We have all seen them. They hang in
the souvenir shops of every tourist stop. “My grandparents visited [you name
the place] and all I got was this T-shirt.” I don’t usually buy a lot of
souvenirs for my grandkids when we are traveling. There’s not a lot of room in
the suitcase that many trinkets. But on occasion I do try to bring back
something that will satisfy their curiosity when they express an interest in
where Grandma and Grandpa are going.
On our “once in a lifetime” cruise
to Antarctica, I tried to find something that was symbolic or educational to
bring home to our young grandchildren. Tyler, the oldest, was four years old at
the time and was the only one who had a little understanding of where we were
going.
“How cold are the icebergs? Can you
walk on them? Does it snow all the time?”
I was desperate to find something
that would peak his interest and lend to his education. Trust me. There are not
a lot of souvenir shops in Antarctica and bringing back a baby penguin was out
of the question. In the ship’s gift shop, I found fleece vests with Antarctica
embroidered on the back. The girls, I knew, would enjoy the clothes, but no so
Tyler. I bought one for him anyway just to have something to give him.
Back home, as I unpacked the vests,
I remembered all his questions about icebergs and snow. I stared out the window
at the heavy snow that was falling as I anticipated our visit with him and his
sister. Like an avalanche, the idea struck me. Why not give him an iceberg for
his souvenir—a mini-iceberg!
Wading out into the snow, I packed
a large plastic container with the white stuff, snapped a lid on it and set it
in the freezer for our visit.
At Tyler’s house that weekend, the
fleece vest got tossed over his head as I anticipated. (His father always did
the same thing with gifts that were clothes.) Then I pulled out my special
souvenir. His eyes widened and he took the mini-iceberg from me and set it on
the floor in front of him. “It’s so cool, Grandma!”
He and Danielle took little
penguins from one of their toy collections and played with them on the iceberg
and before he went to bed that night, he had to float it in the bathtub with
him. He was careful not to let it melt too much (already he was learning about
global warming) and it went back into the freezer for another day.
Souvenirs don’t mean a whole lot to
others, especially children, if they haven’t experienced the place they came
from. When the souvenir is something that will impart a little knowledge or
understanding of another place, it becomes much more valuable.
What is it you can whet your
grandchild’s appetite for learning with when you look for a souvenir to bring
back from vacation? It doesn’t have to cost a whole lot. Save a couple coins
from a foreign country. Make a recipe from that country or region for them to
taste. Find story books unique to where you visited that you can read with
them. And be sure to send them a postcard!
T-shirts are usually three for ten
dollars and don’t last past the second washing but a memory shared through a
unique souvenir will last a lifetime.
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