Here are some alternatives to the classic overpriced tourist souvenirs that could work as warm vacation reminders for you and your friends.

A recipe for a local delicacy

You can’t bring that amazing pasta you tried in a restaurant in Florence home with you. But you could introduce yourself to the cook and ask for the recipe, then cook it yourself at home (or invite friends over and share the treat with them). Not every cook is willing to share their recipes, but it’s worth trying (and smiling while you ask really helps).

Cooking courses are another good idea, although personally I prefer getting invited to a local’s home for dinner and then helping to prepare the food. I explain how much I’d like to see [insert amazing food here] being cooked and learn how to make it myself – people are usually flattered that you like their country’s cuisine and will happily teach you.

My way: On my last trip, I saw the mother of the owner of the hostel I stayed at preparing a meal, and although we had no common language (she was Chinese), a few genuine smiles and curious looks over her shoulder got me an invitation to the kitchen. Before I knew it, I was helping her cook a delicious meal!

Don’t worry if you fail with all these ideas: you always have the option of finding a recipe online.

Bring a recipe | Roman Kraft/Unsplash

A song

I love listening to local hits when I’m abroad, and I’ve discovered that music can make for an unexpected and rewarding souvenir to take back home.

Knowing your friends like the back of your hand will help you discover new artists to introduce them to after your trip. Once you return home, add your contribution to the playlist for their next trip. Find a whole album by one artist, or make a compilation of songs by local artists.

Bring a song | Mitchel Lensink/Unsplash

A postcard (including one to yourself)

I love receiving photos from my friends’ trips in my email inbox, but there’s nothing quite like real paper postcards in my real mailbox. More often than not the postcards arrive after they’ve returned from their trip, but who cares! It’s the thought that counts.

My way: I have a tradition to always send a card to myself to remind me of an interesting thought that crossed my mind during the trip. It’s funny how I never remember what I wanted to share with myself and I’m excited to read it once the postcard has arrived.

Send a postcard (to yourself) |
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Any random item you discover, especially if there’s a story behind it

Seashells (be careful, there are many areas where you’re not allowed to take them from the beach), pressed leaves (they make for fabulous wall art or cards), oddly-shaped rocks – all of these can be good gifts for friends who don’t need much to be happy. Add a small printed card with the story behind the object and maybe a loving message to let your friend know you’re thinking of them.

My way: I have a pinecone garland at home that contains more stories, sunrises, forest trails and happy moments than anything else in my home. Every time I go on a trip where pinecones can be found, I bring one home and attach it to the ever-growing garland.

Collect random objects, like pinecones or seashells | Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Tea, coffee, chocolates, wine – yes, but from a local market

I have a rule – if a box of coffee or chocolates has a photo of the place and an inscription in English, don’t buy it. A wiser alternative is to shop for food and drinks only from local supermarkets or open-air markets, where prices are reasonable and you can uncover some fascinating local products.

My way: I like challenging my friends and family, especially the more conservative among them. From my last trip to Thailand and b, I brought home packages of dried silkworms and crickets – a local delicacy. To be honest, I had underestimated my friendship circle, because almost everybody dared to taste them and actually liked them, although some chewed with their eyes closed and were ready to spit.

Bring exotic food bought from local markets | ©Maria Angelova/www.203challenges.com

Photos

Long ago, people used to print every single photo they took. Now vacation photos get buried in a pile of everyday digital shots and we miss out on the opportunity to reminisce on our happy travel moments. Personally I have found that the photos I love looking at most are the weird and silly ones rather than the posed ones.

My way: I print one photo per trip (sometimes from my Instagram account) and pin it to a photo ‘clothes-line’.

Print photos | Iwan/Unsplash

Bonus idea: seeds

Although I haven’t really succeeded in planting many foreign flowers and vegetables from my travels, I always pay a visit at the local store or market where I get a handful of packs with seeds for anything I think I might like growing. My best achievement so far are Thai beans and unknown Brazilian flowers.

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Do you ever catch yourself getting jealous of someone you don’t even know over a picture they posted from a place you haven’t even heard of? If the answer is yes, this probably means that your wanderlust has been sparked and it needs to be fed right at the moment. But instead of packing your bags and booking the first flight, try becoming a tourist in your own hometown and rediscover it.

Here are five ideas how to do it:

1. Invite a friend from another city

The biggest advantage here is that they will look at the town from a tourist’s perspective and see some positive things about it that you haven’t seen before. Maybe they will even change your perception of certain things. In the end, you will take pride in living in a town you know people enjoy visiting.

2. Get a souvenir from your own hometown

If you love to travel, the chances are you take some kind of souvenir from the places you visit. Whether it is a classic choice like fridge magnet, or something more non-traditional like stones or even a recipe for a traditional meal, spend some time roaming around your own city to find one you really like. You can keep it for yourself or send it to a friend.

3. Recreate a childhood memory

What makes hometowns so special are the memories we have in them. A pastry shop your parents used to take you to or a park in which you used to play with your friends – those places are sure to bring a smile to your face while you recollect the good old days.

4. Discover the story behind a monument

Next time you pass that intriguing monument, beautiful old building or even a street with a strange name try to get as much information about it as you can – who did it, why and when. It is very likely that an inspiring story or legend is waiting for you to discover it.

5. See the town from a bird’s eye view

Search for an extreme sports club that offers paragliding or light aircraft flights nearby. You will glance at your town from an angle you never thought you could and have an experience of a lifetime. Another option could be the observation deck of a tall building or even from the roof of your own place. At the end of the day – inviting a couple of friends over to watch the sunset from the roof with a drink in hand is always a good idea.

Read more:

18 unusual things to do in your lunch break to restart in a creative way

Challenge yourself every day: 20 creative ideas to try right now

How I swapped my bed for a hammock this summer (and kept on going to the office)

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Here’s where mindfulness could help you beat this condition. Research shows that being non-judgmentally wired to the present moment is strongly correlated to higher levels of reported happiness and life satisfaction.

MINDFULNESS in one sentence: on purpose, being present, here and now, paying attention to what you see and feel, without judging.

Are you a mindful traveler, or do you feel you need to improve your travel lifestyle?

Compare yourself against the following points:

1. When you see something beautiful, you take a moment to immerse yourself in the scene

When you are visiting a country for the first time and everything looks new to you, it is easy to notice unknown smells, shapes and sounds. But the mindful traveler will keep their attention sharp even after being in the same place for over a month, and not only for beautiful sights but for everything surrounding them. Paying attention is the best way to create lasting memories.

2. You don’t mind waiting in lines

Airports, passport control, train delays, museum lines in Paris – nothing can take you out of your comfort zone. Long waits present a perfect opportunity to focus your attention on your breathing, or to concentrate your thoughts on the shapes and sounds around you. In fact, that’s one of the best benefits of mindfulness – it’s harder to stay irritated or angry for long because your unbiased, non-judging brain can recognize the feeling and tame it by acknowledging it.

3. You meditate

There are people who keep fit wherever they are in the world. There are others who meditate wherever they are. Mindful people know that taking care of your mental health is as important as exercising.

4. You enjoy time without your phone

You use your phone when you need to (looking at maps, converting currencies, adding new friends on Facebook) but you’re even better at switching your phone off. You appreciate talking to people and living offline more than collecting likes online.

5. You define your trips by the relationships forged on the road

Creating human relationships, not taking beautiful photos, is the most important factor for you when deciding whether or not you liked your last trip.

6. Planning your next trip while you’re on the current one? Not you.

Many people tend to get so obsessed with getting as much as possible from life that they can’t fully enjoy the good things when they actually have them. Being focused on the future takes pleasure away from the present moment.

7. You don’t buy souvenirs, you bring intangible gifts

You are not denying the whole material world, you just appreciate experience more than objects. That’s why your friends expect you to bring them a recipe for an amazing tiramisu you tried in Italy rather than a fridge magnet.

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How to be a mindful traveler | Image by Jeremy Bishop

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How to do it:

1. Find a local

Who’ll teach you to prepare a better tiramisu than a 55-year-old Italian lady who’s been serving it as a dessert every Sunday of her adult life? If you know someone, or know someone who knows someone abroad, make sure you get a dinner invitation. Or, better yet, ask to go over earlier with a bottle of wine and offer to help with the cooking. This way you’ll get a first-hand glimpse of all the secrets that often remain unexplained in online recipes.

2. Find a local snack bar

If step one is not applicable, look for a local snack bar. Not a restaurant. These unpretentious food bars are a source of the most authentic recipes that locals probably learned from their grannies. If you can’t guess what’s in your dish, express your admiration to the cook and ask to have the ingredients of the meal written down. No need to understand everything; you can translate the recipe later.

3. Join a cooking class

Almost every destination around the world will offer some sort of finger-licking good cooking classes. Put on your chef’s hat and master some local recipes like a pro!

4. Shop away

If any of the ingredients you’ll need are difficult to find in your home country, don’t forget to drop by the local market and buy those special ingredients before you leave.

5. Cook

Here comes the sweetest part: when you get back, invite your friends over for dinner and cook the recipes you brought back with you. It’s the perfect occasion to see each another, have a bite together and share some interesting stories about hunting foreign delicacies. If dinner doesn’t work out the first time, fear not – your culinary failure will just be another story to tell!

How to make it better:

If you and your friends have traveled significant distances together, why not gather from time to time to enjoy a themed dinner and look back on funny pictures from your trips? The time spent going through old photos and reminiscing about the stories behind them will be refreshing. You can also have a themed dinner devoted to a destination you haven’t yet been to but would very much like to visit (Polynesia, anyone?). Just google it!

Read more:

How to organize a surprise (birthday) trip in less than 30 minutes

7 things mindful travelers do differently

Stop buying souvenirs: 6 better alternatives to bring home instead

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