So this is what I've come up with. I'll try to add more if I come up with anything new. And please feel free to leave a comment and share some of your ideas! I'd love to hear'em!
1. Journal
This idea always sounds so daunting, but trust me it is so worth it. I loved keeping my travel log on this blog. I felt like blogging and typing it out was more efficient and it enabled me to really keep up on my daily activities without the painstaking task of handwriting everything down (and condemning myself for my horrible handwriting!). I'm actually super impressed that I maintained my journaling throughout my entire stay in London and for all of my auxiliary trips. It is something that I often look back on, with a heavy sense of nostalgia, and am grateful for my meticulous accounts of my adventures.
2. Soundtrack
I love either making a soundtrack (or a playlist) for a trip before hand or even making one afterward of songs that you listened to while there or songs that remind you of the place you went. I swear to God, Destiny's Child's "Writings on the Wall" will forever remind me of my trip to Florida when I was sixteen. Even to this day, I hear "Bills, Bills, Bills" and can smell the sea air and feel the wind blowing through my hair as we cruised down 75 in my cousin's beat-up Sentra.
I had so many friends notice that as I walked around London I always had in my earbuds and they would ask what I was listening to. Usually it was always Mumford & Sons, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, The Fray, etc. And now there are certain songs that when I hear them I am immediately zapped back to Regent Street, or Hyde Park, or Portobello Market. It's comforting - almost like bringing home a little piece of my trip that I can play on repeat.
3. Christmas Ornament - Idea #1: Trinket Ornament
This has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. I'll try to take some pictures of the ones I have and post them - but all the Christmas stuff is buried, so it may take me some time. Anyway, I usually look to see if I can find an actual Christmas ornament for sale (but sometimes they're ugly or cheesy or crazy pricey!) so instead I look for small trinkets that either already have a string or loop, or something I can place some ribbon onto so that I can hang it. For instance, I couldn't find an ornament in Amsterdam so I bought a pair of miniature wooden clogs that said Amsterdam on them and were connected by a ribbon and bought those! I just drape them over a branch on the tree. Most important part: if it doesn't have it marked on it already, you MUST mark the name of the place and the year that you went. I have a few from Paris and London (different years of course), a few from different places in Florida (Orlando, Key West, Naples). I love looking at my Christmas tree and recalling that how I'm not only blessed during the Christmas season, but have been blessed throughout my life with some pretty awesome travel experiences and the memories that accompany them.
4. Christmas Ornament - Idea #2: Map Ornament
I've never done this, but I did something similar for my cousin with her wedding invitation when she got married so I think that you could do the same thing. Take the document (ie: wedding invitation or map of a place or a paper restaurant menu or some other paper memorabilia from that place and cut it into strips about 1/4-1/3 of an inch thick. Or to a thickness of your liking. I then bought empty clear plastic Christmas balls (you can buy them at any craft store), I curled the individual strips around a pencil until them spiraled, and then I placed a few in the ball. Don't shove'em all in there if you have a ton, just enough to give it a festive feel. Then I put a little 3D glitter in there and some tiny silver star cut-outs, put the topper back on it and tied a ribbon into a nice bow around the top. And lastly, as always, I inscribed it with words. For travel, put the place and the year. For the wedding invitation, I put the couple's names and the year or you can put so-and-so's first christmas and the year. Just be sure to get someone who has decent handwriting, and write it in permanent marker.
5. Pictures Calendar - I think that we would all be lucky to be able to take one awesome trip a year and what a way to remember that trip throughout the (next) year (and also get yourself super psyched for your next trip) than you create a calendar of your 12 best vacation photos (or more if you do a collage style printing). Not only is it a practical item that can take up residence on your kitchen or your office wall to help you remember what day it is amidst your busy life, but it is an opportunity for you to look at some of your best memories on a daily basis.
6. Postcards - Of course, postcards! Duh! Postcards seem like they may be too basic, but they actually are a traditional and simple way to remember all of the amazing places you've visited. I've even seen people buy a handful of postcards at the beginning of their trip and keep their daily journal entries on the back of a card per day. Then you can either put the cards in page protectors in a binder or use a index card ring to keep them together. I've even see people decoupage their postcards onto coffee tables and things. That could be really awesome!
7. Tattoo - This (clearly) is not an option for everyone. Nor would I say that this is an option for every trip you take. But every once in a while you take a trip that changes you. (For me, it was London. Obviously.) And a tattoo is an unparalleled way to carry a piece of that life-altering experience with you forever. I'll show you the tattoo I hope to be getting soon and a few others that I think are kind of awesome!
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| This is the tattoo I want on my ribcage. Soon, kids. Soon. (Btw, that's the London skyline, just in case you didn't know.) |
8. Photobook - These so far have been one of my personal favorite ways to commemorate a trip. I have made a Shutterfly book for pretty much every country I've been to. Sometimes I type up my journal entries into the photobook for a really awesome picture diary. The best part about these photobook companies and websites are how easy they are to use! I don't really consider myself to be the most technologically savvy individual, but even I have had wild success with uploading and maneuvering my pictures around to create really professional looking products. As I said, I use Shutterfly, but there are a ton of possible sites like Snapfish or Photobucket, etc. The thing I love about Shutterfly is that they offer Groupons all the time. (If you don't know what Groupon is, dear lord, get on board! Just click the link and view so many great deals for goods and local activities/restaurants... so great.) So as I said, I have bought like six Groupons for Shutterfly books at like only $10 a book! There is a minimal shipping fee, but overall, you can have an amazing photobook for less than $20. How can you beat that?
So that's all I have so far... I'll keep you posted if I come up with any new ideas! Happy travels!
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