Have you ever gone on vacation and wanted to bring back a souvenir for your friends and family, but you don’t want to give them something cliché like: fridge magnets, snow globes, t-shirts, or postcards? Well, I’ve been on the same boat as you countless times, and after doing quite a bit of research and based on my own travel experiences, I finally came up with 5 souvenirs that are pretty unique to give your friends and family after a memorable vacation.
1. A Meaningful Statue
Surprisingly, I think a meaningful statue would make a pretty good souvenir. I’m not talking about the cliché Eiffel Tower from Paris (even though I did buy one for myself), I’m talking about a statue that is authentic and really represents the place you’re visiting.
Let me backtrack a little. This idea came up when I travelled to Victoria, BC. I noticed the place really highlighted Indigenous artworks. More specifically, Totem Poles. Everywhere I went, there were tall, beautiful, colourful, and bold totem poles on display. After analyzing numerous totem poles, I noticed that the story a totem pole tells, the craftsmanship it takes, and the history it provides, is truly remarkable and priceless. It represents what Victoria, BC is all about.
After this realization, I went to a few gift shops and saw tiny totem poles being sold as souvenirs. However, if you do think that a small statue such as a totem pole is a good idea to buy for your friends and family, I highly recommend you go to a specialty Indigenous store to buy it. Indigenous stores such as: Cowichan Trading Co, Kot-La-Cha, and Nootka Traders offer products made by Indigenous people themselves, which not only supports them, but it makes the product authentic as well. Also, your family and friends may love the unique present and put it on display. It is also a conversation starter when guests come over, since it tells a captivating story.
Totem Pole at Stanley Park, Vancouver.
Photo by Manish Tulaskar from Unsplash
2. Stunning Glass Artworks
Apart from an authentic and meaningful statue that represents the place you’ve visited, you can offer another type of home decor item, such as an artwork made out of glass. More specifically, the artwork can be a sculpture, vase, small chandelier, or something else.
This idea came up when I visited Venice. I walked into countless gift shops and noticed they all had something in common, souvenirs made out of glass. I did a little more research and realized that the island of Murano, Italy, is known for over 1000 years of traditional glassmaking. Also, the best thing about Murano glass is unless they are broken or re-melted, they last forever. They do not oxidize, rot, decay, or decompose. Artworks from famous artists will also increase in value overtime. It sounds like a pretty good gift!
You can buy authentic Murano glass artworks from MuranoVitrum Murano Glass Shop in Venice, Original Murano Glass OMG® Factory & Showroom, Laguna Murano Glass Srl, and many more. Some places even show live demonstrations of glassmaking, which is quite fascinating to watch.
I do want to mention that if you are not travelling to Italy, but still like the idea of giving glass artworks as a souvenir to your friends and family, don’t worry, many other countries are known for glassmaking as well. China, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong, France, Japan, Poland, and more are also leading countries known for glassmaking.
Glass vases in Murano, Venice.
Photo by Dan Hadar from Unsplash
3. A Taste of the Place
If you don’t want to give your loved ones a home decor item, you can give a souvenir that offers 3 senses instead of just one: sight, smell, and taste. To be more clear, I am talking about a food item which represents the place you have visited.
This idea came up when my cousins visited Switzerland and they brought back Swiss chocolates from one of the mountains they travelled to. I took a bite out of the milk chocolate and immediately tasted the richness and creaminess of the item. It was the perfect food item to bring back home because it represented Switzerland so well. The packaging was so beautiful as well, since it was minimalistic but elegant.
Also when I was in Vancouver, I tried Nanaimo bars for the first time and it was absolutely delicious! For those who don’t know, a Nanaimo bar is a soft layer of yellow custard sandwiched between a rich chocolate ganache and a coconut-graham crust. The delicious layered dessert is named after Nanaimo, BC. Therefore I instantly knew that this was the perfect food souvenir to bring home to my friends and family, because it represents the place I visited so well. I highly recommend giving unique food items as souvenirs!
Matterhorn Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland
Photo by Morgan Thompson from Unsplash
4. Traditional Utensils and Plates
Another great souvenir idea to give your friends and family are traditional utensils and plates. Often when we go to people’s homes for lunch or dinner, we are given the same kind of western plates, either they are completely white or have some design around the border. However, traditional plates and utensils can certainly be a unique gift and a conversation starter.
This idea came up when I noticed beautiful traditional Japanese teapots and cups on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. The unique colours, designs, and shapes immediately screamed travel souvenirs to me. Additionally, it also has a history to it, which is great for storytelling in conversations with guests.
I’m pretty sure that no matter where you travel to, you will come across traditional utensils and plates at a local shop. For example, if you travel to Japan, you can find Aizome small plates from Akazuki Japanese Store. What makes these plates so different from other plates is the bold captivating designs on each plate, as well as it is made out of authentic Arita porcelain material. Also, after doing a little more research, I found out that Aizome is a Japanese word for indigo dye. Overall, it is certainly something you should explore when you are looking for souvenirs for your friends and family.
Traditional plates in Essaouira, Morocco.
Photo by Raul Cacho Oses from Unsplash
5. Traditional Water Bottle
If you don’t want to buy an entire set of traditional plates and utensils, don’t worry, you can just opt for a traditional water bottle. You know for a fact that your friends and family will eventually drink water, so this souvenir will certainly come in handy. The traditional aspect of it will make it unique in comparison to other water bottles that they already own.
I came across beautiful stainless steel water bottles on the internet that are covered in various Aboriginal artworks. The contemporary Aboriginal artworks such as the “Kangaroo – Matjumpa Drink Bottle” and the “Grow Big – Yuanati Drink Bottle,” are made by Chern’ee Sutton, who is an Aboriginal artist and Kalkadoon woman. If you ever have a chance to travel to Australia, I would highly recommend buying a water bottle from Chern’ee as a souvenir for your friends and family. The artwork on the bottles not only represents Australian animals, but it also represents and supports the Aboriginal community living in New South Wales and Queensland.
Photo by Taelynn Christopher from Unsplash
I hope these recommendations help you in picking a great souvenir for your friends and family! Please let me know what you think in the comments below, and if you have any other great recommendations, I would love to read them. Happy travels!
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