By Nina Stepniczka
Going on vacation is a blast, but post-vacation blues are real. I, like many others, try to find anything from a vacation spot to cling on to. While it feels next to impossible to really succeed in bringing a vacation home, I do have a few favorite ways to do so.
Bring the Taste to Your Own Table
Given that taste is associated with memory, eating food from vacation can not only please your taste buds, but bring back memories. I am not the biggest fan of cooking, but I love to bake. Since getting back from Europe in June, I have tried to create the perfect crepes.
I loved crepes beforehand, but have found that especially after eating one in Switzerland at Muller’s Factory in Globus Geneva, I find myself craving them more than ever. Luckily, my dad loves to cook so I have not had to buy anything to do so. I have begun diving into his cookbooks, trying recipe after recipe. While nothing compares to what I tasted abroad, and half of them turn out bland, I love the memento. This has also led me to try crepe places in my hometown. Not only is this easier for me, but oftentimes, it lets me support smaller businesses in my area.
Food is a somewhat unique way to take a piece of somewhere home with you, and another easy option is to recreate drinks at home. My family’s go-to is the summer classic: an Aperol Spritz. My mom loves to make them when my grandma is here from Austria, especially.
Related: Not Traveling? Locate Maps for Remembering Your Favorite Cities
Grab Some Popcorn and Have a Slideshow Night
When my parents return from at trip, my dad connects his phone to our projector or a TV so he can share his photos and experiences with us. And now, when my brothers and I go on trips without our parents, we started to do the same. It is a fun way to share our stories and photos or videos simultaneously. Plus, it makes chronology easier and brings up smaller details I might have otherwise forgotten.
My parents took my oldest brother on the Tennessee Whiskey Trail in May. The night they came home they showed the highlights I would enjoy. In other words, they skipped the photos of endless bourbon bottles to show me photos of the scenery and sunsets.
This can also be a special time to show photos of sights or symbols taken for another family member. For example, during my two weeks in Europe, every time I saw a frog graffitied (weirdly more than I expected) I took photos because they remind me of my mom! Pulling them up during slideshow night let her know that I was thinking of her even though she couldn’t come on the trip. Here are some tips on how to connect a phone or table to your TV via USB.
Dual POV Photography
Another cool twist on the idea of a slideshow night is to have everyone take a disposable (or cheap digital) camera to capture photos. Then the trip can be seen from everyone’s point of view: highlighting what each member finds to be cool or photo-worthy. Then, a slideshow night could be used to compare and contrast while reminiscing on the vacation. Especially as kids, my parents let me and my brothers have their old cameras for when we wanted to take photos or videos. Not only was it nice to be included, but it is special to look back on moments I wanted to remember most from trips I might otherwise barely remember.
Related: ([once this is live, let’s make sure to link this to the post where you mention bringing the disposable camera. I think it’s interesting you do that.])
Keep the Memories Moving Through a Travel Video
I’m a very nostalgic person, so I often find that an iPhone video is the best way to capture a view or moment. The memories feel more authentic to me. Picking a song that sounds like how the trip felt or a song that played a lot during the trip and editing together a video can be fun. It can be a low-effort project, or if there is any incentive, it can be a small scale production. And by that, I mean it could feature transitions or text of where clips were taken. I started making travel videos in Gmunden, Austria in 2016, and I only wish I had started even earlier. They are a time capsule – seeing past selves and places I value immensely fill my heart with emotion.
Keep a Travel Journal
If physical documentation sounds more appealing, keep a travel journal. A travel journal can range from just writing down what you did to smaller details such as where you ate all the way to receipts and business cards being taped next to drawings. I thought I was the only one in my family who kept them, but it turns out my brother does the same thing! Creating a journal during the vacation leads to details that I would otherwise forget. I drew a chair of a train seat in my travel journal, which is a detail that triggers a lot of memories for me but I know I would have forgotten otherwise. That drawing lives between receipts, tour stubs, labels, plane tickets, and much more that would likely be deemed as junk by most.
Pick Souvenirs that Emulate your Favorite Parts of a Place
This is a more obvious suggestion, but I am a sucker for souvenirs. I have staple souvenirs I get alongside anything I find I want to carry home. Postcards have been my go-to for years since they are small enough to tuck away into my memory box to remember where I’ve been without cluttering up my space too much. I also love writing and sending them to friends and family.
Having a staple family souvenir can be special too. My family collects bear keychains which my dad turns into magnets. The whole side of our fridge is covered in them. Not only does it make reminiscing easy, but it has also been fun growing up seeing the bears across continents and thinking of my family. They are a cute reminder of home. Having a family souvenir also makes it exciting when family members travel separately and remember each other while apart.
While nothing can truly bring a vacation home, I do value these little traditions. I have found having multiple outlets keeps me feeling more immersed than just having one. And if all else fails, hoard photos and memories to daydream about later.
Nina is from Virginia and is a rising junior at the University of Pittsburgh. With her grandparents living in Austria, she has loved to travel since she was a pre-teen, and is now navigating how to carry that love into her adult life.
