Random Saturday- Collections

I will tell you right away that I am a collector. As a child I had several different collections: stickers, stamps, stuffed animals, Soap Opera Digest magazines, and other common childhood collections. But I also had a unique collection of items about the British Royal Family. From the age of eight on, I have collected things about Princess Diana. I have books, dolls, tins, postcards, and other random items all depicting the royal family. This is also a collection I don't go around showcasing....right now it is boxed up because I lack any space to really set everything out, and because it is, well, a little bit weird. My husband assured me when we moved that I shouldn't feel the need to unbox these items. I haven't bought anything to add to my collection in several years, and I no longer cut out every newspaper clipping about the Royal Family, or purchase Royalty Monthly magazine (yes, there is such a thing). But I do possess a wealth of knowledge about the monarchy and still try to keep up on some of the goings on in their lives.
My daughters have seen the books about Princess Diana and enjoy looking at the wonderful pictures of a princess and her different clothes and travels. Right now they are trying to decide upon something they would like to collect themselves. When Barack Obama was elected president I started cutting out items about the First Daughters - how historic to have young children growing up in the White House?! Those items are in a binder that my girls look at every once in a while. However, that collection isn't really what they are thinking of. So, we have been doing a bit of brainstorming. Mostly they are taking my suggestions about collections and thinking hard on their own. I suggested picking something that they like, but that they could also collect their entire lives (and not have to hide from the general public! :) ) . Big Sister has decided to collect cows items- Holsteins to be more precise. Middle Sister has started collecting owls (and spends a lot of time on etsy looking for things I should buy her). Little Sister is too little to really know what we are talking about, but I have made the executive decision of starting a Russian Nesting Doll collection for her. A while ago I saw an article in Working Mother magazine and the woman collected these dolls, something Little Sister enjoys playing with at my parents' house, and something she could collect over many years.
Today we were shopping at Target with Big Sister's friend, E, and discussing collections. Within the span of minutes she had decided she was going to collect monkeys and had started her collection by purchasing a monkey from the dollar section at the front of the store.
There is a reason my house is cluttered and looks lived in, and having collections of various kinds doesn't help the problem. However, the girls and I are having some fun with the idea of starting a collection that could grow up with them and that they could gradually add to.
Who else is a collector out there? What other good collection ideas have I missed?