Chronicling your past vacations is helpful for planning new ones. A chronicle, or report about your vacation, captures important information, facts and experiences your family might accidentally overlook in planning the next trip.

The most important thing a traveling family can bring on a vacation is a travel folder. Your family travel folder should contain all of the documents you need to travel. In this day and age where so much documentation is online, it's even more important to print online receipts and carry them with you on your trip.

What's more, if logistical issues arise with your airline, car rental, or other vendor that could require a refund or credit, your vacation papers are like precious gems. Most often, good documentation is the only way travelers can prove they are entitled to receive a refund from a vendor.

Travel document folders are great for carrying those important documents needed to get from point A to point B, and everywhere in between. Travel document folders hold and protect important documents for easy access when you're traveling. Plus, they make for quick work when you have to constantly retrieve and store things such as your and your family members'identification cards or passports.

Throughout your trip, collect mementos like ticket stubs, brochures, small souvenirs, menus, and receipts. These not only document your journey, but also make creative, memorable additions to travel keepsakes like scrapbooks. You can even scan them to add a creative slant to electronic albums for interactive photo-sharing programs.