<p>Ah, the tingling feel that flows through my palms as I leave yet another local craft shop empty handed is enough to not only follow me throughout the night but months after my trip has passed. For my next trip, I promised myself I’m bringing back something worthwhile! Something I’m sure wasn’t mass produced for tourists…</p>
<p>Yes, I am Niquii, and I suck at souvenir shopping. I walk into the store and I see all of these crafts - bracelets, bags, wooden carvings - and I draw blanks. Do I need that wind charm? Would my brother like this shirt? Should I really buy this glass? No, this parka is what I need! Mind you, I live in Florida…It was calling my name though…</p>
<p>I’m quite the curious cat tonight. What do you bring back when you travel? It’s so great to look back on the items people bring back. Seeing their latest collection piece…Or that rug someone found on the side of the road on their way to a Buddhist temple…Or their favorite brand of almond butter they stock up on when they go to that one tiny shop in that pretty sketchy Parisian town…</p>
<p>I no longer bring anything back…but I am a lot older than you Niquii77. My kids will bring back spices, jams or chocolates and perhaps a t.shirt or two. The rest is just junk and they have seen we don’t have any of that stuff lying around. Plus when it’s their money they are spending, it will take a lot to make them buy it!</p>
<p>I don’t do indigenous crafts-- they become junk. I do kitchen gadgets. </p>
<p>Love to eat. Its nice to pull out of the cupboards a memory of a trip as I prepare a meal for loved ones.</p>
<p>Have brought back many VERY MUNDANE items over many trips: serving platters, egg cups, coffee thermos carafe, flour sifter, rolling pin, funnel, wooden salad utensils, bread basket, linens, cereal bowl…</p>
<p>Whenever we break or wear out some item, we always say, “you know what that means… we have to go back to _____” ;)</p>
<p>If it’s mundane & useful, it’s not junk. And u enjoy pleasurable memories every day.</p>
<p>Edibles and consumable stuff like soap and lotions that get used up and do not pile up in the house. And if I see something super cool, I take a picture of it! (Sometimes it has to be done paparazzi style - the dude selling nesting dolls in Saint Petersburg was not too pleased that someone was snapping photos of his booth ). </p>
<p>These days it’s mostly pictures. They don’t take up much space, lol. My SIL collects key chains, so we usually get her one. Last time I visited my sister in AZ I shipped back a bottle of white balsamic vinegar that tasted incredible in the store. On our recent vacation, D came back with a tee shirt from each college we visited, plus two from the February One museum. If she tells me she has nothing to wear anytime soon I may have to kill her. My mother collected rocks. Small, pretty ones. I don’t know who ended up with the box of them when she died. But each one had a story and she remembered where each of them was from.</p>
<p>Teehee, I wish I could pull off not bringing things back, but I do want to bring something back. I just suck at picking things. :))</p>
<p>Mundane items, huh? That’s pretty cool! Instead of dinner and a movie and like…meal prep and memories. My mom has a few of these obscure cooking books. Come to think of it, one of my group members buy a book from each place she visits…Didn’t remember that until now!</p>
<p>I considered small things like keychains or magnets. It’s weird how it’s all after the fact. I keep on thinking of the llama keychain at the stand…Really wish I got it. #-o </p>
<p>Christmas ornament, perhaps inexpensive jewelry, local cook book, perhaps a small basket --I love the tiny one woven from pine needles.we bought in Alaska. The Christmas ornament is the only “must”. We have a great time hanging them on the tree, talking about this trip or that one.</p>
<p>My kids have collected pins from all the places & activities they’ve done (cities, countries, museums, airlines, airports, ships, ski resorts, summer camps, special events, etc.). They’ve stuck them all on a scarf. </p>
<p>
Very, very mundane. But whenever I whip out that basic, humble steel funnel I picked up in Venice, I smile and think of the shopkeeper who was boasting to me how much more superior Italian steel is to American or Japanese steel.</p>
<p>Ornaments, magnets, socks and edibles tend to be what we get. We may get an embroidered item (shirt) that we like, or a CD of music being played where we visit. We are buying less and less to bring back–we and loved ones all have too much stuff. </p>
<p>Inspired by the Bag a Week thread, I threw out a large shoe box filled with 25 years of fridge magnets from around the world. I recently found an empty bottle of rum in the shape of Jamaica and realized I have many similar bottles that need to go, along with that fruit basket from Barbados, oil and vinegar cruets from Mexico, and an olive oil bottle from Sicily that now leaks.</p>
<p>I have some really nice expensive things that I purchased while traveling that I still use and will keep. An art canvas from Costa Rica, a blown glass bowl from Venice, some ceramic wall art from Sicily. And I always bring back some food items I can’t get at home.</p>
<p>Mugs. I enjoy drinking coffee out of the various mugs I’ve accumulated on vacation. I almost always smile and think of the trip as I grab one from the cabinet. Oh, and shells and sand from the beach. </p>
<p>I strongly believe that a person’s life can be enriched by a home full of beautiful, meaningful objects and that collecting objects in foreign travels is a worthwhile endeavor. What you want to avoid is buying useless junk that will just clutter your house. I have the following suggestions:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Spend time developing your aesthetic eye. Go to museums and galleries and really examine exquisite objects. </p></li>
<li><p>Trust your own judgment about what you love. Don’t feel like you have to buy, say, Provencal print tablecloths when you travel to the South of France if they din’t speak to you. But if you find yourself in, say, Morocco, and you fall in love with Moroccan ceramics, trust your own judgment. </p></li>
<li><p>Stretch to spend a bit more to buy quality pieces. Buy fewer, better pieces. Stay in super budget lodgings and bring home beautiful objects!</p></li>
<li><p>Personally, I’d avoid the souvenir kitsch, although there are many people who have amassed fun collections of, say, snow globes from around the world. I think you’ll get more lasting satisfaction out of artisan- or artist- made pieces.</p></li>
<li><p>Go to flea markets and antique stores and don’t be afraid to trust your own taste if see something beautiful or interesting or weird even if it is not something “typical” of the region. So, if you are in Bali and you see a weird old sign that speaks to you, don’t be afraid to buy it instead of the more expected wood carvings. </p></li>
<li><p>Dont buy gifts for others; buy stuff for yourself. The value of the piece is enhanced by your memories; they simply won’t have the emotional resonance for someone else.</p></li>
<li><p>When searching for treasures, go off the beaten path. Keep in mind that tour guides often get kickbacks from gift shops; avoid buying from gift shops where tourists congregate. </p></li>
<li><p>Do lots of research on the aesthetics of a place before you so you can appreciate the treasures you find.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider the artist potential of ephemera. A framed album cover, say, from a place with a different script/alphabet may make a striking art piece. Something can be cool and exciting without being expensive. </p></li>
<li><p>I totally agree that you can collect objects through photographs! I’ve actually made photo books consisting mainly of pictures of cool objects I’ve discovered in my travels but did not buy.</p></li>
<li><p>Keep in mind that most of the folks talking about getting rid of stuff are people 30+ years older than you! They’ve had a life time to accumulate junk and now have the urge to purge. Don’t feel guilty if you are at a different stage of your life.</p></li>
<li><p>I love and treasure the things I’ve brought back from my travels from around the world, even those that are not the most perfect specimens. Take a risk and bring back a few things that speak to you! </p></li>
<li><p>On a totally different note, sometimes it is fun yo bring back consumer product oddities like weird flavored chips or cookies or strangely packaged cosmetics. I personally think a can of some weird blood sausage product, for exsmple, makes a better souvenir than a ministure Eiffel tower. </p></li>
</ol>
). </p>