A tzotchke is a cheap souvenir or kitschy gift item found in tourist destinations worldwide. They are often sold in tzotchke shops and can include items such as key chains, snow globes, and flags. While some may consider them tacky, they can serve as conversation pieces and even become collectible over time.
Some may call an inexpensive souvenir or kitschy gift item a knickknack, dust catcher, or trinket. The Yiddish language gives us yet another word to describe such a piece; a tzotchke. A tzotchke, also rendered as chachki or chotchkey in some sources, literally translates as “chunk” from the original Hebrew word katikha. Virtually every tourist destination in the world will have at least one nearby tzotchke shop, if not an entire street or village.
A tzotchke shop located near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France would most likely offer inexpensive plastic snow globes of the tower, along with key chains, souvenir teaspoons, small French flags, and cheap beanies embroidered with an image of the tower. Tzotchke shops near the Vatican offered trinkets or similar memorabilia of the Pope or other religious icons. Tourists would most likely buy some tzotchke as gifts for their friends back home or as cheap vouchers for their trip.
The term tzotchke has come to imply cheaply manufactured or kitschy items with little intrinsic value. While many may consider a collection of tzotchkes a bit tacky, the little trinkets and knick-knacks work as conversation pieces. Only a person who has actually visited Mount Rushmore or Disneyland would actually have access to certain tzotchke shops, so the trinkets provide some credibility for frequent travelers.
Some products originally dismissed as worthless tzotchke can acquire significant value over time. Opportunistic vendors once produced thousands of inexpensive tzotchkes like snow globes and plastic bags that featured pictures of the Beatles, for example. Some of those cheaply produced items are now considered quite collectable, though many mass-produced tzotchkes are not. Other trinkets and ornaments bearing the images or names of Disney characters or famous musicians such as Elvis Presley can also become precious over time.
While few gift shops promote their offerings as tzotchke, most tourists and local citizens are aware of the commercial nature of the shops. For example, authentic wooden shoes can be bought from a local craftsman in Holland, but a tzotchke shop in Amsterdam may offer cheaper versions with “Welcome to Holland” or other tourist-related images emblazoned on them. Some visitors don’t have the luxury of shopping in town, so they often pick up tzotchke at a gift shop or airport to commemorate their trip.
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