Souvenir Shopping on Vacation

For those who know me - and know that I don't like to have a bunch of stuff around the house - you might be surprised by this, but I. LOVE. SOUVENIRS!

I enjoy travelling and I love and appreciate anything that reminds me of the places I've been. Of course, picking up something everywhere you visit can be expensive and can take up a lot of space. I've come up with some creative ideas to display your travel treasures. There are more ideas than I can possibly cover in a single post, but hopefully this will get you thinking outside the box.

Just an FYI, this post will contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you decide to purchase, please use my links to support my blog! Thanks!

Photos

Most people take photos during a trip, but they don't always do anything with those photos once they're back home. This is the first and most obvious "souvenir" because half the work is already done!

Once home, you can create an album or scrapbook of your photos. Online sites like Snapfish.com make it super easy to create your own book of memories. I make a travel album for my mother-in-law every Christmas since she comes with us but doesn't usually treat herself to souvenirs.

Another idea is to create a wall gallery of your pictures. We have friends who hang their travel pictures in their family room. I myself have recently started a picture gallery in one of our hallways. The key here is to maximize visual impact by grouping the photos and tying them all together by using frames of the same color.



Trinkets

Anything in this category would be the typical items found in a gift shop. Magnets, postcards, etc. Smaller items will cost less and be easier to transport. Since they take up less room, they can also be easier to display, especially as your collection grows.

Postcards can be added into a blank scrapbook. Consider adding dates and short captions or memories.



Magnets can be added to the front of the fridge, of course, or could be placed on a mounted piece of metal and used as art.




Personally, I collect lapel pins and display them on black canvas. I have two pin-covered canvases sitting on my shelves in my bedroom. It's so fun to look at the pins and recall all of the places we've visited. I love that they're inexpensive and don't take up a lot of space.



Displaying your souvenirs makes for a great conversation piece and helps you feel like your money was well spent. No matter what you end up collecting, I hope you find a good way to display it so you can enjoy it all year 'round!