simply charming

Of my many little collections (I promise I'm not a hoarder), my favorite is my silver bracelet charms. I started collecting these in 1999 when my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by taking our whole family on a Caribbean cruise. I bought a charm at each island and one from our ship's gift shop. When we returned home, I had them attached to an inexpensive silver bracelet. I slowly added to the bracelet, buying a charm whenever we traveled to a new place. Eventually the bracelet became quite heavy and jangly, and I was too afraid of losing it to ever wear it. Instead of keeping my little souvenirs tucked away in a jewelry case, I removed the charms from the bracelet and gave each its own hook and label in a display box which hangs on the wall in our bedroom. Since then, I've added charms from Europe, Canada, and all over the United States (California to Maine!).

If you hold your mouse pointer over each of the photos below (or click if you're on a smartphone), you can view one of my photos from that trip! Some of the boxes don't have a specific year listed, if it's somewhere we traveled frequently and I couldn't remember during which specific trip I purchased the charm.


Silver charms used to be ubiquitous in gift shops, but now they're a bit harder to find (and more expensive). I have the best luck with small jewelry stores and huge souvenir shops, so I usually try to scope out a few possibilities before I travel somewhere. On our trips, I always breathe a small sigh of relief when I find a charm and can stop the search. I have room for 5 more charms in this display box, so I'll have to plan a few more vacations soon!