ArcaMax

Resist impulse buys! If you are only going to be at a certain place one day, make time at the end of the day to shop, or if you are vacationing somewhere like the beach for a week, designate an afternoon toward the end of the trip for souvenirs.

I know that can be tough when there is a souvenir store at the end of each theme park attraction. But if the kids are planning on getting a T-shirt, buy just one with their favorite character on it. If there is a new attraction they want to remember, their first big coaster, perhaps, buy one gift that commemorates that.

The last two years, I've interviewed scores of kids around the country for my Kids’ City Guide series that offers a kid's perspective and you might be surprised at what some of them have to say about souvenir picks.

"No one can leave Chicago unless they have taken lots of pictures as a souvenir," said Natalia, 10, who lives in the Chicago area. "I think overall that is the best souvenir -- better than toys."

"A picture of the ocean!" added Jesus, who is from Los Angeles.

And then, suggests Gabe, from San Diego: "Get a picture frame as a souvenir and you can put a picture from your trip in it!"

Souvenirs, of course, are best when they help us remember an experience.

"The best souvenir I got in Colorado was fool's gold, after I got to pan for gold," said Anna, 9, from Chicago.

A children's book set in the region you are visiting is always a good bet. I always used to buy each of my kids silly Christmas ornaments when we traveled -- a Santa surfing in Hawaii, a canoe from Minnesota, a Beefeater from London, until my kids protested that we had too many.

It doesn't have to be expensive either -- or cost anything. "You shouldn't leave San Diego without a seashell from the beach," said Chloe, 9, visiting from Scottsdale, Arizona.

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