Whether you travel a lot or a little, everyone likes to buy a souvenir on a trip. Sometimes it’s a t-shirt or hat that has the name of the place on it, and always it’s a trinket or two that you can take home to remember the trip by.
When I was 15 and started traveling, I started my collection of shot glasses. Yes, before I was even drinking (legally that is; although I think at 15 I really didn’t like the taste of alcohol, at least not until 16 
. Now I have more shot glasses than I know what to do with.
What’s worse, my husband also bought shot glasses to the places he traveled (pre-me), so our combined collection is being “protected” (ie collecting dust) away in two cardboard boxes in our basement.
When we started dating, we lived an hour away from each other and would meet at various towns in Massachusetts between our homes. Somehow a shot glass didn’t seem right so we subconsciously decided to figure out something else to collect together. We were on our own new adventure and needed something to reflect that.
We both worked for a candle company at the time and love candles so it seemed natural while we were trying new restaurants to pick up matches. We LOVED when we would be exiting a restaurant and they would have a nice little bowl of matches for their patrons to take!
This collection filtered into our domestic and international trips, where we would pick up matches from a hotel we were staying at or a bar we were drinking at. From Texas to Thailand, we have accumulated many matches!
We keep the pile of matches in a beautiful blue glass bowl that I received from my friends in Finland. The bowl is not out in the open but special for our overnight guests – placed carefully on a dresser with a fragrant candle for when they want to rummage through and light it up! It’s an inside look at the places we’ve seen and explored.
We also of course take one box of matches out for ourselves as we light up our candles through the house. So although our shot glasses will ‘one day’ make their début, they will still sit on a display shelf and collect dust as I’m not sure how, if put to use, this mom will get up at 7 am with a toddler and function!
It’s sad now with cutbacks that so few places have matches, but we love the hunt. In the meantime, we pick up t-shirts for my dad, key chains for my older brother, or another trinket for family as we feel inspired. It’s a nice reminder and surprise when we see these souvenirs to remind us of our first true love (besides each other and our daughter) of travel.
Do you have one souvenir you like to pick up when you travel? Are they stored away or out for everyone to see?
Related Posts:
- Finding the Right Guidebook
- Finding the right travel partner
- The Non-Essential Savings
Hi, I'm Kiera, the mom behind Easy Travel Mom. I have 3 passions in life: travel, money and being a mom! With my travels to more than 30 countries, my background in finance & marketing, and my learn-as-I-go mommyhood where I am constantly budgeting, I thought why not share all I know about all 3 passions.
Easy Travel Mom is about making life a little easy for my fellow parents out there that want to live life for today and skip the hiccups. Check out my 
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