WGS

Our pictures which translate into memories. We'll choose one and get it enlarged, framed and hang in our home. The frames are simple, just a thin black frame not to take away from the photo itself.

ellen_griswold

Also, since having our basement finished into a rec room, posters (framed) from Nat'l Parks look great on the walls!

Clarification - 'silver-plated' frames aren't really silver, duh, but are more like the metal / pewter-looking-type material found in many Williamsburg reproductions.

Again, they may look cheezy in the shoppes (mostly found outside of the parks too, btw) but look great with our lil darlins pictured!

quimbymoy

i get state magnets whenever i visit a new place and then i put it on united states & canada magnet board. i still have a bit to go!

i also buy christmas ornaments (if they are handmade at the place i visit), pins, floaty pens, art of the area (folk art, pottery or paintings).

my favorite collections are the fun and good memories, stories and pictures from the trip!

Dick

Besides the popular magnet or charms for bracelet.

Masks....handmade contemporary (metal,ceramic,etc)

Interesting corkscrews

Meesthare

Hey, Kodi - the penguins are everywhere. My house and my office are starting to resemble Antarctica. I've got them displayed on every available surface. My kitchen shelves and windowsill are cluttered with penguin salt-and-pepper shakers. The grandkids love playing with them. It always amuses me when people come into the house or the office for the first time and it slowly dawns on them that they're surrounded. They often ask "Um, do you like penguins or something?"

bennnie

Two posters have mentioned magnetic state maps for their magnet collection. This sounds like a fun thing for the kids to collect and we halready have magnets from various cities and states.But I've never seen such a map. Anyone know where I could buy one? I'm on the North Shore of Boston. Thanks

flopmeister

we used to collect shot glasses, but as the wife and i travel extensively for work, this got to be quite unwieldy. we've got about 150 of them. now we're into poker chips.

hugglynn

Christmas ornaments. Eventually the tree can be an "around the world" tree The ornaments can be anything from the small brass ornaments you see in the basic trinket shop with the name of the city over some landmark, or some specially handmade or artistic ornaments I've come across in specialty Christmas shops everywhere. Some ornaments are unique to their location, made to replicate the local flavor. We also collect (well, buy) postcards of the places/landmarks we visit. They usually come out better than our photos for our scrapbook, but what we do, if our pictures come out good, is place the postcard next to the photo in our scrapbook--it's kind of like a "hey, we've been there" moment when flipping through the scrapbook. Then, you can always look on the back of the postcard for more info about the landmark.

lmsa_mc

I collect posters from the places we've been to decorate my classroom at school and my husband collects wind chimes.

amp322

Friends. I try to make new contacts everytime I travel. I also buy CDs and artwork, while overseas.

caribtraveler

we always buy something really nice..usually a piece of art.
and then we do the cheesy fridge magnet + the shot glass. aren't those shot glasses ridiculously priced no matter where you are?? but i guess they know how many of us collect them and will pay the price!

lindalu2u

My husband and I love to eat at fine restaurants while traveling. And eating the local cuisine is an important part of the experience. So, I collect recipe books from the places we have been. This way we can enjoy the tastes of our travels. I also collect menus from favorite restaurants which I someday will frame and hang in our dining room.

LaurenSKahn

In addition to the aforementioned shampoo and soap samples (and too many t-shirts and sweatshirts), I also sometimes buy lawyer tschotskes. They can be anything from statues (a British bulldog as an attorney and a monkey in judge's robes, for example) or prints. I especially like items depicting female lawyers because I am one. Now mind you, the entire collection is less than 10 objects.

Insofar as posters are concerned, if I buy any more, I will need a larger house. They are stacked one on top of each other on the stairs now. And, the $10 poster that was such a bargain can cost $100 to frame. Don't I know?

cjbryant

On International trips I always save some of the coins and currency. Money is colorful and interesting and often tells some sort of story via the images on it.

Also boxes of matches; coffee table type picture books (they allow me to spend more time looking at the sights than trying to take pictures) and credit card receipts

quimbymoy

bennnie,
i got mine from a travel store here in chicago, but i just found a website that sells exactly the same one as i have here:

http://www.fridgedoor.com/usacanmagmap.html

bennnie

quimbymoy - Thanks for the link. It looks pretty good.

theladyjess

Shot glasses for my husband.

Christmas Ornaments for me (I write the date we were there).

For Hans my service dog, trading pins for his service vest. He now has so many that we have to rotate them.

We also have what my dad named "The Well Traveled Pooh". It's a Pooh bear that I gave my husband when he was in college. We take him whenever we go somewhere. We put him in front of landmarks at different places we go. He's been to the Alamo, San Diego Zoo, several places in Vitoria, the Baltic, and several other places. We have our own "Where's Waldo" in the form of Pooh in our vacation albums. You never know where he'll show up.

melanied

My husband and I always visit local grocers to bring back interesting spices, coffee, even meats and seafood. Architectural salvage is a recent discovery that we enjoy. I picked up some amazing tin ceiling tiles recently in Louisiana, at an incredible price as well as a wrought iron door that weighs at least 200 pounds. My most expensive habit is hats - I love them - I wear them and each one has a wonderful memory that I get to enjoy whenever I wear them.

makai1

Great thread gotravel!

I love collecting from everywhere, especially LOW cost items

matchbooks
menus
maps
sand
coral fans/branches, shells, sea glass
internat'l coins & bills
local artwork/pottery/jewelry
multi author books of local stories
pareos
bikinis
ornaments

theladyjess

I forgot, I also collect keychains from different places we go.

I take pictures of different buildings, flowers, etc. that we don't have at home.