Holiday souvenir…. what do you bring home?

Food. Salami, cheese, wine, chocolate. Although once, I found a shop that sold pen and ink drawings. Just plain black and white. A fiver for each one. I bought a sheaf of them and they grace my walls now. Lovely.

Fridge magnets ?

I like a nice souvenir tea towel, a daily reminder of places I've been. Mum used to buy them for me on their travels as well ?
I usually get wine when my husband goes on his annual boys golf week to France. That hasn't happened for the last two years due to the virus, so sadly I have to buy my own now.
Isn't it expensive here?? ??

Not much usually as anything food-wise that we used to bring back we can now get easily in this country. My husband often puts in an order to the Scandi shop in London.

I suppose the ‘souvenir’ that we most bring back are new or consolidated relationships with people we meet, or have previously met, on holiday. The chef at our Greek hotel has become a good friend, along with one of the younger staff members and we keep in touch between visits. From Norway the local Church Pastor and his family have visited our home on a few occasions and when we are in Norway we are included in special ‘family only’ events.

One ‘holiday friend’ recruited my husband to volunteer with him on a project in Kenya and another has been off on windsurfing holidays with him.

In our dining room though we do have two very special souvenirs; the first is an intricately hand-carved wooden plate that was made by one of our Norwegian friends as a gift for our youngest son, the other is a beautifully hand-carved wooden eagle that the same son bought in Slovakia. Both were gifted to us by our son when he left home.

Usually holiday uk, so nice bacon and sausage, cheese.

Also tea towel, always useful!

Have been known to come back with new walking boots, socks, woolly hat.

Often clothes which seem wonderful at the time…..
Actually I am getting better and have brought back some nice garments and jewellery.

Really nice cards from museums,

Usually a fridge magnet and occasionally some art.

I used to bring back wine and olive oil but it often became a store cupboard shop. I would buy cartons of sauce and soup, jars of freeze dried herbs and if it was the right time of year a string of garlic.

A pebble if I'm near a beach

Half of our year was spent in Françe for 5 consecutive years, so, olive oil, walnut oil, wine, confit duck, Armagnac, pastis and smoked black garlic. Car smelt nice!

A case full of dirty washing (and the correct C / GC when we have taken any)

Glass Canada geese Christmas tree ornaments, from the Christmas Shop Niagara Falls. Handmade wooden bread knives and hand carved Canada goose from Muskoka, Huntsville, Ontario. Hand crafted box and hand made boomerang by Aboriginal crafters, koala bears (for grandchildren) Sydney, Australia. Perfumed oil, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wooden dolls and Chinese costumes, Hong-Kong. Usual wine, oil etc. from France. A new born baby and pram from Amsterdam, Netherlands!!

Tea towels, fridge magnets usually. Depends where we are. We brought a mask from Venice, a music box from Amalfi, a lovely painted bowl from Lake Garda. We also nicked a small stone from The Lakes of Killarney.

Oh and a very pretty Christmas tree ornament from Santorini which goes on the tree every year.

If as in present times from the UK we bring home local foods. We see if we can find a local farm shop and buy items there.

From abroad a fridge magnet, local biscuits,chocolates or sweets. I also bring a calendar from said country which again is a daily reminder of happy memories.

* Kate1949* you’ve reminded me I bought a Christmas table runner in Majorca many years ago. I’ve changed my Christmas colour scheme so it doesn’t go with the theme any more but I wouldn’t part with it!

I don't blame you Grandma dinosaur. It's memories isn't it?

A full size Serrano ham.
Sangria.
A selection of Spanish cheeses.
Nordic mist tonic water ( my friend owns a bar and gets it wholesale)
Tinned octopus.
If we come home near Toulouse we get authentic sausage for my daughter.
Always stones/shells from a beach.

Good point, grannyactivist. I have friends in China, Spain, Switzerland, all the places I've worked. It's a lovely thing to do, but sad too, knowing I'll probably never see them again.

I once got some gorgeous hand blown Christmas baubles in Germany. Many, many years ago, so they're long since broken.

From Cyprus, when we used to stay at Dbro’s flat, vacuum packed lounza ham, and Filfar (luscious orange liqueur.)

From France, supermarket boxes of wine for dds, and a couple of jars of Fromage de Tete (French version of brawn) for a very carnivorous dd who particularly likes it.

In summer, probably a big tray of apricots. (We drive.) Cheese, if we’ve got a cold box. But not Epoisses, much as we like it - no matter what you do it stinks the place out.

I stock up on M&S Knickers and bras. On my most recent visit I did notice that certain items were out of stock. But most of all cuddles, kisses and memories with my family and especially my grandchildren.

Love it gg.

Nothing much. I'm not in the least materialistic, and it would never enter my head to buy souvenirs.
I did bring two glass bud vases back from Venice, but they were a gift for my mother.
And, as others have said you can buy food from all over the world so why bring it back with you.

My son brought some sweet green peppers back from Greece for me to cook.

We bring home a Christmas tree decoration. Even in the Bahamas in the middle of Summer we found a shell angel. We also have a painted egg from Salzburg, a 'puppet' Santa American football player and a Mickey Mouse snowman from the US, a sparkly Kiwi from NZ, a lovely wooden candlestick from Tunisia, a small crystal bauble with a beautiful tiny red poinsettia flower in and a variety of others. Every year when we do the tree we talk about the places we visited as we work our way down the tree.