The Best and least expensive Souvenirs!

We travel a lot and most of the time we want some sort of souvenir to remember the trip. Sometimes you can find a shirt or sweater, maybe even a bag with a logo or a photo that is something special.

Do you buy things for friends and family on your vacation? We stopped doing that a long time ago. It was either 'what do we get them?' or they become jealous of our trips. We have purchased things and given them as Christmas gifts but its not a priority for us. We also found it can bring us down on the trips so we stopped.

My newest obsession is collecting PENNIES! Yes pennies!

Everywhere we have been on vacation I have found these really neat machines that crush your penny with an image! Majority of machines have 4 image choices - what a great way to remember your trip! You can find websites with locations of these machines but whats the fun in that. Theme parks have them, any tourist place will have them, and sometimes you can find them in museums, even restaurants! Some of these places even sell books to hold your pennies in. I have been to a few places that have quarter and even nickel machines!

People sell them on ebay! Dont do it... get them yourself. There are also methods to getting the perfect stamp. Dont make yourself crazy. Its true a shiny penny may look better then a dull penny. But remember that experiment in school you did with the vinegar and the pennies? Easy to clean them!

I have a tray full right on my dresser cause I cant find my 'book' lol. Its fun to look at them once in a while and remember that trip to Disney or to Hanama bay in Hawaii, or to the NY Museum of Science.

We make it a game with our youngest. We will visit a location and purposely search for a machine. Who ever finds it gets to pick the image they want on the penny. This past November while in Disneyland we found a place right on main street that had a dozen various machines. Some where pennies, some quarters and some nickels. It was like being in a candy store trying to figure out which designs we want to take home.

Be sure to being a lot of coins!

I think its a better souvenir for the kids. They will appreciate it more cause it will remind them of the trip they took. They will also be able to carry it around in their pocket with ease.

Next time your out there search for one of these machines!