What Are the Best Souvenirs You’ve Ever Collected While Traveling?

By Katherine Schulten
A screenshot from "The Stories Behind Your Souvenirs," a collection of photos and stories sent in by readers. Go to related interactive »| Go to related article »
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Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

Where have you traveled, and what have you brought home to remember those travels?

The Times asked readers to send in photographs of their favorite travel souvenirs with a short story to accompany each. Click through the gallery of their photos and stories, then tell us what you’d post if you were to send something in, too.

In the Times Travel story that inspired the gallery of reader photos, “They’re Souvenirs, Not Stuff!,” Dominique Browning writes:

Souvenir. Even the word is beautiful. It has that gentle, whispery sound of memory brushing by. A wonderfully inclusive label, it can apply to anything, because anything can be a souvenir, any object whose real value lies in its association with a past journey — or, I suppose, a person. A souvenir of a city. A souvenir of a love affair. Something that may have started as an inconvenience (how will I find room in my suitcase?) but on arrival home makes its way onto the mantel as a keepsake of delight. If it is a souvenir, it can transcend kitsch, at least for your lifetime. You are the keeper of its value.

…When I open my crammed linen closet, thinking that this time I will purge, I am faced with souvenirs. The light winter blanket I keep at the foot of my bed when the autumn leaves begin to color came from a tent in India. The brilliantly embroidered cotton spread that covers my sheets in summer came from a tiny shop in Casablanca. I get under the covers, and dream of where I’ve been.

Students: Tell us about the souvenirs you’ve collected from places you’ve visited:

  • What are your favorites? Why?
  • Do you or your family have any rituals around buying souvenirs on trips?
  • Is there a souvenir you wanted on a trip in the past that, for some reason, you didn’t get? What was it?
  • To what extent do you still notice the souvenir and think about where you got it? Has it just become clutter, or is it still meaningful?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Nelson L October 24, 2012 · 7:46 am

I love to collect posters from concerts that I attend because it makes me remember the experience I had. I think posters show a timeline of when my first concert was and they also show the timeline of changing music genres that I have liked over the years. I will keep collecting posters as long as I go to concert because I believe we should remember very important days of lives. I think concerts are important and special because they allow you to just listen to music without interruptions to any other foreign noise.

Austin S October 24, 2012 · 7:47 am

I currently do not have any souvenirs that mean a whole lot to me. However I do plan on traveling the world in the future and plan on getting something from everywhere.

Gage T October 24, 2012 · 7:47 am

My favorite souvenirs that I have collected over my trips are a alligator tooth from Florida. I have had a lot of trips to Florida and i don’t ask for much so i do not think that there has been any souvenirs that i wanted but haven’t gotten

Mallory H. October 24, 2012 · 7:47 am

What are your favorites? Why?
Do you or your family have any rituals around buying souvenirs on trips?
Is there a souvenir you wanted on a trip in the past that, for some reason, you didn’t get? What was it?
To what extent do you still notice the souvenir and think about where you got it? Has it just become clutter, or is it still meaningful?
My favorite souvenirs that I have collected are various sweatshirts and bracelets. My family does not have any rituals around buying souvenirs. I had really wanted to buy a pair of sweatpants in Boston but I was unable to because it was time to leave for lunch. I still notice the souvenirs I purchase because they are useful items I wear on a daily basis.

Eric N October 24, 2012 · 7:48 am

I don’t often buy souvenirs but I do have a favorite. My favorite souvenir is a small totem pole that I bought in Seattle. We don’t have any rituals around buying souvenirs. I have not had a past experience of when I wanted a souvenir because I don’t like shopping or buying things because it is hard for me to make a simple decision. I have my totem pole placed on top of my dresser out of cluttered space.

Jordan T October 24, 2012 · 7:48 am

I tend to get things that I would not use, as souvenirs so I do not loose them. I think that if it is something that I do not want to use, it would just stay in my room and never get lost. My favorite souvenir is a strange little pencil holder that I got from Myrtle Beach SC. I also really like this shirt that I got in Paris. It is pink and is different from my other souvenirs because it is something that I use/wear a lot. I really like the shirt because it is just cool to have a shirt that is actually from Paris that has french writing all over the inside of it.

Macie P. October 24, 2012 · 7:48 am

The best souviner I have ever collected would have to be a “beach gobe” I got from Cocoa Beach in Orlando florida in 2001. This was the best souviner I have ever gotten because that vacation,was my first real vacation when I was 4. We went to Cocoa beach i Orlando Floida. Even though, we go back every year, the first ones pictures, and souviners had to of been the best mmories.

Matt October 24, 2012 · 7:49 am

My favorite souvenir is a glass dolphin I bought in Florida. I bought 3 glass dolphins. 1 I gave to my aunt, and the other to my uncle who we were staying with on our vacation down in Florida. The other I kept to myself. My family doesn’t really have any traditions of buying souvenirs, I think it’s better if it just ‘happens’ rather than actually going out and trying to find a souvenir. I still keep the glass dolphin on my bedside table and see it every morning. It’s a great way to remember my great memories from Florida.

Tim M October 24, 2012 · 7:49 am

I have several souvenirs that I like, but they are all hats. Sometimes I see something that I want but I don’t get it because I do not need it or my mom says no. the souvenirs are not very meaningful because I wear hats out fast, and they sort of become clutter.

Morgan Q October 24, 2012 · 7:50 am

My favorite souvenir that I have collected is the series of The Hunger Games. These are my favorite souvenirs because the series always has a twist to it and one can never expect what will happen next. My family has always gotten souvenirs on every single vacation that we have gone on. Every single souvenir that we have gotten is agreed to be one of the best choices to be gotten.

Kenan J October 24, 2012 · 7:50 am

One of my favorites is a Hawaiian bracelet that my friend gave me because it was really cool and it was hand made from him, but when I got it we were not in Hawaii. Another thing that I got is a snorkel that I got Discovery Cove. I like it because it was one of the only things that didn’t break from it. These two things have become things that I haven’t used in a little while.

Kenny B. October 24, 2012 · 7:51 am

One of my favorite souvenirs that I have ever gotten was coral from Aruba. I haven’t been to Aruba since I was very little and I don’t remember many things from my trip. But when I see the coral that we brought back I instantly remember feeding the brightly colored fish frozen peas and snorkeling off a huge sail boat. When my family is on a trip we almost always get a souvenir, but we try and stay away from what we would buy there, and never see at home. My parents due to this constantly tell us we can’t get some souvenirs which is understandable because by the time we get back to the hotel we have already forgotten about it. A lot of souvenirs have become clutter over the years but there are always the few that when you see you can’t help but get a rush of memories.

Khiara P. October 24, 2012 · 7:51 am

My favorite souvenirs that t I have brought back from vacation were bells. Me and my grandma trade them. She bought me one for a Christmas and told me only to ring it when she has passed away on Christmas. Then the year I went to Antigua I brought her one. Usually my family buys little souvenirs because we never know if the person would like them, it’s kind of funny. I have wanted something from a trip that i didn’t get was jewelry. I wanted them so bad! I was upset when I didn’t get them.

Kamdin H. October 24, 2012 · 7:51 am

I’ve been too many different states in the north eastern part of the U.S. I’ve collected a few things from my travels I would have to say that my favorite would have to be the glass squares, and rectangles that have a display inside of them. This is only because they resemble something in that state or area and it reminds me of that place. Not really we usually don’t plan time for souvenirs on our trips. I think so but I don’t remember where we were or what it was. There all very meaningful to me, but my mom thinks that there not, but it only madders to me.

Alisabeth 0220 October 24, 2012 · 7:51 am

When I went to the Dominican Republic, I got a glass turtle from a little market. It is my favorite because it is a memory that I can hold with me forever. It was the first time I went there and it will always be so special to me. Every trip we go on, my parents let me and my sister get one souvenir each. I usually keep all of my souvenirs on my shelf, and I’m sure most of them have been lost or broken but they meant a lot to me at the time.

John B October 24, 2012 · 7:52 am

The best souvenirs can not be bought, they are the memories of the good times you’ve had. Generally we don’t buy many souvenirs, but when we do, we go to a store in Maine, where we mostly visit, and buy things like a compound bow and other things in that same category. There are plenty of souvenirs I haven’t gotten because of price, however I do not remember what they are.

Alexandra D October 24, 2012 · 8:04 am

I don’t have any favorite places to go. I rather go anywhere that is fun. My family and i do not have any rituals that i know of. There has been many souvenirs that i wanted in the past that i did not get. I don’t really remember what they were.

John October 24, 2012 · 8:10 am

My favorite thing i’ve got while travleing is the necklace I got from the hawians when we played baseball in cooperstown. They have a tradititon to give the other team a gift after they play that team.

Jessica October 24, 2012 · 8:12 am

I usually don’t collect anything when i travel. I just shop till i drop. That would be a fun thing to do though.

Abbey October 24, 2012 · 8:18 am

My best souvinier I have gotten is pictures with a horse in the waters of Jamacia. It was so fun and crazy at the same time. I will always have them because it was a cruise and I have only been on two.

danielle October 24, 2012 · 8:27 am

I collected a hamburger from maryland for 4 years it was the best hamburger and i just wanted to save it!

Sierra October 24, 2012 · 8:30 am

My favorite thing i collected was stuffed animals.I have so many stuffed animals.I got dogs,cats,hippos,and many more. I get all my stuffed animals from build-a-bear work shop.

Mike d October 24, 2012 · 9:04 am

When I was little I was pretty big into getting souvenirs whenever I went on vacation. However, know it doesn’t really interest me. But if I had to pick my favorite souvenir it would probably be the Boston Red Sox flag that I brought back from Fenway Park.

Malia C. October 24, 2012 · 9:05 am

When I was younger, I would collect key chains from everywhere I went. Now I have a collection of many keychains up on a cork board. I like getting key chains because they last through the years. My favorite souvenirs now are t-shirts because you can show off where you went and a t-shirt can fit you for many years. My family does not have any souvenir ritual. In the past there have been things I’ve wanted to buy but I didn’t get because they were too expensive, like dresses. I still notice souvenirs because I place them around my room and I think they’re meaningful because I like the reminders.

Jacob H October 24, 2012 · 9:05 am

I currently do not have any souvenirs that mean a great deal to me but someday I know I will. I plan on travelling to every state in the United States and taking one souvenir from each state to place in something similar to a trophy case to have forever.