OT: souveniers?

let's go on a trip !
what kind of souveniers do you purchase?
for whom?
do you set a $$ limit before you go????

when my kids were little, i would buy things for them...now- well- it's all about me! that and my budget sucks! if i buy a "souvenier" for someone it's usually saved for Christmas or birthday gifts.....my daughter and i have SS charm bracelets and charms from Europe-hmmmm.should get the put on!!!

my one sis in law likes magnets for her frig- i bought a bunch and never mailed them- ouch!

so - i buy a thimble if it's somewhere i have never been....i still buy a few postcards cuz i love them and often my pics don't do something justice.....(hanging my thimble collection is on my list of to do's!)

i love to get the 51 cent pennies too- ya know- put your penny and 2 quarters in the machine and crank out a souvenier penny- i taught candy that task in dallas a few years ago--i'm sure she was sleeping at nite before that!!!!

nowadays, my budgeting starts with transporatation and rooming costs- then food  and then a few dollars for myself!!!! someday, when publishers clearing house cooperates, i'll go back to buying for the grands!!!

so-what about you????????

I buy pins ... you know, the little souvenir hat pins you can find at airport counters and drug stores. I have tons of them from everywhere I've been, plus Olympic pins. I started collecting the pins when I went to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

You know I have too much junk anyway ... also love books on where I've been ... and bobbleheads (but I've scaled back ... I did get an Elvis bobble in his pink Cadillac). The pins are the main thing, though... cheap and easy to pack.

I just don't buy them anymore.  And, I've scaled way back on the picture taking. I just have memories.  It's cheaper, they fit nicely in the space that was provided, if I lose one I can eventually find it, and if I can't find it, someone else will eventually give me another one.

Janet

I try to find a miniature tea set everywhere I go.  I can't always find one and they have to fit a certain criteria.  Must be china, silver, wood, glass, etc.  NO RESIN ONES.  They make everything out of resin these days.  They need to have a very clear connection to the place.  I started this on a Europe trip I chaperoned with the scouts.  We went to England, France, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.  I was able to find something everywhere except Belgium.   England was a silver one, Italy - wood painted green and red, Germany - Hummel, France - Limoge, etc.
The funniest thing was when we chaperoned another scout trip to the National Parks, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Zion and I couldn't find one, my son laughed and said, Mom, I don't think the American Indians drank tea from tea cups.
Being the oldest of seven children, all my toys were handed down.  My most prized piece is a sugar bowl my mother found while digging her flower bed just 10 years ago.  I remember it from long ago and we must have lost it playing in the dirt.
Thanks Margo, that was fun to remember.
Bev 

I probably spent less than $40 on souveniers from Germany and then only for immediate family, and very close friends.   Most of it was German chocolate (they are famous for their chocolate), some ginger cookies, and a pen for a girl friend.  Why buy people stuff they might not even want?   I took pictures, but I'm not a good photographer, so a lot were deleted because they weren't good.   What I took meant a lot to me.  The memories will last a lifetime.

Last souvenir I bought my son was it least 10 years go. Paid way too much for a t=shirt from a brewery on the Oregon Coast. . . He promptly cut the sleeves out and turned it into an exercise shirt! Lesson learned! I like bookmarks, kitchen towels to use and remember. Seldom buy souvenirs anymore because they more when you have been there yourself and not  so much to the person you bring them too. Usually the t-shirts and gifts for grandchildren cost an arm and a leg and they are so cheap they don't fit right.

Aloha darlin...I just wrote a LONG text message and then it disappeared (poof) so I'm just going to catch up a tiny bit. My 2nd formr husband is here staying with me, and it is a challenge although he's a god guy and a lot of fun. We've had been eating WAY too much and AI hav a frige FULL of Tahaitian prawns, caesaid salad, cheesecake,etc. He leaves tomorow an I will have tons of leftovrs which I will munch away. Luckily I got very tense when he was arriving, so began to lose and was down to 172 before he arrived, and now jjust back up to 175.

He will be going home tomorrow and life will get back to normal very soon. Wish me luck!! This was a big deal....and I think I 'm goingto survive without any "no no's".,

More later when I'mj man free!! Love the man, but love my aloneness even more.

Aloha nui loa,
OOXOXOXO

Maui Karem

It's always soo good to see you! Glad you have had fun with the ex, but I know how we all like our "normal"...lol

Hugs and smoochies!

This is a good topic for me right now... I just got back from a trip and I'm going to be off again very soon. When I travel I usually buy something I would buy anyway, but get it there to have that memory. Sometimes I will buy cologne, or a piece of jewelry. I might buy a t-shirt if it is one that appeals to me.  Since it is my memory I usually buy for myself. I also take pictures and make a scrapbook so I will buy stickers that are appropriate to the area. Like you, most of my money goes to the flight and hotel... but the memories are very valuable!
Julia

When I cruise, I've tried to buy a ring in a country I've not been to before so when I wear it, I'm on vacation far far away again.  I've been to everywhere Carnival cruises out of Galveston now, so no more jewelry.

Janet