Wanderlust Wisdom: How to Display Travel Souvenirs

Image: (Left) Real Simple, (Right) Real Simple

Summer travels are nearing an end and kids are heading back to school. That means a slew of wonderful memories accompanied by tangible souvenirs with nowhere to put them… Am I right?! For example, when I was a kid I collected spoons from our road trip travels while my brother collected shot glasses. They now sit snuggled in a box somewhere in the garage. Does this sound familiar? Though some travel souvenirs definitely do not belong on a shelf (flamingo snow globe anyone?), there is a way to incorporate your nostalgic mementos without appearing like a roadside convenience store. How? Let’s take a look.

Images: (1) Martha Stewart, (2) Martha Stewart, (3) Martha Stewart, (4) Worth Point

1. One of my favorite ways to remember a place I’ve visited is to buy postcards. Though I do take a lot of pictures of places, I don’t print them out anymore. A 25-cent postcard is a great and easy memento. Turn it into a scrapbook of places you’ve visited and leave it out on your coffee table.

2. Travel jars work well for kids. You can set up a scavenger hunt during the trip to have them look for specific items. Collect them at the end to make a travel jar to put in their rooms or on the mantle.

3. Frame your collection. If you’re a shell collector, place them in a frame. The image above illustrates a wonderful display of shells that not only shows off the shells beautifully, but also acts as a home décor accent.

4. Hang a cut off suitcase on the wall to act as a shelf to display various souvenirs from your trip.


Images: (5) Dwell, (6) Apartment Therapy, (7) Yola Thorp, (8) Martha Stewart

5. My husband and I collect a children’s book from each country and city we go to. This US map bookshelf would be a fun way to show where we bought them.

6. Frame your vintage travel posters on the wall. These are always in style.

7. Cloche display cases are my favorite way to decorate as of late. Place a couple of souvenirs in them to create a tabletop vignette.

8. Shadow boxes are a lovely way to create a vignette from your travels. Use a postcard, flag, some stamps, and a 3D object to make it visually interesting.

Where did you go this summer? What did you buy as a souvenir? And how are you going to display it? TELL ME please!