Ten free souvenirs to remember your vacation by Andrea Gilson

Remember your Vacation without Spending Barely a Cent on Souvenirs

Photographs are the most obvious way to remember your travels but there are other things to pick up along the way that cost little or nothing and will outlive the usual souvenir shop fare. The things below will bring you back to the moments you want to remember more vividly than a t-shirt or globe shaker. Bring a few zip-log bags in your luggage to contain your treasures.

Pick up a newspaper from your destination. You will have a record of the exact date of your trip. It is not necessary to buy the paper unless that is a part of your daily custom. Papers are often complimentary at hotels, and a section can always be found lying abandoned. While in Cape Town, I picked up two front pages. One from The Cape Times and one from The Cape Argus, each newspaper featured a separate great white shark incident. That is an extreme example, but it brings back to mind the conversations I overheard in shops and cafes that week.

Collecting a sample of soil or sand lets you bring a tangible part of your vacation home with you. Scoop a handful into a baggie and when you return, dry it on a paper towel and then display in glass jars. Old spice jars work well for this. Label the jar with the date and location and you are on your way to a satisfying hobby. I label my jars with a black permanent marker. As more samples join the collection from various trips, it becomes clear that all dirt is not the same.

At a restaurant or as you meet fellow travelers, there is always the opportunity to collect business cards. Make an effort not to throw them away. Use them to remember places and people. Pick them up from counter tops and ask people for them while you are getting to know them in event lines. Even if John Smith is not a local at your destination, you will remember meeting him and what you discussed. When friends ask you for a recommendation, you can provide the details to lead them to a favorite Indian Cuisine place you fell in love with in New Zealand. The people you meet randomly while on vacation might lead to a long term friendship or a business venture.

Save menus from places you dine at while on vacation. Even if the food was not that great, you will remember it. Fancy menus, of course, are not an option to carry away, but ask the server if there is a paper copy. If so, keep it. In my experience, even moderately fancy places will not turn you down if you simply ask them if you can keep the menu.

While you are pouring over that postcard sale carousel, buy an extra one. Send it home to yourself. You will experience the same joy that your family and friends do when they see that you had thought of them. This is a fun way to lengthen your vacation, and take the edge off of the call back to reality.

If you try a unique cocktail or type of beer while vacationing, peel the label off of the bottle and let it dry. Foreign beer names are often hard to remember or even pronounce.

Save airline flight ticket, bus ticket, and attraction ticket stubs. Keep parking passes, brochures, and even car rental agreements to add to your memory zip-loc bag. These pieces of paper will let you relive your vacation long after that t-shirt becomes stained or a globe shaker gets broken.

Coins and paper money that is left over from an international vacation is fun to save. The money likely will not do you much good back home, so exchange most back to your home currency. Keep a few coins and maybe a paper bill if it is especially nice. If you travel abroad often, you will gain a nice collection. Keep the foreign money in a dish on a table in your home. When your guests see it, they will certainly start up a conversation about it. Your travels can be relived again as you get to talk about your journeys.

Writing down notes while vacationing in a journal is the best way to bring back the moments. Your journal does not have to be extensive. Some traveler's keep detailed journal entries each day. For those that do not want to spend that much time writing, a few words throughout the day are enough. For example, a small notepad the size of a deck of cards is sufficient. Write down quick phrases like, the strange lady in the red hat, exhausted after hikeor, made friends with a fish. Even these small notes will remind you of something that struck you in the moment while traveling.

Put all of you're the saved items that will fit into a large zip-lock bag. The rest keep safe in your luggage. For years to come, these will be the best memories of your trip as it unfolded.


Source for Ten free souvenirs to remember your vacation by Andrea Gilson

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LOL, this is what i do!
Great article on free souvenir items to remember your vacation by! =)