Five Ideas for Mementos You Won’t Throw Out

Travel souvenirs don’t have to be kitschy gift-shop fridge magnets, paper weights and keychains. Here are five souvenir ideas you won’t throw out.

A Photo Book

Take the time to put together an album and you’ll have a personalized souvenir you can look back on the rest of your life. Services like Shutterfly and Groovebook make the process easy. Alternatively, you may consider printing out a few of your favorite photos and framing them.

Glasses

Start a collection of household items, like pint glasses, you can find wherever you travel. The best are glasses branded with the restaurant or bar’s name. You’ll have a useful memento of your favorites drinking holes.

Recipe Book

A recipe book from wherever you are traveling will help you recreate your trip once you are home. An added benefit is that you can share this memento with friends (the food, not necessarily the book).

T-Shirts

Not Hard Rock Café t-shirts or t-shirts from the souvenir store. T-shirts that have the name of a festival or event you attended, the local futbol club or a regional brand. Every time you wear it, you’ll remember where you got it.

Friends

These days, with the prevalence of social media, there is no excuse not to keep in touch with the friends you make while traveling. And if you haven’t made any friends during your trip, you’re doing it wrong. Friends can share stories, photos and may even inspire new trips.

With these five ideas, you’ll have mementos that will enhance your experience, instead of cheapening it.