Expedited Passports

Passports are not just important travel documents. They also provide a record of where you’ve been. Each time you visit a new country, you get a new stamp on your passport.  The US Department of State understands that passports mean  a lot to people, so after you renew your passport, they’ll cancel the old one and send it back to you.

What can you do with an expired passport? You can’t travel with it, of course. You can leave it in a drawer and flip through it occasionally when you feel like reminiscing about trips you’ve taken in the past. But why not be a little more creative? Here are some other ideas:

Make a Scrapbook

If you (or a family member) likes to scrapbook, why not create a scrapbook based on your cancelled passport? Along with the stamped passport pages, you can include photographs from the trips you’ve taken and mementos like pressed flowers or train tickets. If you like to journal in your scrapbooks, you can include a written description of some of your favorite moments from each adventure.

Remember, if you damage or mutilate your passport before it expires, you’ll have to get a new one before you can travel again.  So, if your passport is still valid, you might want to start the scrapbook now, while your memory is still fresh, and leave spaces to add passport pages and visa stamps once the passport has expired. (more…)