Just for fun - fav Alaskan souvenir

We are counting down the days til our cruise to Alaska. We are visiting Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

Please share your favorite souvenir(s) that you found in Alaska. Where you found it and the cost would be great too!

Thanks!

My favorite souvenirs are those I use. I love my cheap Alaskan coffee cups because I am reminded of my trip almost daily. I also love my hooded rain jacket, purchased at the first port, for the couple weeks out of the year that I need one.:)

But my most prized souvenir is my gold nugget necklace and ring, purchased in 2009 before the price of gold went up:D

In 1998 I traveled with my handicapped son. Most of the ports we visited required the use of steps to disembark from ship. I explored the ports on my own.

In Ketchikan I bought several items in General Store:

apparel, Alaskan Christmas Ornaments (They were beautiful).

In Juneau I visited a general store and on the second level they had the most exquisite collection of Russian Dolls from the most famous schools. I purchased a doll and treasure it. I also enjoyed exploring the art galleries. My favorite souvenir was a coffee mug of an Alaskan artist. She was known for her painting of Alaskan children.

I buy Christmas ornaments on vacations and I use a waterproof sharpie to write when and where I bought the ornament in an inconspicuous place. Every year when I decorate the tree, I enjoy remembering my travels.

We are counting down the days til our cruise to Alaska. We are visiting Skagway, Juneau and Ketchikan.

 

Please share your favorite souvenir(s) that you found in Alaska. Where you found it and the cost would be great too!

 

Thanks!

My favorite souvenier, I think, is a sterling pendant and earrings set I bought in Juneau. I was certain I'd never get back to Juneau so wanted to take a piece of Juneau with me :) In 2000, i think it was. Paid around $100 in a store that no longer exists. Must have been locally owned :(

For Dudette it would be the gold nugget pendent I purchased in Skagway for her on one cruise. For the two of us it would be the native Indian carved bear mask we again purchased in Skagway on another cruise. Curiously the mask was carved by an artist who is Canadian and lives here in Sechelt but we had a bit of a time getting it thru customs because it is wood and they had to be satisfied that the wood was not carrying bugs.

I like Spear Pins, an artist who has a shop on Franklin St in Juneau.

But, I always bring back Alaska candy bars and smoked salmon from Taku Smokery, for others to enjoy more. :)

I like Spear Pins, an artist who has a shop on Franklin St in Juneau.

 

But, I always bring back Alaska candy bars and smoked salmon from Taku Smokery, for others to enjoy more. :)

What's a Spear Pin? Is it like a pin for on a coat? I might have to visit there.

I ended up bringing home some jade earrings and a whale tail necklace among other things. We picked up hats, 2 fleece jackets, and a fleece throw blanket that all said Alaska.

On my first trip to Alaska in 2001, I bought a gold whale tail pendant that I wear nearly all the time. Last year I finally decided to get my ears pierced (long story) and wanted matching earrings. I ended up finding the perfect pair, and it turned out to be the same store where I'd bought the pendant, just in a different location. The pendant and earrings are my everyday jewelry and they constantly remind me of Alaska.

Like an earlier poster, I also have a cheap coffee mug. I use it every day at work, so I can enjoy a little reminder of Alaska every morning.

Finally, I love to buy Glacier Smoothie soaps and lotions, and think of Alaska whenever I use them.

My all time favorite was probably about 20 or 25 years ago, when I was still a teen and I was spending the summer with my Dad up in Alaska. One of the souvenir coffee cups that year had a picture of an Alaskan boat harbor (guessing in Ketchikan, but it was a pretty generic picture from my recollection). The prominent boat, almost front and center was the boat the Cheryl Ann. While this is pretty meaningless to most people, the Cheryl Ann was my late Grandfather's commercial fishing boat (seiner). I bought a few of those....I wish I knew where they were :(

Now a days, my favorite souvenir is the beer. I personally go for Alaskan Brewing out of Juneau and Midnight Sun out of Anchorage. I'm kicking myself for not getting it when I was up there in February, but Anchorage Brewing has a beer called A Deal With The Devil. I think it was about $25 for a bottle, a bit steep for a beer I wasn't familiar with at the time. I passed on it only to find out it is supposed to be exceptional.

Wow, my first reaction was that is pretty expensive for even craft beer so I looked it up. Me thinks you should have bought a couple of cases of it at $25 a bottle as they are now getting as much as $39 per bottle....but that is for a 750 ml bottle. Am I ever stuck in the 80's.:D

Wow, my first reaction was that is pretty expensive for even craft beer so I looked it up. Me thinks you should have bought a couple of cases of it at $25 a bottle as they are now getting as much as $39 per bottle....but that is for a 750 ml bottle. Am I ever stuck in the 80's.:D

It might have been $40. I just remember it was expensive enough for me to think twice about buying it as I didn't know anything about it at the time :)

If it is still available when I head up next month, I'm buying a couple of bottles, one to drink and one to trade!

Sounds like some great souvenirs! I like to "splurge" on one nice thing each cruise as a permanent reminder of our trip. I still wear a tanzanite ring every day that I got on our first cruise 5 years ago.

I also love the ideas of mugs and ornaments. I might look for a Tervis mug which I could use all the time and remind me of Alaska.

Thanks everyone! It's fun to see what everyone likes to shop for!

We bought T-shirts in all 3 ports for around $6.99-$9.99 each. The prices seemed better in Skagway than the other 2 ports IMO. I got socks for my daughters for $3.99 each with moose on them...and a coffee mug for me for $8.99 that i had seen in the other ports for $12.99. That was pretty much all we bought...there is a coupon book available that had coupons for each of the ports, we used a couple of those too.

I'm going in August and will be looking for an Iditarod collar for my dog!

I like Spear Pins, an artist who has a shop on Franklin St in Juneau.

 

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What's a Spear Pin? Is it like a pin for on a coat? I might have to visit there.

 

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I think that Budget Queen is referencing William Spear pins. They are small enamel pins, charms and zipper pulls which range in price from around $10.00 to approximately $20.00. This is the type of pin folks who like to have a collection of pins on a hat just love.

I buy local yarn when I can. Then knit into into socks. I also buy Christmas ornaments but they have to be locally made!

A paperweight of a Pelican and Otter that we got on Holland Westerdam last year. Sits on my desk and makes me happy.

Leaving for Vancouver in 2 hours and board the Coral tomorrow.

A paperweight of a Pelican and Otter that we got on Holland Westerdam last year. Sits on my desk and makes me happy.

 

Leaving for Vancouver in 2 hours and board the Coral tomorrow.

Lucky!! We left the Coral on June 3, hope you have great weather like we did! Have a great time :)

If you see a souvenier Alaska t-shirt in a store bag in your cabin, I seem to have left it behind:mad:

We got Ulu knives and blocks from the Ulu factory in Anchorage. Use it for chopping stuff all the time. Also prints from Crazy Wolf, in Ketchikan, signed by the artist. http://www.crazywolfstudio.com

My first cruise to Alaska I bought a silver thimble (I collect thimbles) with a teeny tiny gold nugget on top. At $50, it has been my most expensive purchase. I can usually find thimbles for under $20.

My 2nd cruise to Alaska I spotted a small jewelry shop in Dawson City and he had a Mammoth Ivory ring. 14K white gold and he sized it for me as I watched. That purchase was $100.

Both purchases seemed to remind me of Alaska. You might be able to find them elsewhere, but I know where I purchased them.

As you wander the streets of each port, you should see something that catches your eye. I like to watch for the "Made in Alaska" sign usually on the window of a business, and again a small card on the item being purchased.

Have a great trip!

We got Ulu knives and blocks from the Ulu factory in Anchorage. Use it for chopping stuff all the time. Also prints from Crazy Wolf, in Ketchikan, signed by the artist. http://www.crazywolfstudio.com

Did you have to ship the ulu home from the store you purchased it from? I want one but not sure on the rules about bringing it back to the lower 48.

Spears does beautiful enamel work. Hubby got a mermaid there a few weeks ago. Made right there. Scrimshaw pieces found throughout Alaska are our favorite. We shipped them home to avoid any custom problems. I think our future son in law is going to love his mammoth ivory guitar pick purchased in Skagway.

Our favourite souvenirs:

Ulu knife and wooden chopping bowl. I use this all the time ( and so do the people I brought a set back for)

Ivory jewellery made from fossilized mammoth tusk.

A hand carved whale Christmas decoration. - hand carvings the size of a tree ornament are very affordable.

I'm one of those people who doesn't buy souveniers.