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Creatively
Frugal Souvenirs
How do you save money when
buying souvenirs from your trips?
"This idea may hit close to 'home', but when Robert was traveling to Knoxville each week and
living in a hotel, he would bring home extra hotel soap and lotion
from his room service. We thought this was a great beauty treat.
Because our town has a local newspaper just twice a week, Robert would
also bring home the week's worth of Knoxville News Sentinel
newspapers so I could keep in contact with the real world via
newsprint. These were inexpensive souvenirs. The rest areas at the
stateline always had free travel brochures and postcards for quick
travel pictures when doing a scrapbook." ~ Colleen in GA
"When we went to Hawaii, we came upon
a garage sale as we walked downtown. We stopped in, and there found
several Hawaiian cookbooks. They were all from local churches or
community organizations. I think I
bought four of them, at 50 cents each. Besides adding to my cookbook
collection, they featured recipes for dishes similar to what we ate on
that trip.
Secondhand stores are great places to find coffee mugs, T-shirts,
sweatshirts, university logo items, and advertising pieces that promote
the state or region.
Another place to find low cost souvenirs is the grocery store. Look for
foods that are native or popular in the area you are visiting. In
Hawaii, we bought coffee beans and macadamia nuts. In Alaska, we bought
salmon and reindeer sausage. In Louisiana, it was Cajun seasoning mix.
If you want something that can be kept, look for foods that come in
decorative tins.
For children, consider story or coloring books about the area. A good
place to find them is at museum gift shops. They also have jewelry,
cards and other games, and videos about the area." ~ Coleen
"I had to answer this one, because
this is something I loved collecting when I was a little girl:
stationery.
You don’t even have to make a special purchase! It is absolutely free
on every business trip that involves staying in a hotel. I collected all
kinds of stationery when I was a pre-teen, teenager, and in early
adulthood. I loved writing to people, from a young age, so I always had
stationery. I always saved one or two sheets and envelopes out of
every kind I ever received as a gift, too, for my collection. Hotel
stationery from different hotels and different cities adds to the fun of
collecting stationery. In hotels, there is always stationery: sheets,
envelopes, and even notepads imprinted. This may sound incredibly cheap
to some people, but let’s remember how much kids and pets love boxes
better than the presents inside. Hotel stationery would be a great
souvenir to start a child's own private, personal collection. And,
useful, too!" ~ Melanie
"Send your husband off with postcard stamps in his wallet and let
him send your daughter a postcard from where ever he is or points of
interest that she may like to see. Also hotels usually have
their postcards free at the front desk. I'm sure your daughter would
like to see where he is staying and a postcard in the mail is always
exciting to receive!" ~ Robin
V.
"When my first child was small (she is now 15), my husband
and I both traveled for our jobs. Instead of buying toys that would be
broken or lost, we started buying key chains from the different places
where we went. The key chains also take up very little space:
both for traveling gear and when you get them home.
Collecting key chains also carried over to places we went to on
vacation, etc. When my second child was born, we started a collection
for him.
Some key chains cost as little as $1 while others are a little
more. Most are no more than $5. The key chains are fun to look at and
also bring back memories of places visited." ~ Cindy
"I know this doesn't apply to all trips, but when we went to
Disney, I knew we would be surrounded by gift shops the whole trip, so I
wanted to be prepared! I went to this wonderful group at
http://www.themouseforless.com/
(join their group so you can access their forums) and they had a lot of
suggestions for cheap souvenirs. Another hint from them was to let your
kids look around during your trip, but not to buy anything until the
last day. That way they've had time to decide what really meant the most
to them on the trip, and they won't buy on impulse. Another thing that
worked out well for me was finding out what
was on sale cheap at the Disney store from the same website, and buying
things before we left. They had a whole rack of items regularly
priced up to $10 that was on sale for $2, so I stocked up. I made our
own
'Disney store' at the hotel that they could buy these back from me. In
the parks these same items were up to $15!" ~ Anonymous
"This is really simple, but is great for 1
yr old+, depending on what you make of it when the child receives it: Most hotels use the plastic
credit-card-looking keys for rooms now. We always keep one (yes,
we have asked permission and they don't care). Sometimes
I use a permanent marker to write on it. Not only do we have a
record of where we have been with this stack of key-cards, but Max
loves holding it, using it as a bookmark, playing store, putting it on
his little wallet, etc. Maybe not very exciting for older kids,
but something that is free." ~ Ann
"I collect decks of cards and they are usually fairly
inexpensive. Try to find a small item that they can add to a collection
. Buy things like cups or glasses things a person can use rather than
another things that will gather
dust on a shelf. Often they will have local things in a grocery store
that are cheaper than buying them at an airport, etc." ~ Theresa
"I buy Christmas ornaments where ever I go. There is
usually something unique to the area I am in that can be hung on the
tree each year and remind me of that trip." ~ Marie, FL
"My husband and I are currently raising 3 grandchildren and
that adds up when you have an expensive pasttime likes
ours. We are huge NASCAR fans and don't miss a race
when they come to Phoenix. However, we camp utilizing
the $40 per week campsites as opposed to the $150 campsites
and we look for bargains.
Our grandchildren get a new shirt each year from their
favorite driver and I look for the ones that are on sale or
with the old sponsor logo on them, you can get those for
more than 1/2 off.
We also find out where our favorite driver is going to be
and go and say hello, my husband takes pictures of the
children with their driver (it is free to visit them) and
they have a souvenir when the film is developed that they
are proud of and will last a life time." ~ Jean
"When in Mexico and other cruise stop-over
shopping trips, remember the best prices are
usually further inside the markets, not in the
peripheral booths. I
like to buy reusable souvenirs: beach towels, tote
bags, bathing suit cover-ups, playing cards,
jewelry, art prints and posters. I'm not a
'tourist t-shirt' gal, so only the totes have
locations embroidered on them. My
husband usually picks up a nice leather belt or a
shirt. I
learned very quickly that 'dustables' (other folks
call them 'collectibles') do just that - collect
dust - and usually don't match your home's decor.
Also, a few beautiful postcards, napkins from
restaurants, little umbrellas, etc. work well
with photos of your trip in scrapbooks." ~
Lisa
"I think the most meaningful souvenir is
to give somebody a picture of yourself in the
faraway place -- standing in front of the Eiffel
Tower, or
on the cruise ship, or standing by the sign that
says 'Radio City Music Hall' -- you get the idea.
The people in the picture could even hold up a
sign that says, 'Hi Katie!' (or whomever) as they
pose. Put the picture in a
frame as simple or as fancy as you like. It lets
the kids (or adults) know you were thinking of
them, even when you were far from home. If you are
posing at a restaurant, you could be lifting your
glass (or teacup) as if you are making a toast to
the faraway friends and family -- or you could be
blowing a kiss, my gosh, let your imagination run
wild!" ~ Becki in Indiana
"We always got my grandmother and nieces and
nephews little magnets from each state, usually in
the state of the shape which can be put together
on the fridge to form the entire US. We did
this as we traveled for five years and everyone
liked it. Magnets can be under 99 cents and easy
to mail." ~ Michelle
"Our favorite souvenirs from our trips are
Christmas ornaments. They are easy to
find, usually quite inexpensive, and each year
when we decorate our tree we really enjoy taking
them out and remembering the trip and the good
time we had. We feel it is a much
better value for our money than a wall hanging
or vase that is much more expensive to
start with and either we get tired of it or it
gets broken later on." ~ Margaret in
Albuquerque
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"A friend of mine
picks up a nice size rock from wherever he travels.
With a permanent marker, he writes the place and
date he found the rock on the bottom. His daughter
has a big box of these rocks and spends hours
looking at 'where Daddy went.' Also,
starting a souvenir spoon collection is nice but can
get costly if you stop at several places on one
trip." ~ Anonymous
"I find that
magnets are usually inexpensive and come in a
variety of fun styles that will remind you of the
trip. Even better, they take up very little
space and don't require washing or dusting. I
started collecting souvenir magnets a couple of
years ago and my kids love to play with them."
~ Danielle
"I started a postcard collection and a key
chain collection as a young girl, and friends and
family alike were always happy to bring me back a
souvenir from their travels since the cost was so low!
My parents gave me the idea of trying to get a
postcard and a key chain from every state, so I was
always excited for receiving these small gifts, even
though the giver only spend a buck or two. A side
benefit is that now that I am adult, I will never need
to buy a key chain...if one is lost or broken, I have dozens more to chose from. As an
adult I now particularly enjoy travel coffee mugs as
an inexpensive souvenir to purchase for myself when I
travel. They are very useful, and seem to get
lost or broken frequently enough that a new one is a
welcome sight and a reminder of my most recent
trip." ~ Kirsten
"I would take
the post cards from the hotel rooms and make packets
of them for my nieces. In each packet I added a
mimeographed mapped of the area. I high- lighted the
towns I visited. Then copied a story of my
trip that I wrote. It was basically a diary of the
places I visited and the events or things done on
the trip. The kids always loved them and used the
post cards when they went away to camp. You could
use the
writing paper to write your diary and put it in the
envelopes provided.
If going to the mountains, collect pretty stones
from the streams and make a display of them or
possibly some jewelry. Dried flowers framing a
picture, other art or just the flowers can be made
into pretty collectible items. Sea shells are a time
honored collectible when visiting an ocean.
If you visit a place like Las Vegas, they give you
playing cards, mugs and the like for joining their
clubs. (You don't have to necessarily play to get
these things.) You could give them show ticket
stubs and
the advertising card from a show you attended. I
have given place mats from restaurants we visited to
my family. Some I even laminated which the
recipients then used on a regular basis. Or make a
puzzle from the laminated placemats." ~ CINBAD
"I collect postcards so when I go out of town
I try and mail a card from where I have been. (Figure
about $1 a card including postage.) Another
thought might be to have one of you take a
favorite toy (small of course) and have it pose at
sites where you are visiting. That way Lydia could
build her own album and feel that she was sending
a 'protector' along. (Watch the film Amelie
(sp?) to get the idea.)
For adults, I am always on the look out for prayer
cards. I visit churches when I travel and some
have small tracts about their history or
particular saint. Most are available for a small
donation.
I also am always looking for that picture for my
Christmas card.
For my church group, I made simple Bible markers
out of different colors of ribbon. From my
various trips I have brought back small medallions
to tie on the ends. (Ribbon from the craft store
3/$1 and beads/crosses from my trip as well.)"
~ Glenda
"When I was a
kid, my dad traveled frequently. One trip he
brought home a turtle made out of a stone
indigenous to that region. I fell in love with
that turtle, but he had bought it with someone
else in mind. On his next trip to that
particular country, he made sure to bring a
turtle back for me.
This was the start
of a collection. I collect turtles from around
the world, and I like them to be made of
materials or decor native to the country in
which they are purchased. I'm
now in my 30s, and my parents continue to bring
me interesting turtles from around the world.
Some are expensive, but most cost them very
little.
They also bring
back books of folktales from each country. I
collect folklore from around the world, and
books are generally inexpensive." ~ Anne
Marie
"Buy
souvenirs of enduring value. For instance, at
an aquarium visit my son selected as his
souvenir a hardback book about sharks and
rays. This was within the cost limit
I had set for each child. Of the souvenirs
bought that day, this is the one that was used
and enjoyed the most. Another example: I like
houseplants and gardening, so I look for
flower pots, crocks or other items that will
actually be used and loved as well as remind
me of the good time we had, not gather dust in
a closet. Tote bags are another good idea for
me since I use them frequently. For my
husband, it's hats. If I don't see any
souvenir item that would be used and useful, I
consider my photos to be my souvenir.
Speaking of
photos, postcards are taken by pros under
ideal conditions and are much better than the
pictures the average person could ever dream
to take. I take some photos with family
members in them, of course. The postcards can
go in your photo album to supplement the
family photos, and that way they're also
more likely to be looked at and enjoyed later.
Also, sometimes sets of postcards are sold
(packs of ten or whatever), that beat the cost
of buying individuals. Another idea is to make
notes on the back of the postcards about your
impressions of the place, what you enjoyed,
etc. Better yet, get the kids to write them."
~ Kathy
"I’ve
just returned from a trip to Australia. I
found that purchasing souvenirs at street or
weekend markets were a lot cheaper than from
souvenir stores. They have dollar store type
establishments there, too, which also sold
inexpensive Australiana. Generally, the posher
the store, the higher the price. Avoid airport
stores at all cost! We went to Queen Victoria
Market in Melbourne, and picked up reusable
shopping bags for AUS$1 (approx US$0.75) each
for adults. For children, we purchased a bag
of dozen 2-inch stuffed koalas for AUS$4. I
also like to give postcards as souvenirs. The
country stores or arts & crafts stores
have some of the more unique type souvenirs,
although not the best price." ~ Sandra
"I never BUY
them. My favorite is while on a beach trip. I
gave each of the kids a small empty jar with lid.
They filled with sand from the beach and then
topped with a variety of tiny shells they had
collected then closed with the lid. These jars
decorated their dressers for years and were
especially popular in the winter months, to look
back and remember those warm summer days. Another
take on this idea is to collect a small soil
sample in the jar from wherever you are visiting.
It is surprising the different colors of soil in
each region and that alone is topic for
conversation and education. You can add small
pebbles or stones collected on a walk. Label
the jar with the place you collected the contents."
~ Brenda, mom of many
Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share
his or her ideas!
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