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Writer's pictureMackenzie

Things to Collect While Traveling

If you are anything like me, you love to collect items from your travels. Whether that be keychains, stickers, coffee mugs, or all of the above. Here are a couple of my favorite things to collect from each country I visit!


1. Starbucks Mugs

I don't know about you, but I am obsessed with coffee mugs, so much that I buy a Starbucks mug for every state and country I go to. For the states, I buy the 'Been There' series mugs and as for countries, I get the 'You are Here' series mugs. My collection has gotten rather big, but also rather heavy, so if you are looking for a lightweight, inexpensive things to collect from your travels, these aren't it. Each mug costs roughly $15 and are a bit of a pain to pack if you are traveling light. Nevertheless, I am obsessed with my travel mugs and I love drinking my coffee out of them in the mornings when I am stuck at home and not traveling the world.


2. Keychains

I feel as if this one is pretty common. I began collecting keychains when I first traveled to Europe in 2015 and I make sure to grab at least one per country. I love these because they are lightweight, small, inexpensive, and easy to showcase when I get back home. At Christmas time, I hang them all on the Christmas tree to showcase my travels while also having the holiday spirit. You can also purchase shadow boxes and hang them in there to showcase them when the Christmas tree isn't set up in the living room.


3. Stickers

These are probably my favorite thing to collect when I am traveling because they are inexpensive, lightweight, and super fun to decorate things with. I grab a sticker for every country, but I also try to grab one for each city I love as well. Especially if the sticker showcases my favorite thing I visited while traveling. Stickers are really easy to find when you are traveling around and it is so easy to showcase your travels to others when you get back home. I personally have a sticker board in my room that I add my stickers to as I collect them. It is a fun decor item and completely customized to your travels.


4. Patches

Patches are also a fun way to showcase your travels. Not to mention, similar to keychains and stickers, they are generally inexpensive and lightweight. Patches are also fun because there are so many ways you can showcase them whether it is on a backpack, jacket, blanket, or a shadow box. I personally have mine in a shadow box hanging on my wall. I buy a patch for every country I visit and also at any attractions I really liked.


5. Postcards

These are the probably the most common thing people collect while traveling and I am no different. Postcards are even more fun to collect if you write what you did while in the city or country and mail it to yourself from wherever you are. When you get home, you have a day-by-day account of your trip and a ton of fun postcards. Not to mention, postcards are also inexpensive and extremely lightweight. To keep them safe and unharmed for many years, you can laminate them when you return home from your trip.


6. Tattoos

I personally don't collect tattoos, but some people do! I would love to start collecting tattoos from my travels. These 'souvenirs' are something that are permanent and are also a great conversation starter. Although tattoos are not cheap, they are something beautiful that you can bring with you everywhere. If you do want to start collecting tattoos on your travels, be sure to do your research on the tattoo parlors that are in the city you are visiting and, as always, be safe!


This is a short list of things that you can collect on your travels, but there are so many more that I didn't even touch on. What do you collect while traveling the world? Let me know in the comments!

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