10 Ways to Preserve Vacation Memories

 

While I find myself busier than ever trying to work and parent full time there are many who are stuck at home and at a loss for new activities. Even if you aren’t bored you may be looking for something new to do with the kids. What a perfect time finally 

I have been there, having the best intentions after you return from a trip. I always collect napkins, menus,  hotel keys and intend to make a scrapbook of my adventure.  But somehow all my souvenirs and momentos end up in a shoebox at the back of a closet and photos sit languishing on my computer hard drive. 

This is a great opportunity to preserve vacation memories. 

I have rounded up some of my favorite craft ideas to help you memorialize your favorite vacations forever. 

Create a Photo Book 

My Mom always had a camera in her hand. She took thousands of pictures on each family vacation. I remember she would have boxes and boxes of photos waiting to be labeled and put into a photo album. While I have some great memories of doing that with her I also remember the papercuts I had after the hours long sessions. We also had to recently move her hundreds of photo albums. I love that now I can upload my photos to a site, pick my favorites and make a book. There are great templates to choose from or if you have time you can design your own layout. Annabelle loves her book from our Disney trip and we look at it daily. I love that I can get a consistent shape and size and have a library of our trips. Not only is it a beautiful keepsake I have my project saved to my account (I use Shutterfly) in case the book is damaged, so I am not worried about sharing an irreplaceable item with my toddler.  Travel and Leisure has a great article about the Best Online Photo Book Makers

Create your own Magnets 

Another great way to preserve your travel memories are with DIY Magnets. By making your own you don’t have to worry about cluttering your fridge with a modgepodge of hoaky magnets picked up at the airport. You can use your travel photos, maps of the places you visited or even the notepad paper from the hotels you stayed in. 

Here is a great how-to from The Happy Housie. 

DIY Coasters 

A very easy and affordable way to commemorate your vacation is to create coasters. All you need are some tiles and some Modgepodge. You can used maps, photos, takeout menus just about any paper product you collected in your travels. Check out this tutorial from Little House of Four. 

Shadowbox 

To corral all the ticket stubs, sand dollars, and souvenirs carefully collected from your last vacation, a shadowbox is a great organization and display tool. If you want to display your treasures, line the shadow box with a map of the place you went, add a photo and arrange items on top.

Make a Gallery Wall 

After a wonderful family vacation you not only want to preserve the memories but you want to show them off and share them to everyone who comes to visit your home. We all have that one large blank wall that you don’t know what to do with. Create a gallery wall around your map with photos from your adventures. Get custom canvases created. Or frame your photos with maps for matting. The possibilities are endless here. You can even add a shadowbox or two for dimension. If you want something that requires a little less commitment check out Fotobit which creates 4X4 Modular frames or use clothespins and twine to hang up your most recent adventure. Here is some inspiration from Lovely Etc if you need it. 

Charm Bracelet 

When we went on our first trip wiith Annabelle I gave a lot of thought as to the souvenir I wanted to bring home. I wanted it to be something that we could find in every location we visit but wouldn’t be clutter or something that would sit uncherished. We got her a beautiful charm of a Georgia Peach. I hope the bracelet will be special to her and she will continue it during her own adventures. I wanted to include something along those lines on this list but it took some brainstorming. Finally I found howtomakeaglassphotopendant.com and these Pendant Trays and Glass Cobouchons on Amazon to make your own charms. This is so perfect if I forget to pick one up or can’t find one on our next adventure. Another option depending on your craft comfort level is stamped metal. You can put the airport code, city name or coordinates on a cuff bracelet or a charm. 

Create a Map 

A great way to commemorate your travels is to mark is on a map. We have all seen those pushpin maps at roadside attractions and restaurants. But with a little bit of creativity, you can go far beyond the conventional. We have this scratch off map but I have rounded up some of my favorite map projects I have seen. 

DIY Push Pin Map from Hip to Save

DIY Heart Map from Living Well Spending Less 

DIY Chalkboard Map from Craftivity Designs

DIY Watercolor Photo Map from Lovely Etc. 

DIY Photo Map from the Travel Channel 

Scrapbook

One way I’ve preserved memories over the years is by creating scrapbooks. Creating a scrapbook is not only unique and fun way to keep the memories of family vacations alive, but also a great way to get your children involved and entertained during quarantine. They can add stickers, cute paper backgrounds and more! Scrapbooking is a great way for your children to express themselves and is something you can work on together to create even more memories. 

Make a Blanket of All Of Your Destination Tshirts 

As most Moms with toddlers do, I recently cleaned out my closet and got rid of things that would never fit my new strong Mom body. One of the things I could not bear to part with were the tshirts I picked up during my time studying abroad in London. I have shirts from my visits to Greece, Germany, France and more. They have been sitting in a bag in my closet waiting for me to learn how to sew to create a quilt of these treasures. If you are at home with time on your hands this is a perfect opportunity to create a tshirt blanket. Here is a great how-to from Memory Stitch

Travel Keepsake Boxes

I found this really simple but beautiful idea from Martha Stewart Living when I was researching this article. I ordered some boxes and am going to do this myself. It is something you can easily keep up with as your adventures continue. To make it even easier get a bunch of boxes up front and prepare them so you just have to fill them up and write the name when you return. I love the photo they provided as I can easily coordinate the color of the box with the spine color of a custom book and have beautiful decor in my office.

 

Need a vacation but the idea of planning-it-all is overwhelming?

If you are ready to have the family vacation you’ve been dreaming of, without spending time researching, planning and making it happen, schedule a call today. I’m here to help busy working Moms plan, organize and book the perfect family vacation. With me, all you have to worry about is enjoying your well-earned time away with your family. If you are ready to stop trying to do everything on your own and see how I can help you schedule a complimentary trip planning session now.

 

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