My Star Wars collection consists of hundreds upon hundreds of different items, but my favorite ones are the ones that have memories associated with them, like these cup toppers.

On December 17th, 2015, my family and I watched the premiere of The Force Awakens at El Capitan theater in Los Angeles, California. For the film’s debut some theater chains were distributing Star Wars branded popcorn tubs and drinking cups, and our theater happened to be one of those. Before the movie began, we purchased a set at the snack bar. Our cups came with these two figures (Chewbacca and a Flamethrower Clone Trooper) affixed to the lids.

When it comes to Star Wars collections, there is always another plateau to achieve. Guys like me with vintage (but well played with) toys look up to the guys with mint toys. In turn, those guys look up to guys with toys and action figures still in their original packaging. There are collectors who own things so rare that I’ve only seen pictures of them in books, and still other collectors who own actual props from the films. No matter what your collection looks like, there’s always someone else with more (or more valuable) stuff.

But things like these cup toppers possess a different kind of value. They’re worth more to me not because of how much they cost or how rare they are, but because of the memories associated with them. The Twin Pod Cloud Car Pilot my mom stuck on top of my eleventh birthday cake, the original Star Wars comic books my dad collected and passed down to me, the Star Wars posters I had hanging in my room as a kid that are now neatly folded in my closet… those are the collectibles I value the most. I own hundreds of Star Wars action figures, toys, and random collectibles that I’ve purchased over the past three decades, and while I like and enjoy them, they aren’t anywhere as important to me as the things I own that contain memories.

There will come a time, maybe sooner than later, that I “retire” from collecting Star Wars memorabilia. There’s even a chance that I could see myself parting with some of my collection. But you can bet that no matter what happens, I’ll hang on to things like these cup toppers forever. Ever time I see them I’ll be reminded of how I saw the first six Star Wars films in theaters with my parents, and how I saw The Force Awakens in the theater with my kids.