Rock Hound...

Becoming a "rock hound" can be as simple as looking for a special pebble to collect on a beach, by a river, on a hike ­ or it can be more formal, searching for specific minerals and gems, and going to gem collector shops in the towns and cities you visit. Almost all of these shops have local, polished stones that can be bought very inexpensively, some for under a dollar. (Bring along small plastic bags to label and organize your rocks.)

Postcards...

Everyone loves getting a letter or postcard in the mail. Help your kids gather up the addresses of people special to them (school friends, soccer or Girl Scout buddies, cousins, piano teacher?) At special places along the trip, let them pick out a postcard or two to mail home. If you're visiting 10 places and there are 20 people on a child's list, suggest mailing two from each location. Writing a note to a friend back home will cause child think about the trip as they go. When you get home, ask if you can make a copy of the postcards for a child's scrap book.

Alternative: Have children mail themselves postcards along the way, as a kind of journal. When they get home, they'll have a stack waiting for them, reminding them of their experiences!

Give your itinerary (hotel addresses) to special friends ­ and suggest they send cards well in advance of your arrival. It's very exciting for a child to find a letter or card from a friend back home when they check into a strange town.

Stamp collecting and key chains...

Every time a child sends a postcard home, a stamp or two has to be bought. Why not keep duplicates? Take along a few stamp collecting sheets and let the kids save a stamp for each one sent home.

Kids love to decorate their backpacks for school with key chains. Any country has a wonderful selection of goodies on key chains, so stock up. We have a whole collection of Mayan pyramids, Finnish moose, Dutch wooden shoes, English crowns, Guatemalan carved animals, Scottish Nessies, Russian eggs etc. What a fun way to remember your trip.

 Refrigerator magnets...

If your kitchen is like ours, refrigerator magnets decorate magnetic boards or fridge doors. Collect refrigerator magnets on your trip. Back home, the magnets become a collage of images and textures, each one a unique reminder for your child of something special from your vacation.

 Holiday ornaments, etc...

You may be traveling in summer, but look for holiday ornaments while shopping for souvenirs. In London, at the gift shop in St. Paul's cathedral, we found embroidered cloth ornaments ­ a black London taxi, a red telephone booth, a golden tower of London. In Ecuador, there's so many bread dough Christmas ornaments to choose from (just pack them carefully). In December, when you decorate the tree, your ornaments from far places will shine brightly.

Finally, if a child already has a collection of model horses, cars, or dolls, tea cups, etc. you can continue the collection while traveling.