Collecting Memories: My Ultimate Guide to Souvenir Hunting

Collections are such a fun part of traveling to new places. You get a little souvenir from everywhere and if you plan accordingly, they don’t have to be random little knick-knacks around your house. They can be thought-through decorations or something you whip out during special occasions. From my experience though, starting a collection isn’t as easy as you may think. Many different factors can make the difference between a meaningful collection versus a random collection you wish you never got into. In this post, I hope I can help those of you that are looking to start a collection find the right thing for you, or at least expose you to some things you may want to think about before starting a collection. 

Everyone has something that they collect everywhere they go and the possibilities are endless. One tip that I’d give is to come up with what you want to collect before you leave. My other tip is to know what you want to do with your collection after. 

While abroad, I collected a few things: postcards, magnets, and patches. Most people do postcards, which are great because they’re cheap, light, and hardly take up any space when packing and moving around. I went a little wrong with magnets and patches though for two different reasons. When I went on my first trip I didn’t know exactly what I was going to collect but then I hit a souvenir shop and saw a cute magnet and decided that magnets would be a good travel souvenir collection. As time went on I was like “What am I going to do with these magnets?” Frankly, I think magnets all over a fridge aren’t my style. But at the same time, I couldn’t not finish my magnet collection. I found some inspiration from Pinterest and know what I’m going to do with them now, but had I put more thought into this collection before, I probably wouldn’t have chosen to collect magnets. Next, patches. I didn’t realize I wanted to start a patch collection until about halfway through my semester abroad. I bought a backpack while in Barcelona that is pretty bare and I thought collecting patches and putting them on it at the end would be perfect. So I started collecting them but of course, I’m missing patches from my first couple of trips. Had I chosen what I wanted to collect before my first trip, I would have ended with a complete collection. 

Another thing to remember when collecting is whether every destination will have what you hope to collect. Barcelona sells “I ️ Barcelona” underwear and I thought it would be funny if I got a pair for each place that I went to. So, I tried so hard to get underwear from everywhere that I went but hardly anywhere else had them. I have three pairs but that’s it. An incomplete collection is no fun so definitely keep in mind whether all of the places you’re going to will have what you want to collect. 

I’ve put together a list of things that I think would be worth collecting and are most likely available everywhere you travel. There are many other possibilities out there, but if you’re gearing up to go abroad and have no idea what you want to collect, I hope this will give you some inspiration. 

Collection Ideas

1. Pins. Pins are something that I might have decided to collect had I thought about it before I left. You can put them on a backpack, a jacket, a little tapestry to hang in your room, and so many more ideas. They’re small, you can find them everywhere, and they’re cheap and cute too. 
2. Postcards. This one is obvious. As I mentioned before, they’re cheap, light, small, and can be found everywhere. Even if you are collecting something else I’d recommend doing this as a secondary collection because of how easy it is. Plus it can be great wall decoration, or you can write your favorite memories of that place on the back and keep them safe in a little box to look back on in the future. 
3. Patches. This is something that a friend of mine collected and I always thought her collection was so cute. She put them on display in her room, but I decided I’d put them on a backpack (once I finally decided to start the collection). Putting them on a jacket is another cute idea and there are many other places they could go. Once again, they’re available pretty much everywhere, small, and cheap. 
4. Magnets. Even though I slightly trashed on magnets before, they’re still a good collection idea and might be someone else’s cup of tea decoration-wise. 
5. Maps. Maps are a super cool idea because you can get them everywhere for cheap, if not for free, and they’d make some great wall decor or just fun to have stashed away for your own enjoyment. My only problem with maps is if you’re going to a lot of places, they might not be ideal for wall decor. 
6. Shot glasses/mugs. This one is always very fun and who doesn’t love a good shot glass collection? Plus you can whip these out whenever you have people over and show off all of the cool places you’ve been. 
7. Card decks. My roommate actually collected card decks and I always thought it was so cool and such a unique idea. My only problem with this one is what could you possibly do with so many card decks, but her family has always collected them so it’s more of a fun family tradition in that case. I will say it was fun seeing what card decks every country had. 
8. Travel books. I love this idea because it’s educational and a fun little collection to have on a bookshelf. It can also remind you of a specific museum you may have visited if you buy it from the museum. The only problem with this one is it’s less easy to travel with due to size and weight. 
9. Rocks. Cute little painted rocks would be a fun collection idea. You can keep them outside, lined alone on a window sill, and many other places. Again, they’re small, pretty, and easy to transport. 
10. Jewelry. Most places have an emblem or type of jewelry that they’re known for. The only problem with this collection is that it could be expensive in some places and there is such thing as too much jewelry (in my opinion). But if you’re a jewelry fanatic and like to change up your look often, this could be a great collection for you! 
11. Stamps/stickers. Stamps and stickers are easy to find and very small and light which make for an ideal souvenir when traveling. They could be put in a scrapbook or put on the back of your laptop. The possibilities are almost endless with what you could do with these.

I hope I was able to provide some helpful collecting tips today. Have fun collecting! 

Sending virtual hugs and high-fives,

Chlo

P.S. I will update this post with photos of my collections once I put my collage and backpack together!