Traditions have to begin somewhere

I've decided to start a new tradition for trips.

Since I don't have any children of my own to spend huge gobs of money on, I tend to spoil my nieces and nephew. (They seem fine with this plan.) On every trip we take, I always want to buy souvenirs for them, but it's always a bit of a pain-- will they like it? Can I pack it easily or ship it for something less than 10x what it cost to buy it in the first place? Will it get used for a week and then relegated to a closet for the rest of eternity-- or worse, to a shelf where it must be dusted? A year from now, or even a month from now, will they even remember why they have it?

The whole point of buying souvenirs for them is to let them know that they're special, and that we think of them when we're away. I picked up a couple of postcards this morning, thinking that getting mail from us while we're gone would probably have more meaning to them than a silly knick-knack given after we get back. And then I started to think of other ideas.

So, I bought three small items, one for each of them-- but I'm not going to give the items to the kids. Instead, I'm going to keep them, and take them with me on our trips. I'll wear them in photos taken on the trips, and when the kids see a picture with their special item, they'll know that picture was taken just for them. There is a small drawback to this plan, in that I hate having my picture taken, but the kids have always been the exception to that rule anyway-- there are pictures of me with them, and I let them take pictures of me if they want to. (I got items that John can wear too, so it doesn't have to be just me.)

Nikolaus loves all things pirate, especially Pirates of the Caribbean, so for him I got a black leather necklace with a silver skull and crossbones pendant.

Hanna likes cute things, and still likes Disney Princesses (though not to the degree she used to). For her, I got a hair tie with purple ribbons, some of which have princesses on them.

Lisa-Lynn was a little harder. Since she's the oldest, she has the most eclectic tastes. You'd think this would make it easier to find something suitable, but in actuality there's not as much that screams her name. So for her, I got something a little more subtle and refined. I first encountered the design four years ago on a cruise, when another cruiser had it on a T-shirt. I haven't been able to find the T-shirt, but I did find a nice pin with the same design. It's two dragons, who intertwine to form Mickey's head.

Traditions have to begin somewhere

I've decided to start a new tradition for trips.

Since I don't have any children of my own to spend huge gobs of money on, I tend to spoil my nieces and nephew. (They seem fine with this plan.) On every trip we take, I always want to buy souvenirs for them, but it's always a bit of a pain-- will they like it? Can I pack it easily or ship it for something less than 10x what it cost to buy it in the first place? Will it get used for a week and then relegated to a closet for the rest of eternity-- or worse, to a shelf where it must be dusted? A year from now, or even a month from now, will they even remember why they have it?

The whole point of buying souvenirs for them is to let them know that they're special, and that we think of them when we're away. I picked up a couple of postcards this morning, thinking that getting mail from us while we're gone would probably have more meaning to them than a silly knick-knack given after we get back. And then I started to think of other ideas.

So, I bought three small items, one for each of them-- but I'm not going to give the items to the kids. Instead, I'm going to keep them, and take them with me on our trips. I'll wear them in photos taken on the trips, and when the kids see a picture with their special item, they'll know that picture was taken just for them. There is a small drawback to this plan, in that I hate having my picture taken, but the kids have always been the exception to that rule anyway-- there are pictures of me with them, and I let them take pictures of me if they want to. (I got items that John can wear too, so it doesn't have to be just me.)

Nikolaus loves all things pirate, especially Pirates of the Caribbean, so for him I got a black leather necklace with a silver skull and crossbones pendant.

Hanna likes cute things, and still likes Disney Princesses (though not to the degree she used to). For her, I got a hair tie with purple ribbons, some of which have princesses on them.

Lisa-Lynn was a little harder. Since she's the oldest, she has the most eclectic tastes. You'd think this would make it easier to find something suitable, but in actuality there's not as much that screams her name. So for her, I got something a little more subtle and refined. I first encountered the design four years ago on a cruise, when another cruiser had it on a T-shirt. I haven't been able to find the T-shirt, but I did find a nice pin with the same design. It's two dragons, who intertwine to form Mickey's head.