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Of all the people I might bring a gift to, I think I know them all well enough to sense what they would like. I place the burden on myself to be thoughtful.
Three kinds of people. 1--says bring me something. 2--someone I regularly share casual things or thoughts with. 3--to hell with them. As I travel, thoughts of trinkets for 1 and 2 are always in my watchful mind.
The only time I ever brought back a bunch of souvenirs for friends was upon my return from a business trip to Brussels. They were Manneken Pis corkscrews!
Back then I was young and silly, and so were my friends - we all thought they were great fun.
Re: the rock thing. My daughter just brought back a small batch of interesting rocks from Alaska.
What made them more special is that a geologist was nearby and told her about each rock.
Souvenirs for just herself, though .
I bring home from the US a couple of bags of potato chips for co-workers to try, but nothing more. But I do take a few gifts from the UK when I go over, for friends - used to take lots of Cadbury's chocolate bars, but the quality dropped, so I stopped taking them.
Our kids and grandkids buy me t-shirts from their travels. Granddaughter brought one from New Zealand, my son has bought some from Italy and Canada, My daughter has brought me a couple from Hawaii. I wear them every day during the warm months.
When I went to Hawaii in 1957 printed t-shirts had not been invented yet. I did get a VERY loud aloha shirt.
Hawaii was not yet a state then.
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.
You?
We're the same way.
For instance, we were in a local "goodwill" store and saw a miniature Portland Head Lighthouse. And we loved it. Wife asked if I wanted it. I told her no. (It was obviously a souvenir that was donated). I told her I would rather go in person to see it, to have great memories of it, THEN get one. That way when we would look at it, we would talk about the experience. Not that I would mind the piece...
We recently came back from Las Vegas. We did actually buy 2 souvenirs for our mothers, since we were out there on Mothers Day. And we love to "spoil" our mothers with "extraordinary" gifts on their special day. Including dinner and supper.
Now we will pick up a few extra postcards from the locations we go to, to pass out to some family members. Just to be thoughtful.
But since we're about the only ones, aside from my better halfs sister and her hubby, that goes anywhere. We just don't want to be a burden to the others. When our kids go on a trip, we tell them to enjoy their time, don't worry about us about souvenirs. They kinda feel guilty, but usually they go to a place we've been to already. Haha... They ask what we did, seen...etc. We tell them, of course. How much fun or hassles we've had. But we also tell them to do their own thing. Make their own memories. Brag to us about what we missed!
Besides... if we get any more souvenirs, I would have to build another curio cabinet! (sigh)
These past few years we go around collecting rocks from different states. Both of us will pick a rock. They gotta grab our attention. When we get back to the hotel, we'll sharpie the state on the "boring" side. Just gotta watch the wife so she don't pick up a boulder. I'm the one usually lugging the luggage! Lol
Last edited by DeanGuitarist; 06-03-2019 at 08:31 PM..
Reason: Added rock picking.
A couple of times when DH and I visited our favorite whisky shop in Edinburgh (Cadenhead's) we brought back a half-dozen "world's smallest bottles of whisky"- each may have held a teaspoon. They were very popular.
For myself, I've gone mostly with jewelry and the occasional small piece of local artwork. I know nothing about art so I buy what I like and don't pay a lot assuming it's some sort of investment. I have a charm bracelet with charms from places I've visited. The price of a 14K or 18K gold charm isn't too bad because they're small, and they don't take up a lot of space in your luggage.
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.
You?
I only do if there is something unique to a specific place or if you can't really get it anywhere else. For example, in Peru, I got my mother a sweater made out of alpaca wool.
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