$50 tschotkes aren't an issue -- if I buy knicknacks it's more the Eiffel Tower keychain price range!(and I did buy one)
I still regret not buying the "Where the %$#! is White Sulfur Springs" t-shirt I saw when stuck there...on Columbus Day weekend ... with a non-functioning car... for which a vital part was only available from Helena when the holiday ended...when I was 25 and really couldn't afford unexpected extra hotel stays--much less unneeded t-shirts. But it was a memorable weekend -- terrified Canadian girls discover that men in trucks with gun racks aren't necessarily crazed criminals --- astonished Canadian girls discover the only motel in town is attached to the hot springs, and RENTS bathing suits so you can smell like rotten eggs for a small fee! And the local diner sold 15 kinds of pie...wow, I can still remember the 80s.
Thanks for this thread, it's hilarious.

In Northern Ireland I bought a spatula. I saw it in a Pound Wizard store and realized I could use a new spatula so I bought it. It's kind of silly as a souvenier, but very practical and I still have it.

I opted not to claim this spatula on my customs declaration when returning to the US. It's just too silly to claim.

I bought a Princess Diana soup bowl. The one with her wearing the tiara. Haven't had the heart to cover her up with soup. I do use the Princess Diana shot glass though, but only with gin.

A beautiful bust of Mussolini. We gave it to my brother,and he adores it. We wanted it for ourselves, and despite many visits to roadside Italy, have never found one quite as nice.

A beautiful bust of Mussolini.........

you mean THE mussolini????

A moveable plastic Sigmund Freud action figure (with cigar).

My work days make more sense now.

P M that reminds me of another odd purchase we made. We saw this stainless steel contraption in a store in Germany and it turned out to be tomato slicer. We hauled one home and it works quite well.

An Elvis Clock - from Memphis with the swaying hips and all. We hung it in the garage and everytime we come home it makes us smile, think of the King and know exactly what time it is! This is definitely the silliest purchase we ever made on a trip.

The shower toad.

Every year that we rented our cottage in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, we'd have a little frog that would come visit us in the outdoor shower under the house. One year I bought a little ceramic frog with crossed eyes and it sits on my computer looking at me. I can see him from where I'm sitting right now.

Hey, Clifton -- I was given a similar Albert Einstein action figure once!

a bottle opener purchased just outside of Vatican City in Rome. It has a picture of the Pope on it - thus The "Popener"!

While in Key Largo I bought a pair of earrings. They were of a Dangling shark and the lower part of a body in surf shorts hanging out of his mouth. I was really depressed when I lost one of the pair.

I knew some one out there had to have an Elvis souvenir!

My son brought me from Graceland a small plastic piano music box that plays "Love Me Tender". He was only 12 at the time so I can't bear to toss it and I'd never go to G-land myself but lordy it is t.a.c.k.y.

I bought a bobble head black bear in Gatlinburg to remind me of my recent trip. He sits on my monitor, when frustrated, I bobble him!

<i>We saw this stainless steel contraption in a store in Germany and it turned out to be tomato slicer.</i>

About twenty years ago, we stopped to watch a pitchman outside a department store in Bonn who was demonstrating a hand food processor. We thought the &quot;slices, dices, chops and grates&quot; spiel in German was hilarious - but the darn thing looked like it really worked, so we bought one. We're still using it on a daily basis.

So this wasn't really &quot;silly&quot; unless you consider how un-touristy the idea of it is.

Every year we take a trip to Padre Island National Seashore and every year, I buy another shark tooth necklace. Don't ask me why I don't just take one that I already own! I have no clue. It just seems like I must wear a shark tooth necklace at the beach. Ridiculous that I own, at least, 15 of the darn things!

First of all, I love my Eiffel Tower, and I'll never apologize, nor call it tacky.
The silliest things we ever bought on a trip weren't silly in and of themselves--it was our silly notion that we could carry three large onyx chess sets and one onyx backgammon set back from Mexico in our hand luggage.
They were a very good buy (about $10 in American money back then) and we started out getting one chess set for my stepson, then another for a chess-playing friend, and then, what the heck, we needed one for ourselves, along with that backgammon set.
It gets worse--my husband got dreadfully sick in Acapulco, I got sick during our layover and change of planes in Mexico City, and then we had still another layover in Cancun before flying to Newark, where we endured long weather delays before taking off in a commuter plane after midnight.
We were still sick and still carting our onyx treasures---and after 10 minutes aloft, the pilot came on to tell us that the weather was so severe that we were returning to Newark!
I still don't know why we thought this was a good idea in the first place, nor do I know why we didn't heave them in the nearest trash receptacle on our first layover. But, 25 years later, we still have the chess set, although the backgammon board is long gone.
Second craziest thing--I actually bought marmite in London and nobody, but nobody would eat it. I also brought home canned haggis from Edinburgh, and nobody ever ate that either.

I threw it out many years ago, but on my first overseas trip to Singapore, I bought a bright orange phone rest. It had a slot for notebook, holes to put pens and a black rest in the middle so it played The Godfather theme when you placed the phone on it, for the enjoyment of those who were placed on hold. Cringe.

On my very first trip, to Cairns in Queensland, Australia, before I developed the taste for which I am now renown, I bought a little statue made of shells as a gift for a favourite aunt. She kept it on display amongst her treasured things until her death. I think that's the definition of sentimental value.

After thought.. My favourite purchse, which I still use, is a mini-baguette biro from Paris. It always draws comments. Some day tht pen will run out so I guess I'll have to plan a trip to paris to replace it.

jette,
I have an Elvis pillar candle from Graceland. It's too tacky to display but I don't have the heart to burn it, so it takes up space in a cabinet.

Maybe someday if there's another blackout........