5 Cheap Souvenirs My Sister Should Consider

My poor sister. I can feel her excitement and exhaustion already. She is going on her first big trip outside of the country soon. Her need to bring back every goofy gift and soon to be covered in dust memento - is palpable. How can I help her? Should I help her?

She is my older sister so she will do what she wants after all is said and done. However, we have had our moments, when she gets that sweet look on her face and she realizes that I, her younger sister, actually knows something important and useful. And is willing to share it, for free. Unlike our childhood when I would have demand money or at least some sort of labor like making me some cookies.

However I am thinking about my sister, like many other folks out there who love bargains, love to shop and love to bring home stuff wherever they visit. How many ballcaps can one person wear? For my travel newbie sister and her two weeks in London, Normandy and Paris, I suggest she look for souvenirs like these:

1. Dish towel – so often you can find bar towels and other pretty cotton dish towels that are functional besides being a cute keepsake.
2. Photos – she needs to take tons of all sorts of photos and then there are inexpensive ways to print once she gets home (Costco and Walgreens have lots of bargains)
   
3. Baby Shirts – if she must buy a shirt, make it appropriate for one of her two granddaughters. These are tiny clothes that are cute and more affordable, besides being tiny for her suitcase.
   
4. Soaps – I know she loves nice smelling soaps for her bathrooms. Easy to find and easy to pack!
5. Candles – Just like the soap, good smelling candles are easy for her to choose and pack home. Bonus – they will make her suitcase smell good too!

Hopefully she will listen to some of my advice. I don't think she needs another "collectible" doll. The yellowed Princess Diana Barbie from the 80's, stands next to the Spanish Barbie our dad brought home more than a decade ago. I don't think she really needs another t-shirt either considering how many Disney shirts she has where the Tazmanian Devil is climbing out of her chest pocket...but I am only her baby sister, so we'll see once she gets back.

In the meantime, I plan to send her a list of these neat flea and open street markets that she can try and convince my mom, brother and the rest to stop at:

London
Portobello Market
Camden Markets

Paris, France
Rue Cler
Les Puces (The Fleas)