What are the best ways to preserve family travel memories?

Family travel memories are more than our photos and souvenirs. They become part of us, which is part of the reason I feel so passionately about traveling with kids. Visiting new places helps us better appreciate the broader world and be global citizens.

That being said, photos, videos and treasures from our travels are great ways to keep our memories alive and reminesce. Having pics from trips around the house are fun reminders of a single moment – kayaking off Fripp Island, South Carolina, donning a samurai’s armor in Tokyo, or feeding a giraffe lettuce leaves at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Likewise, making photo books of adventures is a great way to keep all of your pics in one place and recall an entire trip, and fun to flip through every so often – spring break at Disney or 10-days in Europe for summer vacation. Mixbook is one of our favorite photo book sites for ease, cost, and quick turnarounds.

My other trick is sending photos and videos of our trips to the boys’ email addresses. I set their email accounts up years ago in order to send notes, write memories, upload photos and videos, etc. – kind of a virtual scrapbook. I will give them access at some point in the future (maybe 16 or 17 years old), and so that they can see all of the memories there. As an example of something that I’ve emailed them, here’s a brief video interview that I did with Alex about our recent Disney trip.

In a Marie Kondo world, bringing home backpacks of souvenirs, may not be kosher anymore. However, it is nice to keep a little piece of the place you’ve visited. Artwork is one of my favorite finds while traveling – and it doesn’t take up any room other than a spot on your wall. We have several pieces from around the world all over our house that make us smile as we think about the memories associated with them – the woodblock from Hungary with a painting of St. Elizabeth, prints from Vietnam and China that we purchased when we went to bring our boys home, and an impressionistic painting I scored in Montreal in an antique shop are some of my favorites.

The boys favor magnets and keychains from their travels – yes, we have a lot, but they don’t take up a lot of room, either. They both have bulletin boards in their rooms where they can hang their magnets.

No matter how you store your memories – whether in a book, on paper, on your wall, or in your mind – what is important is that you are exploring the world or your own backyard, having fun, and finding ways to make them.