And fill your house with souvenirs?
I have never been one for buying holiday souvenirs. Even before I consciously made the Not Buying It choice, I don’t think I have ever brought much back from my travels. After 8 visits to Turkey I finally got aTurkish evil eye to protect my house last year, as I thought it may be my last visit to Dalyan.
Yet many years ago it seems that holiday souvenirs were important things to bring back. In just the way we all used to send postcards. Postcards are a novelty in this digital age, yet I still picked up the odd one or two when travelling, and having inherited a large box of postcards dating back to the 1930’s through to the 1970’s from my mother, sending postcards was the done thing pre internet days.
As I said, now they are a novelty, yet many of my very digitally engaged twitter friends make a big deal of sending them, as part of the digital detox when on holiday. Indeed I think I made rash promises to send some. I didn’t. And there is the 60 Postcards project that went viral, for all the right reasons. Not that I will be buying the book of course.
Often these souvenirs we picked up as a gift to family and friends, like this perhaps for granny?
I did collect badges in the 60’s and 70’s. Mom sewed them on my beanie hat.
It was our way of saying ‘look where I have been’ in the same way that uploading the photos to Facebook or our blog does now.
And as I am making choices of what to keep and what to sell or give away, deciding what is tat, treasure, vintage or retro, I remember we have these.
My husbands grandfather went to Japan in the 1920s and brought these home as a reminder of his time teaching English there. They are 90 years old. Definitely treasure then.
And because I am decluttering, and Not Buying It I try not to bring any many souvenirs back from my travels now. Tea towels from New Zealand for friends and family for two reasons.
They were easy to carry in the packs, and New Zealand make the prettiest and maybe the oddest but best quality tea towels ever.
These from Australia are pretty good too. The plan was to make them into cushion covers, but everyone who knows me, knows I can’t sew.
On my last trip I took something very precious to Santorini. I had no plans to bring anything back apart from happy memories and a sense of closure.
Of course there is a but! Yet I feel I can justify these two items unlike all the other souvenirs we have scattered around the house, these are useful and are not going to add to the mound of clutter. What are they?
I just had to get this tea as it was the best tea I have had for a long time and when I drink it I am back at Villa Nectarios.
And this shower gel. I love Korres products, they had a BOGOF offer on them.
And it reminds me of Santorini every day.
What do you have that remind you of places you have visited?