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No more generic fridge magnets: 10 souvenir ideas for your next trip

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Image: Denisa Trif

Image: Denisa Trif

Souvenir central

No more generic fridge magnets: 10 souvenir ideas for your next trip

How many times have you returned from a fabulous vacation to discover that the only mementos you brought back were generic fridge magnets that will collect dust in the kitchen drawer? Thinking about cool and interesting souvenirs might seem unimportant when you are busy having a good time, yet the future you will be grateful for taking the time to pick something worth taking home and that will really tell a story. Do you want to up your souvenir game? Here are some cool mementos to always remember your travels.

While generic souvenirs are roughly the same everywhere, each destination usually has a specialty, be it a special drink or dish, a sweet treat, a unique craft, or an iconic object. Bringing back something that you wouldn’t be able to easily get somewhere else—even if it's something that you will end up eating or drinking—means that you are getting an essential part of that special place.

Let’s be realistic, taking home a painting or a sculpture is complicated. But why don’t pick a travel-friendly version instead? Postcards, art prints, and photos are excellent souvenirs that can be displayed on your house walls or gifted to a friend with a lovely note. Pro tip: Most museum gift shops usually have small versions of their most iconic works of art.

This one is for the collectors. Coins, bills, and postage stamps are unique to every country, and even to different regions of the same country. They tend to depict national heroes, monuments, famous landscapes, and cultural icons, which makes them perfect for those interested in history and culture. Pressed pennies are also a very popular and accessible souvenir.

A more niche interest, but one that is widely accessible everywhere. After all, not all Christmas ornaments need to be Christmas-themed; they just need to be hangable. Snow globes are a little bulkier and sometimes fragile, but they are a lovely way to take back a beautiful landmark or landscape that you witnessed in person.

If you are a foodie, this is the souvenir for you. Most places have unique flavors and combinations that are part of their history and tradition, so, after hitting your bucket list restaurants, take a stroll through the local market and pick up the local spices and sauces that you enjoyed. Each time you use them in your kitchen, they’ll bring you back to that vacation.

Fiction, poems, and similar works are often closely linked to a local culture, so what better way to bring that culture home than with a local classic? If you don’t enjoy buying books you know little about, an alternative is to look for the local edition of your favorite book, so you can register your travels through a beloved story.

Mugs make good souvenirs because they are always useful. However, most souvenir mugs are plain, boring, and sometimes ugly. But not all is lost: no one says a souvenir mug has to have the name of the place printed or depict a famous landmark. A cool, unique mug that you will enjoy seeing, using, or gifting will bring back more enjoyable memories than a generic one with the name of a place.

Polaroid photos have a unique retro charm and the added benefit of being practical, portable, and durable. They also develop quite quickly, so you can always take a second photo if you didn’t like the first one. But what if you don’t own a Polaroid camera? Many photo shops offer the possibility of printing digital photos in a Polaroid format, so you can pick and choose the memories you want to immortalize.

Like mugs, tote bags are always useful and a great thing to have on hand. But who says they have to be boring or plain? If you are the kind of person who always has a tote bag in your backpack, think about making it your designated souvenir, so you can reminisce about your past adventures daily.

Listen, there is a reason fridge magnets are the go-to souvenir. They are small, cheap, and readily available, which makes them perfect if you have to bring back small gifts for many people, or if you are traveling light and can’t afford to waste bag space on something bigger. Or maybe you actually enjoy looking back on your vacation every time you open the fridge. Don’t let anyone judge you for that fridge magnet, but just in case, make it a cool one.