A Case Of Souvenirs
Fail-proof gifts that deliver every time to bring back to your loved ones
What comes to mind first when we think about souvenirs from travels to places far and near? Most of the time, the images appearing before our eyes are the quite gauche magnets, ceramic statues and other crudely assembled objects deprived of the character of the place. Sometimes they’re sold in the big shops with shelves upon shelves of slightly varied items with the country or town name on it, or from huge shawls on the ground near tourist attractions. You’ve seen such things, for sure, they are ever-present in places where we live as well – after all, our hometown can well be a destination to a foreign or home tourist, too. Upon delivery, they’re most likely to collect dust in the new home, only to be moved around during the cleaning, or stored away in the box somewhere.
As a person who travels quite a lot for work, I’ve devised my own approach to bringing small gifts and tokens of love to my family and friends who live in different countries. I always wanted these souvenirs to be more in line with the original French meaning of the word – memory – and serve as a reminder of our connection, something that my loved ones will use or engage with, inspiring a thought and a smile associated with our time together. So, when travelling, I’m consciously seeking three main types of souvenirs: soap bars, napkins, and chocolate. They may warmly remind the loved ones that you brought something specifically for them.
You can get as creative as you’d like with these. For example, when I was in Egypt this year for the first time, I stocked up on pieces of soap, created by a small local producer with the essential oils in accordance with ancient traditions. I coordinated the colours and aromas of each to the preferences of the people I had in mind, with a Bastet-printed one (cat-like goddess of fertility and home) assigned to my dear interior designer friend with a black and white cat.
The napkins are arguably the most versatile example of a souvenir that doesn’t take up much space and weight in your luggage or carry-all. I always get teased by my mom for bringing packs of those, but I know she takes great pleasure and pride in choosing among those for the dinners we have together. Our most treasured one is of an owl (her favourite bird) in a thistle crown (my favourite wild plant) that I brought home from New Zealand. It was a match made in heaven. They’re designer ones, of course, that can be bought in any home appliances shop, and some of them are seriously good (especially the ones by Marimekko with their legendary Unikko flower design, which come in any colour), but most museum shops now have ones with the elements of their most prized pictures or prints available both online and on the spot. If you know the art style or painter’s preferences of your loved ones, they can be a banger of a souvenir to bring home. I know one of my friends still has a few from the Van Gogh collection made specially for the grand exhibition in London’s National Gallery last year.
Chocolates, on the other hand, don’t tend to last that long, of course. They’re a great option for a sit-down with a cup of coffee or tea, and you can swap them for any other type of sweets if your loved ones are, regrettably, allergic to cocoa. While in Belgium for a short trip earlier this year, chocolate as a souvenir was an obvious choice, but I’ve also found great options with surprising local ingredients in most of my travels. Bringing home a selection of traditional and original recipes can be a great opportunity to let your loved ones have a taste of the place you’ve returned from, adorned with the stories of your adventures.
Regardless of the choice of the object you carry home as a souvenir, it’s always exciting, though sometimes agreeably challenging, to find something that will speak to the person as well as for the gift’s country of origin. But it’s what makes it worth it, in my opinion.
So, what do you like to bring home as souvenirs?