Travel Souvenirs: Collecting Coffee Mugs

Zair Pottery coffee mug from Thornbury, EnglandVillage of Thornbury, England

The first thing I ever started collected on my vacations is coffee mugs.

I originally planned to get a mug on every trip, but quickly discovered that at most resort locations all of the mugs were generic with the city name stamped after production, or they were much too gaudy for me.

I also realized that I would end up with way too many coffee mugs to fit in my cabinet or could ever need if I continued collecting mugs on every trip.

So I started looking for other things to collect. At one point, I worked in an office and wore blazers every day, so I started collecting jacket pins…none of which I still have. Then I decided bookmarks would be a fun thing to collect. My latest collection is unique refrigerator magnets. So far, that collection just includes something from Graceland in Memphis and a real maple leaf from Vermont.

I do still pick up a coffee mug when I find something unique like the Zair Pottery handmake mug with Thornbury, England’s crest on it (see top picture). I actually broke the original and went on a quest to find a replacement. A nice man who lived near the Zair Pottery studio contacted the artist and helped arrange a replacement to be sent to me.

Here are the other coffee mugs I’ve bought on my trips.

Ixtapa, Mexico coffee mug

Ixtapa, Mexico
Ramon's Village - San Pedro Belize - coffee mug

Ramon’s Village Resort, San Pedro, Belize

Vermont coffee mug

Sugarbush Farms, Woodstock Vermont
Mexican coffee mugSomewhere in Mexico

This coffee mug was actually the 2nd mug I bought. I got it on a trip to Mexico…somewhere. I still love this mug, though I can’t remember where I got it.
Coffee mug used as pencil holderI did use it as a mug for a while, but years ago it became a pen holder for my desk.

What do you collect as vacation souvenirs?