So often the place-specific items only seem to say "I brought you back this item from my vacation to remind YOU what a great time *I* had", which is unkind and unfortunate.

Thoughtful friends bring you something place-specific, not available at home, that would please you - say, maple syrup to a southern baker or interesting fabrics from Indonesia for a fiber artist. This gets harder to accomplish, as it seems you can get just about anything online these days, and stores carry items now that were once rare or unavailable.

Having too much bulk and girth to comfortably wear tshirts, they've been collecting for a quilt/coverlet made with the ones whose artists, festival, or silly illustration to remind me of *MY* past fun.

Best idea for this sort of thing is to just bring back what you'd want yourself & be careful with the items you collect - manageable size collection (zipper tag, embroiderered patch, matchbooks)

Then there's the reliable "oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't possibly! No, I just don't have the room! Someone else must be looking for it"

Joanne in Cleveland in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas cleaning!