Every trip I take abroad with students can be relived while flipping through the smash book I created while on tour. Just keep things as you go and take notes – when you have a free hour, spend some time writing, pasting, and doodling. The end product is practically finished when you arrive home. The practice has grown on my trips and now multiple members of the group work on them as we travel. As for the others in the group, although they don’t care to complete a book, they do enjoy seeking out items to include in the smash book.
Post cards, maps, brochures. I am always sure to put several clips and various types of pockets in the book before I leave. It is also fun to try to fancy a pocket out of a travel trinket of some sort. This just adds to the unique, one of kind souvenir I take home. Also, I love to grab every free brochure at the hotels to cut the little picture out of the places that we end up going to. I also like to use the words and titles in them.
When I do finally make it home and print out all of my pictures from a trip, I will always get extra prints of a few of my favorite shots – usually the ones with the people in them – and put them in the book, too.