Frugal Souveniers Without the Clutter

With spring break and summer vacation right around the corner, I thought that this was a timely post to pull up from the archives. I hope it helps you save money on souvenirs AND avoid clutter as you head out on any trips you might be planning.

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I’m a bit of a packrat. I try to be a tosser-of-all-things-no-longer-useful, but it goes against my personality in a big way! I’ve been trying to downsize our stuff, and I don’t want souvenirs from trips to add to the clutter that I’m trying to clear.

We aren’t frequent travelers, so when we go somewhere, we want to bring back some little memento of the trip. We started a little traveling tradition about ten years ago. Each time we travel, we try to find a Christmas tree ornament that is unique to the location we visit. We want it to have one of the landmarks on it or have the city name on it. We have a gold one shaped like the Governor’s Mansion in Williamsburg, a shiny skyline of Dallas, and a wooden cutout of the mountains in Breckenridge.

There are two things I like about this souvenir tradition. First, it’s frugal. You can usually find a Christmas tree ornament for $10 or less in one of the gift shops. Plus it can be a souvenir for the whole family. No more buying six different trinkets to bring home. Second, we get to remember our travels (few as they are!) each year as we decorate our Christmas tree. You hear a lot of remember when and what a great trip talked about as we hang the ornaments. It extends the vacation and brings us back to the fun we had traveling together.

The best part is that this year’s souvenirs don’t become next year’s donation to charity!

I’m sharing this post at:
:: Tip Me Tuesday hosted by Tip Junkie
:: Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We Are THAT Family
:: Thrifty Thursday hosted by Coupon Teacher
:: Finer Things Friday hosted by The Finer Things in Life
:: Frugal Friday hosted by Life As Mom