What should I do with my souvenir spoon collection?
Question:I am guessing that I have over 100, consisting mostly of the inexpensive spoons bought at the souvenir stands. My grandmother started the collection for me when I was very young (I am 33 now) and there are some nicer (including sterling) ones from exotic places. I have one nice spoon rack (dark cherrywood look) that would hold a minuscule amount of the collection and two cheap wooden ones that I could paint. However, I don't really have a place in my home that would lend itself well to this type of "look" and my husband is especially against their display. But I am just not ready to "toss" them. Any ideas? Would I look like a closet "cat lady" type (no offense to anyone ;-)) if I displayed them in our guest room or something?
Answers:
If you enjoy them, then display them.
If you'd like to keep them around just to have them store them away. Do you have anyone you could pass them on to?
You could always sell them on ebay or in your local classifieds. You never know what people will buy.
Best thing to do is to give it to a kid. If you don't have one then give it to a niece. There is always e-bay, but you might not want to go there.
It's too bad your husband is against the spoon collection display that your grandmother started for you, as he has to know what the collection means to you. I think the guest room would be a great place to display your spoon collection. You'd never forgive yourself if you tossed the spoons out & there's no reason to.
You should pass them on and also write something to give the person you pass them on to giving them details or history on why you started the collection and how you acquired the spoons.
I would use them as christmas ornaments! Seriously, get a 4' prelit tree and hang the spoons using a thin holiday-colored ribbon. You can keep the tree in the dining room, so the spoon (food) theme would fit, and so it doesn't have to be your main tree. This might turn out pretty interesting! Plus this way you don't have to display them all year long. ;)
There is nothing wrong with displaying them in the guest room. Put your special and more expensive spoons in the nicer rack and make that one prominate. Then, display the others all around. If you have more spoons than racks, you can get a couple of nice containers and fan some around in those as well, my mom displayed hers in fancy (cheap) tea cups and saucers. I thought it looked cute! She had them in her sewing/guest room. The tea cups made it look nostalgic! Use your imagination and have fun displaying them!
When all fails.. shadow box. You can get really large ones and do a mix of souvenir and pictures with the spoons. I did a mix of odd 50's thing in a glass box because I had odds and end of things I loved but didn't go. I lined it with fabric that matches my decor and added old family pictures to tie it all together. Don't ever sell them or throw them out! Just figure out a cool way to display them and you don't have to lay them out all need. you can have them scattered and laying on top of each other in the shadow box as well. Pictures of your grandmother in some of those places would make it a wonderful box full of memories!
I'd take digital pictures of them, so you can keep the memory, and then either give them to charity or sell them on Ebay. Keeping them will just add one more thing in your house that you have to store, move, and clean.
Years ago my son was given a shoe box full, I mean packed full, of souvenir spoons. We drilled holes in the handles and strung them up making wind chimes and hung them on the back porch.
Hi, My father has been collecting spoons since he was a child as well, he has accumulated more than 300 spoons over the years from friends and family going to various places throughout the world, most places these people will most likely not get a chance to go to again, I say you should keep the spoons, if you don't have the space to hang them anywhere in your home, maybe if you work in an office, or if you have an office in your home you can put them there. My father has his racks throughout the house just because he was in your same situation..They may not be valuable, but you have been collecting for so long that you should not just discard them, im sure you have other stuff on your walls you can take down. Please do not get rid of them whatever you do! if you do want to get rid of them send them this way i will be glad to take them off your hands.
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