Pin On Your Virginia State Parks Pride

Collecting souvenir pins is a fun, low-cost family activity!

My family loves to travel, but with two kids and tight budgets we had to rein in our souvenir spending. Several years ago, inspired by the pin collectors at Disney, I decided to create a travel vest to limit our souvenir spending to one special item per child and a souvenir site pin.  We recently went to Westmoreland State Park for a two-day spring break foray and bought our pin in the gift shop.

Our pin vest is a cost-effective way of showing off our souvenirs and cherishing our travel memories.

The kids love collecting pins from the different places we go--museums, parks, events, and historic sites.  When we get home from a trip, we have a tradition of placing the pin on our collector vest and reliving our favorite memories of that trip. Usually the conversation continues for hours talking about all the other trips we have taken over the years. These great family moments are all inspired by our pin vest.

Although the vest is getting quite heavy with all our pins, I'll sometimes wear it out to a Virginia State Park or amusement park. Pin trading is a lot of fun so sometimes we buy extras if we visit a really unique site.  Having extra pins to trade is a great way to make new friends. We rarely trade out site pins, but instead hunt for tradable extras at antique shops and yard sales. People will stop and talk about the places they have visited or want to visit based on the pins they see on our vest. The kids really love sharing their Virginia State Park adventures with other people.

 Pins cost less than $5 and most state park gift shops carry them.

Start your own souvenir tradition. Most Virginia State Parks have souvenir site pins and patches available in their gift shops for less than $5. Stop by a Virginia State Park this spring or summer and start a new family tradition!