My mother was a flight attendant at one point in her life, and she once told me that if I had any clothing that wouldn’t fit into my carry-on, I should layer myself up and wear things onto the plane, then take them off once boarded. I remembered that tip coming back from San Antonio, Texas a couple of years ago when I couldn’t figure out what to do with a couple of gift souvenirs. I swapped the clothes for the suitcase space and wore a few extra layers home. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
I give a lot of thought to souvenirs. I want them to be packable, practical, and place-based. That’s why my preferred souvenirs are often bracelets – – I’ll actually wear them, they don’t compete for space on the return trip home, and they help me remember the place in some special way. I remember looking all over Texas for a bluebonnet bracelet – – the kind that has a real flower in an oval shaped setting, so I could bring home my very own Texas state flower. I couldn’t find one anywhere and ended up instead with an Alamo t-shirt, which I’d never planned to buy except for the unpredictable February weather that was hot one day and freezing the next.
In Europe, I bought scarves, which I’ve found useful particularly in movie theaters and restaurants where the air conditioning vents somehow always end up blowing right on my shoulders. They fold down to a thin layer in the carry-on.
But the best souvenirs to preserve the memories are photographs – – the moments captured in time that take us back to all the people and places we’ve loved. They fit right on a micro memory card and take up virtually no suitcase space!
What are your favorite souvenirs to buy as you travel?
Common Threads 