How to Bring Your Best Vacation Memories Back Home
Memories are some of the best travel souvenirs: they are free, first, and stay with you for life. In fact, you can set yourself up for the very best vacation memories if you plan a little ahead of time.
Get many different experiences
Doing the same thing every day of your vacation will leave you with one big blurry memory. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely told Popular Science that even a little variety can leave you with happier memories: if you spend a day skiing, another snowboarding, or sledding again, they won’t fit together like three days of skiing.
Do what your friends don’t do
We wrote earlier that unique experiences tend to go well with memories of a happy vacation. It may mean something you’ve never done before – it’s easy to find when you’re in a new place – but also, if you’re in a popular tourist destination, look for something that not everyone else does. I miss the tourist attractions every time for a good medical museum.
End on a good note
Unfortunately, most vacations end the same way: a grueling flight or trip, unpacking and doing the laundry. This is a shame because we use the end of the experience to calibrate our memories of everything. This phenomenon is known as the “peak / end rule”. Popular Science suggests taking an extra day off at the end of your vacation to get back to your daily routine, perhaps take some extra time to view photos and enjoy souvenirs. A happy ending can mean we enjoy the rest of the trip even more.