17 Ideas to Organize and Display Travel Mementos With Style

It always seems like a great idea to purchase souvenirs on your trip . . . until you're home and realize the mementos are just clutter.

If you're the sentimental traveler, you may be trying to find a way to keep your trip memories alive in your home. It takes some work to turn travel knickknacks into art, but we've found a couple of organization ideas any globe-trotter would be inspired by.

— Additional reporting by Macy Williams

01
Memory Jar
Etsy | AnnabelleHandmade

Memory Jar

Stuff your favorite souvenirs into pretty glass jars. Display these memory jars on your mantel and treat it as a living arrangement — continue to update or rearrange items as you see fit.

02
Shadow Box
Design Aglow

Shadow Box

Piece together a shadow box with mementos you scored on your trip. I particularly love how photographer Jordan Hebl styled hers. She cut letters of the city out of postcards or photos and added in little touches like sand from the area.

03
Bottles of Sand
I Heart Nap Time

Bottles of Sand

Collect sand from your travels and create a display of them contained in bottles and jars of different shapes and sizes to add a shabby chic touch. Label them with the names of the places you took them from, and you'll have a display that's guaranteed to transport you to a different city.

04
Frame Up Paper Mementos

Frame Up Paper Mementos

Take all the paper mementos you collected on your trip — be it photos, tickets, brochures, wrappers, maps, menus, currency, and more — and place them in a frame to create these collages. Photo by Jordan Maunder Photography via Style Me Pretty

05
Cubby Organizer
Pottery Barn

Cubby Organizer

You can always organize your souvenirs in a cute cubby organizer.

06
Memory Box
Martha Stewart

Memory Box

This is yet another neat way of storing away your souvenirs. Use wooden boxes and stencil in the names of the cities, then paint them in different colors that would display well in your bookcase.

Not only are these boxes pretty, but they'll also keep your souvenirs organized, which means you'll be able to relive a particular trip's memories with ease when you take out a box to explore its contents.

07
Vintage Postcard Travel Journal
A Beautiful Mess

Vintage Postcard Travel Journal

Make your own travel journal from postcards of the places you've visited. Then add in quotes and stories on the postcards related to the trip.

08
Scrapbook

Scrapbook

Create or buy a scrapbook to hold your memories and souvenirs. But be sure to add pages with tiny clear pockets for you to insert small memorabilia from your trips. Photo by Jean-Laurent Gaudy via Style Me Pretty

09
Stick It on the Walls

Stick It on the Walls

You can always artfully arrange the souvenirs on your wall above your desk.

Photo by Kate LeSueur via Style Me Pretty

10
DIY Paperweights
Hither and Thither

DIY Paperweights

Decoupage maps, brochures, postcards, pictures, and more, and turn them into paperweights. Here's how to turn paper memorabilia into magnets, canvas prints, and tile coasters.

11
Coffee Tables
Etsy | natureinspiredcrafts

Coffee Tables

Get a coffee table with a glass tabletop and a hollowed center so you can proudly display your globe-trotting knickknacks in your living room. Finding one with cubbies can make it easier for you to organize and arrange your tchotchkes.

12
Ring Bound
Martha Stewart

Ring Bound

Hole-punch the keepsakes you pick up on your trip and bind them together with a loose-leaf ring.

13
Envelope Journal
besottment

Envelope Journal

Create a journal pieced together with vintage envelopes. The envelopes are not only pretty, but also make easy storage for your souvenirs.

14
Collection of Stones
Luminaire Foto

Collection of Stones

This stone collection in a jar was used as a unique wedding guest book. Guests would write their well-wishes for the wedded couple on a smooth stone, then place them in the glass vase.

But this idea could easily be used to memorialize your trips as well. Take a stone from every city you visit and write your favorite memory or quote from the trip as well as the dates. Plunk them in a jar and watch your collection grow.

15
Glass Ornament
Etsy | EnchantedOrbs

Glass Ornament

Get a glass or plastic ornament and insert souvenirs. Try to get a larger size to fit your mementos. Each ornament can represent a city you've visited.

This is a great idea because you'll definitely be taking them out to look at once a year, and Christmas is the perfect time to relive memories.

16
Display Plates

Display Plates

For a vintage flair, use pretty plates or dishes to show off your travel baubles.

Photo by Hello Natural via Style Me Pretty

17
Teacups

Teacups

Get creative by using vintage teacups to hold your precious travel mementos.

Photo by Hong Photography Studio via Style Me Pretty