apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Besides the ones you mentioned, I like to buy unique jewelry from my travels. I have some really pretty handcrafted jewelry from Japan, Poland, and Morocco that are nice conversation pieces as well as small but meaningful mementos.

I always bring back a piece of pottery from our trips. Talavera from Mexico, an antique bud vase from St. Louis, a leaf shaped vase from Hawaii, etc.

I collect "floaty" pens....you know, those tacky pens with a scene that floats through oil when held upside down. I have about 160 of them. They are inexpensive, don't take up much room in a suitcase, and are fun to display. I have a few naughty ones....think Amsterdam. My latest is one from the Vatican, with the Pope moving up and down with raised arms.

I used to buy t-shirts and mugs, but that is a collection that I just don't have room to propagate!

Now I will usually find a nice piece of jewelry and sometimes a Christmas ornament. I also like floaty pens and magnets.

My friends mom buys small watercolors on her trips and has them all hanging together in her guest bathroom. It's a really nice look if you have the wall space.

I'm a knitter, so I love to bring back yarn from my travels. Anything you knit with it has a story to go with it, and I can think about my trip as I knit it up. It can be a little bulky in a suitcase, but it squishes well, cushions any breakables I might be carrying, and doesn't weigh much, so I can always mail it home for a minimal cost if it doesn't fit.

I have that Pope pen! JP II, to be specific...

From my last trip to Germany and Paris, I brought home wine (the bottles of which will be re-purposed as candlesticks, scarves, inexpensive prints for my bathroom, a ring and a book of the exhibit I saw at the Henri Cartier-Bresson Museum in Paris.

My mother and grandmother made me a t-shirt quilt after I graduated from LSU -- it's a purple and gold monstrosity and I love it. By far the best way to display and continue to use the t-shirts I lived in for four years.

My husband and I buy the tackiest magnet we can possibly find from each new country/major city. Magnets so ugly they're cute are not allowed - they have to be genuinely heinous. We have 15-20 right now, and they make us laugh every time we walk into the kitchen.

I like picking up cookbooks. They're useful, and every time you cook something from one of them, you're reminded of your travels.

I like to bring back blankets or throws

I'll second cedargr0's yarn suggestion. I also decided during a trip to Mt Rushmore last summer that I wanted to collect thimbles purely for the goofball factor -- haven't got space for much more than that in my studio apartment, anyway. :)

I peeked at this post because I have a print from Chapon of St. Martinique too:-) My favorite mementos are usually textiles--I buy scarves for myself and others, but I also enjoy yardage of fabrics, especially if an area is known for a particular handicraft. I have block-printed handwoven cotton from Thailand, an electric pink muumuu from the Philippines and silk scarves from Paris, just to name a few. They are easy to transport, lightweight, useful and don't take up a lot of space at home.

I agree that textiles and jewelry are some of the best things to bring back home since they pack easily.

I like to get tea towels or similar kitchen towels - they make good gifts as well, and are easy to pack. For myself, it's usually locally-made jewelry if I can find something nice but not outrageously expensive. And I buy a mug from just about every museum I go to.

I love to bring back fun keepsakes when I travel, but my problem is that I am always drawn to large pieces that I will have a hell of a time getting back home! Like that oar in the photo...or the large, ornate hookah I agonizingly had to leave in Turkey cause it was so fragile....

How do other people deal with this particular problem?

glitchgirl, why don't you have your larger items mailed? I try not to have size stop me from buying. If the vendor doesn't mail overseas (and these days that's very common), you can always find a freight forwarder to do it for you (and I'm not talking about Fed Ex or UPS).

yep, jewelry is a big one for me too. I've never been too keen on knick-knacks, so usually I gravitate towards home goods, like pillow covers & material (some countries are easier than others... Turkey & Morocco are both brilliant for home goods!)

shoes.

is there any other souvenir?

I always bring home magnets for the fridge when we travel. I've also picked up quite a few posters and prints. I consider my photographs my most important keepsakes though.