Souvenir shopping has changed more than most of us realise. A handful of keepsakes that once defined every family holiday — keychain photo viewers, felt pennants, souvenir ashtrays — have quietly disappeared from gift shop shelves, replaced by downloadable ride photos and fridge magnets. Others, though, have staged a genuine comeback.
Take the Mold-A-Rama. These chunky machines inject molten plastic into a mould and hand you a still-warm figurine in seconds — a zoo elephant, a city landmark, whatever the attraction ordered. They became a staple of American tourist spots in the 1960s, and even though the original manufacturer stopped making them in the 1970s, the machines have enjoyed a revival. You can still find working units at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan and the Los Angeles Central Library, and fans swear by the smell of the freshly pressed plastic. Collectors trade them online, and vintage pieces are snapped up whenever they surface.
Pressed penny machines never really left, either. The concept dates back to the late 1800s: drop in a coin, turn the crank, and walk away with a flattened penny stamped with your destination. They're still common at zoos, museums and theme parks — some newer models even take cards, handy now that coins are falling out of everyday use — and dedicated websites help you track down machines near you.
Other souvenirs are firmly history. Keychain photo viewers, those little plastic gadgets with a built-in magnifier holding a tiny photo of you, were once the reward at the end of a theme park day. Ashtrays and metal lighters, sold everywhere from Disneyland to zoos when smoking was glamorous and even allowed on planes, have gone the way of the smoking section itself. Fewer than one in ten Americans smoked cigarettes in 2024, and lighters now come with travel restrictions — they're among the items that will get you turned away at the White House, for starters.
The most collectible relic of the bunch might be the felt pennant. These triangular flags, first popular in sports stadiums before travellers adopted them, came in bold colours and were once displayed proudly on bedroom walls. Now they're retro decor, and 1940s-era pennants from just about any American state or major city trade hands on eBay and similar sites.
Why should a traveller care? Because these items change how you shop on holiday. The mass-produced magnet in every gift shop won't feel special in ten years; a pressed penny from the museum you wandered into costs pocket change and lasts forever. And if you fancy going vintage, antique shops and online auctions are full of mid-century travel mementos at reasonable prices — souvenirs with real history attached. It's also a nudge to check the rules before you buy: that cool vintage lighter might not make it through airport security.
Whether you remember these from your own childhood trips or you're discovering them fresh, hunting down old-school souvenirs is a cheap, fun way to add character to your next holiday — or your shelf at home.
