Nothing is more exhilarating than traveling and seeing brand-new places. You arrive home with a plethora of memories and breathtaking sights in your head. You wish you could somehow transport your loved ones there so they could experience the place with you, but for now, you know that tales of your adventures and many photographs will have to do. If you’re passionate about your journeys and want to share your memories with others, it’s a great idea to put your souvenirs on display. Whether you went a few hours down the road or to another country, you’ll want to show everyone the best moments of your trip, and you can seamlessly store and display your travel souvenirs into your decor without much effort.
The journey doesn’t stop when you get home. You can display mementos from your vacations in several ways, each more creative than the last.
Shadow Boxes
What better way is there to commemorate a beautiful vacation than by hanging it on your wall? Using a shadow box forces you to get creative by turning memories from your journey into something decorative.
Shadow boxes can vary widely in appearance, but the consensus is that they dress up something drab and turn it into something exciting or inviting. A shadow box can be a statement piece. Maybe you have tickets and a playbill from a Broadway show — they, along with other items you acquired during your trip or even scrapbook elements, can help you put together a winning shadow box.
Display Cases
Dedicate an area in your living room or a guest bedroom to showcase all your vacations. Display cases offer you the unique opportunity to show off the best parts of your adventure without them taking up necessary space in your home.
Consider using one shelf per long or important vacation. You’re bound to have enough souvenirs to fill one up. Have a staycation in your city to test out whether a display case specifically for trips will work for you. You can collect your travel souvenirs from visiting local attractions and line them up in the display case as you see fit. If you like the way it looks, you’ll know to search for items that fit the layout of your travel display case next time you visit a new place.
Display cases usually come with built-in lighting, and you can turn the case on to show people your souvenirs without letting them get dirty. People won’t be touching them, either, which can preserve any super-delicate items you brought back with you.
(Photo by Mikes-Photography from Pixabay)
Fireplace Mantels
If you want something to take up the center space in your home, consider putting souvenirs on your mantel in the living room. Many people’s eyes travel there after they’ve sat down, so having souvenirs from your journeys, whether DIY or bought, will encourage you to speak about your travels with any guests.
Most Americans will visit the beach as their next destination vacation. Beaches make for an excellent opportunity to store natural souvenirs in a jar. You can snap a photo of yourself and the people you’re with and stick it in a container filled with sand and a couple of shells. As long as you’ve written the date somewhere, it will be a vacation to remember, and you can display it without worrying about how it looks.
(Photo by Sammsara Luxury on Pexels.com)
The Garage
While not as upfront as somewhere inside your house, the garage is the perfect place to store travel memorabilia from older vacations you no longer want to display but can’t part with. Overhead systems will allow you to keep your souvenirs in a place where they can be seen easily but stay out of the way of people reaching for them. It also lessens the likelihood of someone running into or breaking them.
(Photo by Cottonbro on Pexels.com)
Statement Pieces
You could store your travel souvenirs in plain sight on your coffee or kitchen table. Incorporate your mementos into the rest of your decor, and you’ll constantly be recalling fond memories of trips with loved ones. If something you bought on your adventures doesn’t look too out of place, it can blend in with the rest of your usual decor.
If you prefer to include something a little more heartfelt, consider taking a journal with you on your vacations and jotting down notes. Later, you can add postcards, photos or other elements to make it pop. Journaling can decrease stress and encourage opening up to others. Keeping a written record of your travels is a good idea to create a lasting souvenir, and it can help you grow, too.
Your journal can easily replace a coffee table book and add a unique flair to your living room decor. Books like this can inspire discussion about your latest travels, and it’s not permanent: When you get a newer one or feel it’s time for a change, you can simply swap in another one.
(Photo by Free-Photos from Pixabay)
Memorialize Your Trips
Memories last forever, but it’s nice to have something physical that can constantly remind you of the beautiful trip you took. It’s even better when you can share those tokens with other people. By incorporating your travel souvenirs into your decor or keeping them out of reach of people who would inadvertently damage them, you’re protecting those mementos and keeping them in prime condition for years to come.
(Photo by Vlad Vasnetsov from Pixabay)
For More:
- On our site: We have oh so many more travel tips to share with you!
-All photos as credited. Cover photo by Nancy Zaffaro.
