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Do you bring home souvenirs from your travels to give to others? In the past few years, we've asked to not exchange souvenirs among family. I appreciate you thinking of me, but I really didn't need a Mickey Mouse keychain from your recent trip to Disney.
I feel like the trip I took and the memories I made are meaningful only to me so unless it's a gift geared to a specific recipient who will enjoy it, I no longer bring home any old trinket just because I went somewhere.
I bring back things from my trips for my co-worker who takes care of my office plants and fish while I am away, and for my parents. But I try to make the items small, and something handcrafted and original instead of the typical mass-produced tourist knick-knacks they sell at most gift shops. And if my parents or my office friend ever tell me they're prefer not to receive any more items, I'll happily stop purchasing them!
Not really. I bring postcards for my grandmother because she collects them. When my son travels, he's been bringing me a magnet, which I like. But for the most part, I figure other people don't want random souvenirs from places that I went.
Rarely. I also avoid knickknacks, many of which were imported from China, anyway. I've started buying refrigerator magnets again because my older granddaughter likes to play with them and we find the places on the globe. My last trip was to Mexico and I bought her and her 2-year old sister small lollipops from the hotel gift shop and an EXTREMELY overpriced bag of plaintain chips from the hotel airport. When the older one and I went to Chicago I really had to think about what to get the 2 year old- edible seemed the way to go but not a large quantity of something junky. In the airport shop I found an individual-sized package of apple slices with a caramel dipping sauce. It was a huge success. I've also bought them T-shirts on occasion.
So, I think I'm going to focus on interesting foods from places I visit, keeping in mind sanitation (both local and whether or not it will keep during the trip home) and any agricultural requirements if I'm coming from abroad. It requires thought and imagination more than money and I like that.
I had an Indian friend who went home for a month and brought back little Ganesha statues carved from sandalwood. I'm sure they could be had for next to nothing there - very nice and detailed but small, light, unbreakable and easy to pack - he probably brought back more than a dozen.
I like to bring a little something special for my neighbor who watches the house while we’re away. Most of the time with air travel it’s too much extra weight and space to put just anything in the luggage so small meaningful things are nice and not for everyone in the family or friends.
Rocks are a popular request, but are often prohibited as national artifacts. Somalia confiscated mine'
I just gather things that have locally unique inscriptions, like beer labels, discarded lottery tickets., bus tickets and receipts. Tea bags can be nice with local tags or labeling, and the recipient can even sample the tea. Ethiopian Coke bottles have pry-off caps that say Coke in Amharic alphabet. Coins and small banknotes are fascinating.
I got some volcanic rocks in Kenya from Mt Kilimanjaro. Nobody asked.
We took rocks from Mt Etna, (Italy) no problems. Sometimes I will buy rocks at gift stores, if I see one that I think a family member will like. No more keychains though.
I got some volcanic rocks in Kenya from Mt Kilimanjaro. Nobody asked.
Many, maybe most countries prohibit the export or archaeological or geological objects, maybe to protect ancient art or semi-precious stones. Customs officers can't tell it from gravel, so it is all banned. The ones from gift shops are exempt, presumably because their value is already known and the traveler has paid what they are worth in-country. Very few countries actually inspect departing baggage, but in some, like Peru, it is east to pick up pre-Columbian pieces off the ground, ant tourists could march off with half their heritage. https://geology.com/minerals/legal-a...ck-collecting/
Last edited by cebuan; 06-02-2019 at 03:33 AM..
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