Gift shop tchotkes can seem utterly devoid of character on their own, but compiled in a group they can take on significance and pack visual impact. When I was a kid I remember being completely amazed by a friend's collection of snow globes. From a young age she got one everywhere her family went on a trip, and friends and relatives started gathering them for her wherever they went. Each item in her collection had meaning to her; to me her collection represented the possibilities of a world that I wanted to know.
If your child is old enough to care, encourage them to start a collection that reflects their tastes and interests. For younger kids, there is no downside to gathering objects in hopes that they will appreciate them down the road. Snow globes, dolls, figurines or other debased little objects can look beautiful grouped together, while transit stubs, postage stamps and other ephemera can be compiled in a scrapbook or collected in jars like scientific specimens. Last year AT shared some great ideas for displaying travel souvenirs and photos.
What does your family collect and how do you display it?
(Image: Walker Art Center)
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Pressed pennies are our go-to souvenir. They take up no space, cost $0.51 (that means each kid can get their own) and they're fun.
we do pressed pennies too. not for the kids, but as a compromise between my wife's want of souvenirs of everything, and my issue with having more stuff.
Hopefully no one is disappointed when they get to the airport with their snowglobes and are forced to throw them away because they aren't allowed on airplanes (even small ones because they aren't labeled as less than 3 oz.). It's not a problem if you have a checked bag (at $25 each way), your vacations are the driving kind, or you ship it to yourself. Hate to be a party pooper, but I thought some people might appreciate the heads up.
My parents get Christmas tree ornaments - either something with the name of the place or something that represents the place.
kvo122, that was the first thing I thought of when I saw the snowglobe picture.
I have a collection of souvenir spoons my grandmother gave to me, and I don't know what to do with them. They're only particularly special to me because they were hers (and she recently passed away). I don't think they'd fit my taste to display them in a spoon rack, and my husband has been vetoing all my ideas thus far to turn them into art.
We did Christmas ornaments as well! Lots of great memories and they don't need to be up all year long! A long time ago, my sisters and I started buying shooter glasses for my dad from places we went. He has ones from around the world now (tacky but funny to see what places have them - churches, UN, etc)
I started collecting iron/sew on patches when I lived in England. (Of course I only figured out that they would be good to collect after I had visited almost every place on my itinerary and was close to leaving. Pout.) I only have about 8, but a few weeks ago I went to Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and they had a patch. I snapped it up. Right now they are on display on a cork board in my craft room, but someday I will iron them onto a quilt or a jacket or something fancy.
Bonus - they're cheap and they pack flat. And they aren't breakable!
Christmas ornaments...great idea!
I collect shotglasses...for me, not the kid!
Ha, I have that snowglobe! It's from my all-time favorite museum, The Walker Art Center. Can I get a "shout out" for the Walker, anyone?
we pick up keychains from all our travels- they're easy to find, inexpensive, and they don't take up much room. we write the year on the back, and then place them on our christmas tree. its fun every year to see all the places we have been together, and i don't have to look at our collection all the time.
i have a few patches from my travels as well, and i plan on attaching fabric ribbon to the back to hang them on our christmas tree as well.
You can make jewelry from spoons--bracelets and rings both. If you google "spoon rings" and look at the images, you'll see dozens of examples. Many of us lack sufficient irony for a spoon rack, but almost all of us can manage a spoon ring or bracelet.