How to pick souvenirs your friends will actually want

When in doubt: Buy edibles

Make sure to find out who loves and loathes kitschy souvenirs.
(Image credit: CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images)

For something so innocuous, souvenirs are a minefield.

First, there is the cheap airport and tourist shop kitsch: the knick-knacks and t-shirts featuring local monuments and global clichés. Then, there are the crafts and fashions that infiltrate your brain over the course of a trip, slowly convincing you that you need to bring them back; it's only when you're home that you discover there's no way you or anyone else you know will want them.

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Kate Thorman

Kate Thorman is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in such publications as AFAR, Bon Appétit, and Fodor's. Her other projects include screenwriting and Part Time Vegan.