I'm just curious: what kinds of souvenirs do people usually bring back from their trips? The memories? Photographs? Several years back my sister asked for a shot glass of wherever I was going (I forget where that was), so now I pick up one wherever I travel. Just curious

Magnets, prints of the area you were visiting, memories of people you met on your trip. If in a city with a Hard Rock Cafe, a small beanie baby-type bear with the name of the city you've visited, locally made crafts. These are for starters!

OK! Other than the usual stuff like mini Eiffel Towers, shot glasses and ashtrays, I like to pick up something I will use everyday or something silly that is only found locally. Here are my ideas...<BR><BR>London - I lost my contact lense case so I has to get one while I was there. The new case was a little different then what I have ever seen before. Simple but differrent. Now every morning when I put in my eyes, I remember my trip to London.<BR><BR>Germany - A coffee scoop. Silly little chrome item. Everytime I use it, I think of my trip to Munich.<BR><BR>Italy - You're gonna laugh... I bought back Italian toothpaste. Yummy delicious toothpaste called "Marvis" available in pharmacies. Ever since I have always bought a tube of toothpaste from every country i visit. I keep them in a basket in my bathroom. Unique. Oh, imagine my friends surprise when they got a souvenir gift of a tube of toothpaste on my return!<BR><BR>All I have to say is that I remember my trips everyday and hope to return real soon!<BR><BR>P.S. I also have white teeth and fresh breath!

I buy little plastic/wicker organizer-type baskets or containers, to organize my odds&ends in the hotel room, and as inexpensive momentos of my travels. I take my milk in my lunch in a plastic cup with a lid that I bought for about 35 escudos in Portugal.<BR>ja

Richard, I have a similar strategy, since I can't stand knicknacks and I like to travel light. My souvenirs from a recent trip to London included a few pens and pencils inscribed with museums' names, a new nail brush, and a pancake flipper from Harrod's! Makes me feel extra-special at breakfast time! But I think next time it will be tooth paste. <BR><BR>My daughter's favorite souvenir of our trip is a rubber pencil case made of a recycled tire, inscribed with the name of the museum it's from (National Gallery?) so she thinks of it every day at school.

I tend to buy pretty soap wherever I am, either to give as little gifts or to keep and use as momentos. Love the almond and lavender soaps from Provence. I also have a collection of miniature regional pottery that seems to be most everywhere I've been.

For myself, I burn through a ton of film to remember my trip by, but it's fun to find stuff to hand out to friends when you get back...I felt like I'd hit the jackpot in Granada at El Corte Ingles (big Spanish dept store chain in Spain) - on their first floor they had these fabulous kitchy castanet sets that ran about about $1.50 USD -- brought a bunch of them home, then printed out a page from a website that taught how to play them like the pros & included a copy of it along with the castanets -- a huge hit! Also at El Corte Ingles they had fabulously cheesy beverage coasters with retro/60's photos of flamenco dancers and bullfighters on 'em, again, about $1.50 USD for a set of 4 -- a big hit with my goofy kitsch-lovin' friends!

Photos - then I buy scrapbooks of handmade paper from the locale; stickers and postage stamps for the scrapbook; all the cancelled tickets, restaurant receipts, flyers, etc. to include in the scrapbook.<BR><BR>Kitchen utensils - odd-shaped whisks, unusual salt & pepper shakers, knives, etc.<BR><BR>Food - mustards, vinegars, oils, spices, grape leaves, wine, eau de vie, etc.<BR><BR>Placemats, dish towels, napkins, napkin rings...<BR><BR>Calendars, an address book, greeting cards, etc.<BR><BR>One of my favorite souvenirs is a paper mache figure of a sitting Berber, bought in the airport at Casablanca - every time I look at it, it brings back all the memories of that trip to Morocco.

I do scrapbook stuff, too, especially for my kids. I buy them a nice Travel Diary and then save all the little parphernalia of the trip, including especially winning lottery tickets (my kids are pros at winning bucks in French lottery tickets), museum entry tickets, photos, postcards, etc., and we put them all together into a collage with commentary ("Mom was in a really bad mood in Chinon and made us eat a foul sandwich au jambon made with horrid mustard"....that sort of thing). We have 14 years' worth of these things and believe me, they are the stuff of great memories and laughs and cringes.When I pack to come home from France, my bag always includes tins of deboned quail stuffed with foie gras from the artisan's stall in Les Eyzies, truffle oil, saffron, instant Knorr soups (my elderly parents love them and they are so much better than) Campbell's), and fabric - I like to recover furniture in my US home with French fabrics I can't find here, or if I find them they cost a fortune. I sometimes bring home dried mushrooms - c&egrave;pes and trompettes de mort are my favorites.They are SO much cheaper than in the USA!<BR><BR>

We love collecting Christmas ornaments and watercolors from wherever we travel. We have so much fun decorating our Christmas tree and remembering the wonderful trips we have taken. The watercolors are around all year to remind of our trips.

My favorite things to collect from travels are picture frames, Christmas ornaments, postcards, Hard Rock cafe pins and tons of photos.

Magnets and pictures taken. <BR>We blow up and frame the good pictures.<BR>The side of our fridge has magnets of all the places we've been.

Something of local flavor (crystal from Prague, leather from Poland); a print from an art museum, especially if the name of the museum is on it to frame and hang in our home office; a local favorite children's story for our children. And, for the top bookshelf in my office at work-the tackiest snow globe I can possibly find. My favorite is one of the Pope with arms outstretched over the Vatican.

I always collect matches and have jars full of them around the house. At Christmas I buy my staff nice candles and throw in matches from my travels around the world....

there are some really creative people out there.... toothpaste? I like picking up things that are the local specialty but still a little touristy. I have these candles that look like beer from Germany and Belgium. The thing is I don't drink, but the candles look pretty realistic to friends and family and are a great conversation piece.

I hate knickknacks, so I only buy things I'm going to use...either wineglasses or coffee mugs. Now I've got a great assortment of glasses and mugs from a bunch of different countries. I also lug back a couple bottles of wine...only the ones I tasted and liked. Come to think of it, I also buy a silver ring in most countries that I visit, if I can find one that I like.

I'm also of the mind to buy every day use items. One of my practical souvenirs is a leather eyeglass case I picked up in Florence.<BR><BR>

I avoid the usual junk that is clearly aimed at tourists. Somehow, a souvenier from England or France that says "Made in China" kinds of ruins the experience.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>