December 22, 2022
Have you bought something while on vacation and later were unsure what to do with it? When I travel, I think about the Three R's initiative, because I want to reduce, reuse and recycle in any way that I can. However, getaways are about fun and freedom as well! Every year at Dollywood, we purchase (at least) these four items: a reusable popcorn bucket, a refillable mug, a Christmas ornament and Dollywood clothing. I don't consider these items clutter, because we make good use of them beyond our Dollywood days. Allow me to lay out my case for why these four purchases are a great value.
Dollywood's popcorn buckets remind me of what you get at a movie theater. Even if you are coming to the park for just one day, the bucket is resealable and keeps the popcorn fresh all throughout the day. After you enjoy your popcorn at the park, hold onto that bucket! I have used ours for many different things throughout the years. This year, our popcorn bucket became our candy storage from Halloween. In the past, we have used it for food storage for things like soups. We've also used it as storage for toys. We even use it to hold fresh popcorn that we make at home. The possibilities of how to use it when you come home are almost endless.
Refillable mugs are souvenirs that I consider a necessary purchase for my family! Most drink stations are self-serve, so we love to have the season mug to easily fill up on drinks throughout the day. We especially love to get Icee's on hot summer days! (There's even a refillable mug you can buy for hot chocolate and standard drip coffee.) Once we are back home, I store our refillable mug with our souvenir popcorn bucket so I have it ready for each visit to Dollywood during the year. After the year is over, I keep my refillable mugs handy to use at football games or other outdoor events.
I love to decorate our family Christmas tree with specialized ornaments from places we have visited. My family and I have several ornaments from Dollywood, because it is one of our all-time favorite places to go! We usually get ornaments from the Dollywood Emporium before we leave the park, and we always take advantage of the free personalization! Christmas ornaments can be found all year long at Dollywood, but we really like the ones available during the park's Smoky Mountain Christmas festival.
One of the souvenirs I always want to get on our family visits to Dollywood is clothing. Whether it is a new hat, hoodie or a t-shirt from a favorite ride, we all like to remember our trips by purchasing Dollywood apparel. My family and I have two places that we visit every trip to Dollywood: Temple's Mercantile in The Village and the Dollywood Emporium on Showstreet. At Temple's Mercantile, my children can always find a special "treat"-sometimes it is a mermaid doll or a toy train-and we also find a good selection of Dollywood Express items. The Dollywood Emporium has a wide variety of "Dolly" merchandise as well as snacks and toys. There is no shortage of things to browse, and (without fail) we find something we want every trip!
All Insiders Best Value
All Insiders Best Value
