Summary

The article provides advice on purchasing meaningful souvenirs that one won't regret later, focusing on items that fit personal style, are edible, and are bought from local artisans rather than tourist traps.

Abstract

The article "How to Buy Souvenirs that You Won’t Regret" emphasizes the importance of selecting souvenirs that are both memorable and practical. The author suggests that travelers should buy items that match their personal style or lifestyle, ensuring that the souvenirs will be used or displayed back home. Edible souvenirs are recommended as they do not contribute to clutter and can be enjoyed immediately. The author also advises against purchasing from overly touristy areas, instead encouraging support for local businesses and artisans, which often results in better quality and more authentic products at a fairer price. By following these guidelines, travelers can avoid the common pitfall of buying souvenirs that end up forgotten in a drawer.

Opinions

Souvenirs should be items that one would actually use or display at home, not just impulse buys that match the ambiance of the travel destination.
Jewelry with personal significance and a style consistent with one's usual attire is a recommended souvenir choice.
Decorative items like the Almafi lemon-decorated plates may not suit everyone's home decor and should be considered carefully.
Edible souvenirs are a thoughtful choice as they do not add to the accumulation of unnecessary possessions and can be a delightful way to relive travel memories through taste.
It is better to purchase souvenirs from local shops and artisans outside of the most touristic areas to obtain higher quality and more authentic products.

How to Buy Souvenirs that You Won’t Regret

Don’t succumb to the call of cheap souvenirs that will end up at the bottom of a drawer.

Wherever you travel, you are sure to be surrounded by store after store of souvenirs. Everything from fridge magnets to local products, figurines and toys.

It’s really tempting to bring something home, something to remember this trip by.

And, once you get home, you find yourself with something that has no place in your decor, that you would never wear in “real life”, or that doesn’t taste as good as it did while you were away.

So your souvenir ends up at the bottom of a drawer until it gets discarded when you get tired of opening that drawer and seeing it there.

I am not a big souvenir buyer. However, I recently went on my honeymoon with my husband in Italy and Croatia and I figured it would be nice to have something to remember this important trip.

So I went on the hunt for souvenirs that I would not regret back home. Here is my advice.

Buy something that fits your style/lifestyle

The problem with souvenirs is that they always look great when you are in the place they are sold. That is because they go with the decor, the ambiance, the style of the place.

Once you bring them home, they look out of place. And so you stop wearing/displaying them.

When buying souvenirs, you need to ask yourself: “would I actually wear/display this back home?”

In my case, I was looking for jewelry. Most of my jewelry has special meaning to me and I love remembering where I got each piece and who gave it to me.

In Venice, where we started looking, you can find a lot of jewelry. Most of it is understandably made of glass. And most of it is bright and bold and colourful.

It can be very beautiful. But it is definitely not the style of jewelry that I enjoy wearing.

Instead, I found a discrete necklace with a stylized gondola on the front. It is in a similar style to the jewelry I usually wear and its design is unique and doesn’t scream “look at me, I went to Venice!”. I’m able to wear it every day and I love being reminded of our trip that way.

This advice is especially important if buying something to display in your home.

The Almafi lemon-decorated plates might look incredible in Positano but would they fit with the rest of your black and white service?

Buy something edible

One of my rules when buying gifts for other people is to buy edible things as much as possible.

That way, you are not adding to the amount of stuff they have. Everyone already has too much stuff.

If I buy people something they can eat or consume, if they hate it, at least it’ll be gone soon.

The same applies when buying souvenirs, especially if you are buying a souvenir to bring home to someone else.

Very few people actually want glass figurines in their homes. And no one wants a glass figurine as a souvenir from a place they’ve never been.

Even for yourself, it’s nicer to bring a very high quality local product and enjoy it while it last than be stuck with something you hate.

In both Italy and Croatia, we bought olive oil, both for ourselves and as gifts for our families.

Don’t buy anything in the most touristic areas

Even if you have found something to buy that you know you won’t regret, avoid buying it at a souvenir shop in the busiest area of the city you are in.

It’s much nicer to go outside of those areas to buy products that are actually local and to support smaller shops and artisans.

You will get better products, probably cheaper.

Souvenirs are a really nice way to remember a trip, especially if it was an important trip like your honeymoon.

But so often we find ourselves buying things that we discard as soon as we get home.

Rather than wasting your money, make sure to buy something that you will actually use, like a very high quality local product, wear, like a small piece of jewelry, or display.

Before you buy a souvenir, ask yourself “would I buy this at home?”.