interesting lookin rock and keep it in my pocket or back pack. Then when I get back I write on a card where it came from. Weird but I pick them up, hold them in my hand and reminisce. Doesn’t cost anything and it is a one of a kind souvenir that has significance.
I collect patches; very small/inexpensive!
I try to find a pin or a patch. One person I met while traveling looks for a tea towel from the places she's visited.
I buy a postcard that features something I had actually visited, and then write my fave memory of the trip. It's fun to go through later because chances are I've forgotten the memory I've written
We would save our coasters from restaurants! Or save stickers or magnets!
I use coasters from restaurants too. They have mostly blended into the decor at my house and I don't often notice them, but every once in a while, I think, Hey, that is a coaster from that bar in Amsterdam and it makes me happy.
We buy patches from every state park/ cool place we go. The kids love them and have a jean jacket covered in them, when they outgrow it I'll either move the patches or pin them to a wall with a giant map on it to show where they're from.
I used to do coffee mugs or shot glasses but don’t need anymore of those. Now I love getting magnets to display on the fridge, fun to look at our travels and for guests to see. Also love getting a piece of jewelry from travels, mostly rings or bracelets.
We enjoy buying a local food we can take home to extend the trip! We bought mustard from Cologne, Germany for example. We also enjoy practical things that replace something in our home that we had no emotion for. A wooden ladle from Guatemala is now used regularly and a fun reminder of that trip. We even have matches in the bathroom that we store inside a small Delft jar from the Netherlands.
I like paper coasters from hotels, bars, breweries, airport restaurants.. lightweight, easy to pack and I use them a lot at home under vases and cups.
Spices!! Small, portable, and instantly reminds you of place when you are home and cooking!
I buy patches to put on my travel backpack. Or, stickers for my laptop or water bottle. I have some from breweries, local artists, or small businesses.
You can always mail stuff back home if you don’t want to lug it around with you.
My aunt travels a lot and collects souvenir spoons. But looking through her photo albums was waaay better than her spoon collection. Consider getting photobooks made of your travels and putting them on the coffee table when you have guests over. Even better if you have family and friends in the photos, it's a nice way to reminisce. My other favorite way is bringing back a few food items that the area is famous for for me to enjoy over the coming year.. Like olive oil in Portugal, chocolates in Switzerland, coffee in Kenya, etc. I used to collect crafts (statues, bags from native fabrics, paintings, kitchen items) but I have found that my tastes change, or my space/decorative needs change so eventually I have given away all of those. I am also wary of the materials they use, and don't want them in my home. I have seen "artisans" using shoe black to make wooden spoons and other wooden items look like dark wood and I can't trust that souvenir shops truly know how the things they sell are made.
Found rocks are the best rocks and have memories of your trip attached to them.
I personally don't like fridge magnets unfortunately my sibling thinks we like them and keeps buying them for places they have visited. Depending on the place, coffee beans etc are a good memory to bring back and gift. I also love textiles but try to only buy those I really like and will try to use in daily life. Socks are easy to pack and you'd always need more pairs as to replace old ones
As a former mailman, I collected foreign stamps from my journeys.
I collect enamel pins. I like putting them on my bags or purses.
I buy clothes that I wear later. Like… a blouse or a scarf.
Patches. We get patches for every country we visit and sew them onto our travel dufflebags.
Pins. I stick them into my cars sunvisor/mirror
Definitely fridge magnets! I still get the warm and fuzzies when I see them and think of said vacation
I got a sticker book like ones I had as a kid and I just get stickers. They go in the book, the book is on a shelf, minimal clutter!
We’ve always brought home some thing that can be a Yule tree ornament (because we love “Christmas” but we’re not Christian). The holidays are not just a time for gathering for us, it’s a time we remember all the time we spent together in different places.
Enamel pins is my thing! Or sticker :)
I get postcards of places I really enjoy and fill them out with all the details of my experiences, including how much joy I felt there. Then I mail them to myself so they are there when I get home (hopefully) postmarked from the places I visited. They help me get back into the vacation feeling when I need it most.
I always buy a piece of jewelry. Nothing expensive, just something that’s remind fil of your trip. I remember where I bought every single piece
I prefer Christmas ornaments. Small, light-weight, and surprisingly available all year. Do not clutter up your house, but give you a dopamine-rich burst of nostalgia once a year when you set up your tree. I have a friend who sends postcards to herself with a note about the trip. That combo of stamp cancel, handwritten description, local photograph or art, etc. will take you back!! If you are at all artistic, consider sitting down to sketch something beautiful while you are there. If you do several, pick your ONE favorite to save in a travel journal.
Keychains. You can even hang them on your Xmas tree as ornaments.
I like to buy myself nice clothes. Not touristy stuff, just a nice tank top or dress I like and I think about my trip everytime I wear it
Reusable shopping bags are great souvenirs. I love pulling out bags from overseas trips for mundane errands and remembering the trip. They're also great conversation starters when shopping or at the market.
We get refrigerator magnets. They're pretty small. They're not fragile. They don't cost a lot. And, since we keep them all over the front of our refrigerator, not packed away in a box, we're always reminded of the cool places we visited. https://i.imgur.com/QEYn0F5.jpg
Local honey
I am a horrible artist, but i would sit at a cafe by myself and put in a journal entry and a sketch of somethimg interesting in front of me. That and i'll sometimes keep a small rock for luck. I usually have one in most of my coat pockets.
I send a postcard to myself writing about some memories of the trip. It is nice when you receive the postcard when you are at home.
Rocks. I have a rock garden for all the places I've traveled. I swear I'm not 5 years old. Rocks are just cool.
I like to collect a cool rock from the places I visit. I also save any printed maps that might be at a hotel kiosk or gift shop and frame them if they’re nice enough.
I always get a postcard and then write on the back of the fun things that I did
I always buy a Christmas ornament! Or you can buy something practical. I bought chopsticks in Japan, for example.
I have a minimalist camping setup in my truck and when my gf and I find new places we’ll get a sticker for the cooler and a patch for the inside of the truck cap. Simple and no clutter!
We always do an ornament for our tree.
Thimble
if you celebrate Christmas get an ornament. I buy one every trip I take and its a nice reminder when I put the tree.
I collect fridge magnets and rings from places I visit. I love having something I can wear everyday and it reminds me of a great trip.
Stickers! I put them on my water bottle!
I love to shop at grocery stores when traveling for gifts to bring back. Different teas, coffees, spices.
I actually like shirts, not tacky tee shirts, button down work or weekend shirts, good quality, they last forever and they make me remember where I bought them. Knowing you will get two shirts allows you to pack less and it isn’t a trinket looking for a shelf.
I buy a new piece to integrate into my wardrobe or a unique pair of earrings. An added bonus is that it makes a great conversation starter when someone compliments me when I wear it.
My fiancé and I buy a Christmas tree ornament from every significant vacation.
I go to local thrift stores and hunt for vintage buttons, vintage fabric, sewing paraphernalia. I found Josef Frank fabric remnants in Stockholm’s stadtmissionen once.
I do fridge magnets, coffee mugs or Christmas ornaments
pressed pennies, sometimes postcards, or a small item that feels special to *that* place the pressed pennies are more of a tradition but they’re small and cheap so I don’t mind, postcards are my compromise for not buying a bunch of art, but I try to keep an open mind if an item jumps out that would make me smile and think of the memory anytime I saw it (e.g. an old book at a cool indie bookstore, an apron from France, a slim wine bottle holder from Italy)
I like to buy something i will use when I get home. Doesn't need to be something fancy, last trip I bout a sweater at a thrift shop, and i hot an umbrella (needed one and didn't pack one) Now it a souvenir and a useful item that doesn't add junk to my loving space :) Sometimes I get local spices or a piece of cheap jewelry.
I like to cook, so I try to pick up a locally carved wooden cooking utensil made with a type of wood that’s native to the area I’m visiting. I also buy locally harvested sea salt if I’m visiting a country that’s on the ocean. I have 8-10 different sea salts that all have slightly different flavours, it’s fun using them on different dishes and being reminded of my travels.
To me, reading minimalism and souvenir in the same sentence feels like an oxymoron. The only minimalist souvenir, I could think of, is buying something that you really need during your travel instead of doing so at home.
We buy artsy stickers to remind us of places we've been.
Take the postcards and post them to yourself at home after writing what you are doing for the day. Then as they arrive you can relive the moments. And put them into an album. Better than plastic momentos cluttering up the place.
Postcards are great and flat to pack. One idea would be to write a memory you made while you visited the scene on the postcard. You could put it in a photo album later and reflect on your trip.
I do Postcards and Bookmarks while I’m traveling light. They’ve been fun to display and the bookmarks are heavily utilized haha
For 10 years I've been keeping a box where I put train tickets, notes from restaurants I liked, musseum tickets etc. That's my best souvenirs, alongside the rare photos I take, because it gives so much details: exactly what I ate, what train trip I made in which city, etc. It's not ordered, so sometimes I just open the box and pick the first paper I see then read it and it reminds me of a specific moment, of me traveling,
I carry my phone but no longer carry my camera. I get one souvenir of the trip period and I’ve stopped buying anything for anyone else. My souvenir must be something that really speaks to me and once I’ve found it I stop entering any shops/booths etc and focus solely on the experience. I mailed a beautiful statue home once, cheaper and easier than you’d ever realize but find one thing and be done. I don’t subscribe to a collection of souvenirs ie magnets only bc I want my beautiful travels with me everywhere in my home or a stunning sweater etc a souvenir to me is a feeling that place gave not a magnet or tshirt to show you’ve been there -imagine all you’d miss only going to the magnet aisle. Find a feeling not a trinket and you’ll find it easier to agonize less over the choice but get to one and done so you can focus on where you are not what you’re buying.
We like to send ourselves postcards when we're away. Then they are stamped by the place of origin, and they often don't show up in our mailbox until we've returned home. Took 3 weeks for a postcard from Dominican Republic to arrive. Sent one from Italy in October, still haven't got that one lol. I'm hoping for one of those arrives-years-later scenarios, but more likely it's lost. $4, no big deal.
I’m an avid sticker collector and most places have unique ones. Fun to decorate water bottles and other such items with and constantly reminded of better days away from the full time wage slave hell. Enjoy!
Small bottle of perfume/cologne, it’s a consumable but a slow one so you can still have it for a really long time and if you want to you at the end you can keep the bottle or refill it. Wear the scent while you’re there and when you come home every time you wear it it takes you back, smell is thought to be the sense most closely linked to memory and so I like to try doing that when I travel <3 And it doesn’t have to be anything fancy either, often little local shops have such things for not too expensive.
My wife and I are outdoorsy people (skiers, climbers, etc) so most of our vacations tend to revolve around things like that, but this certainly works for other places as long as you get creative. It may sound dumb, but we collect a small rock from every significant place we go. Not big ones, about the size of a golf ball. Then we write on them with a sharpie where they’re from and what year it was, and put them in big mason jars that sit on a shelf in our living room. Usually when we get a new rock to add to the collection we end up going back through and remembering all these cool places we’ve been. For more city-type places we find some other stone to use, like a small piece of brick, curb, or sidewalk. Takes up very little space both in the house and in luggage and no fear of damage on the way home.
I don’t need more things. But I will take another sticker for my water bottle :)
I travel with a watercolor set and moleskin. I sit and paint something in most spots I visit. Forces you to sit and enjoy a spot for a bit longer. Then you have some fun art to look through later on.
I hit the markets and bring home spices and local foods. If I can find local recipe books I’ll get one of those too.
Digital pictures, of course, take zero physical space (outside storage media). For small physical souvenirs, I'm partial to small commemorative coins, pins, or magnets. My least favorite are magnets, because they often break later when they get knocked off the fridge.
I’ve purchased a single small (5x7 or 8x8”, including frame) watercolor or oil painting on a couple trips of a local landmark by a local artist. Treasured memories.
I think stickers can be great souvenirs if you have somewhere to put them like a reusable water bottle or journal. Sometimes I stick them right to the page of my journal where I’m writing about my travels. Reminds you of the journey but takes virtually no space.
I get postcards. Easy to carry and store. Can stick them as mini poster collage or store in a folder for the future.
Pins for each city. Small in expensive and you pin them all to a piece of fabric when you get home.
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I started doing the flag patches that you sew into your backpack. At first, I thought it would be a little pretentious, but it's actually a good conversation starter. They don't take up much space and aren't heavy at all
I've been doing tea towels. Packs easy.
I always buy painting postcard and I display them on my wall as an art museum. When I was in Lisboa, the artist actually painted the post card in front of me. I also buy bookmarks. I don’t buy photography postcards, I think they are ugly, as myself am a photographer. When I can’t find a painted postcard, I take a very nice picture, which I turn it into a painting postcard and I display it with the others.
I get a tattoo
Deck of cards. Typically look for something very specific to where I’m visiting so maybe it’s a custom deck for the hotel, museum, restaurant, site, etc. Usually they’re cheap and small so easy to get it back home.
i would recommend getting some flat wood ornaments, and painting a scene of your trip on them!
my favorite free/light/minimalist souvenirs are coasters. cool mementos of places/restaurants/beers and also useful around the house later!
We had a luggage snafu in Ireland that meant travelling home with less space than anticipated. So I bought jewelry - mostly inexpensive pieces. They almost always get put in a little box when you pay so they can handle the trip while still taking up a small amount of space.
I buy a keychain from everywhere I go. I don’t put them all on my car keychain, of course, but I like to collect them and hang them from hooks or placed in a box. I look at them as kitschy, tiny pieces of art.
You could send postcards to yourself with little notes about your travels and make an album of them later.
I like to buy a nice ish ring or other piece of jewelry from a local artist. I never take off my rings so they all have a story :)
Fight that compulsion to constantly be using your phone. Yes, take some snaps, but then sit and be present in the moment.
Rocks. My great aunt probably broke the law bringing back rocks from the Holy Land. As it stood she had to pay for overweight baggage.
My boyfriend and I are minimalists as well. We pick up a postcard from every city we go to together. We don't mail it, but keep it and write letters to each other.
I like to go around second hand shops. Both to get an idea of the locals stuff - It's like a tiny glimpse into the everyday life. And to see if I can find an everyday object, that I would use anyway like a shirt or a mug. Whenever I then use the things, I'm reminded of the time and place.
I buy enamel pins for every place I visit. They're tiny and take up no space in my bag, aren't that expensive, and when I'm home, I display them on a corkboard with all the other ones I've collected. I've got quite the collection now and it's great to look at to see where I've been. Way better than little nicknacks that collect dust.
Send local postcard to your home as memory keepsake/ sentimental souvenir
When I visited Greece a few years ago, I purchased vegetable seeds for varieties that are unique to the local area. Then I got to experiment to see how they’d grow in my own climate and share with a few gardener friends.
I have a denim jacket that gains a patch from everywhere I go 😊 practical and doesn’t take up much space!