Photographs

• Take digital photographs of your trip.Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  Photographs are an excellent and inexpensive souvenir from any trip or vacation. Take frequent pictures of people, architecture, events and funny moments during your travels, even if you feel like an obvious tourist. When you arrive back home, organize your pictures in a special themed scrapbook purchased on your journey that you can revisit for years to come. You can also create a digital slide show with background music to better share your experience with friends and family.
  
  

Local Items

• Discover local artisan chocolate.Photos.com/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  The best souvenirs are items that reflect local culture and atmosphere. Handmade artisan foods, clothing or jewelry are functional and are less likely to disappear in a drawer upon arriving back at home. Buy local music, books or tapestries to help remember your special trip months or years after your adventure. Bring back samples of chocolate, candy or coffee. You can also collect seeds from other regions and try to grow plants in your own garden. Try to find items that will not take up a lot of space in your travel bag.
  
  

Currency

• Currency is an easy-to-find souvenir.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  Currency is another simple and small souvenir that you can bring back from your travels. Begin collecting paper bills and change from each country you visit. Frame a bill or set of coins from another country to give as a gift. Children enjoy looking through coins from foreign lands, and a handful tossed into a simple box or change purse makes a souvenir they will look at over and over again.
  
  

Avoid Tourist Traps

• Street vendors sell local merchandise at affordable prices.Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images
  
  When searching for the perfect souvenir, try to avoid the typical tourist shops. Prices are almost always higher in these types of stores, and the souvenirs are often cheesy and poorly constructed. Take the time to find a relevant memento, like a wool sweater from Scotland or chocolate from a real shop in Paris, foregoing the plastic souvenir that was probably made in China. Street vendors are also an excellent source for authentic souvenirs.
  
  

Freebies

• Collect printed matchbooks from hotels or restaurants.Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images
  
  Consider keeping free or very inexpensive items from your trip as souvenirs. Most items can easily be incorporated into a scrapbook or placed in a special memory box. Maps, hotel pens, printed matchbooks and menus are location-specific mementos that will not cost you anything. Other paper items to hold on to for souvenirs include luggage tags, museum or theater ticket stubs and hotel stationary. For a low cost, magnets, key chains and postcards can usually be picked up at most destinations.
  
  

Make Room

• Pack an extra bag to carry home souvenirs.MM Productions/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  Above all, remember to pack lightly and leave enough space in your travel bag for souvenirs. Consider packing an extra daypack or duffel bag to carry newly-purchased items home on the plane. For longer trips, you can mail packages home, if you find you are buying a lot more than you want to lug around for the duration of your excursion.