Posted on: Friday, December 10, 2004
Give them Hawai'i
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| Greg Taylor • The Honolulu Advertiser |
By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer
Most displaced Islanders appreciate something that transports them back to Hawai'i. They crave a taste, smell, sound or touch of their paradise lost. That makes gifts that can do the trick a great option for holiday giving.
Macadamia nuts and Kona coffee are the classic standbys for gifts to be sent to Mainland friends and family, but there are other options. Let's consider some alternatives:
Make 'em weep
It's fun to send practical, everyday items that will make them think of you. As they come in from the cold, brushing snow off their boots, let them hang their keys on a Toe Jams wooden rubbah slippah.
Of course, you can always be really obvious and send a tile that says "I'd rather be in Hawai'i."
A pair of koa chopsticks, a hula girl lamp and soup bowls with Island flora are other constant reminders. A koa trivet in the shape of a pineapple or honu, pot holders in Hawaiian quilt designs or tea towels with local motifs are easy to mail and will cheer up any kitchen that's suffering from the winter blues.
It may sound weird, but when we send Christmas gifts to our favorite river-rafting guides with whom we share the trials and tribulations of 12 days in the Grand Canyon, we send them ... pareu. Yup, they love 'em. They slip right into a backpack and can be worn at home or on the river. They're easy to put in a box and mail.
You can never go wrong with Tutuvi pareu. Their stunning graphics and unusual color pairings always make a hit. They're now sold at Mango Season in Mo'ili'ili.
We recently discovered Vicky Durand's pareu. The Wai'anae artist works with hand-dyed silk crepe in brilliant shades such as coral, mango, pineapple and fuchsia. Her designs are taken from Island gardens. They are sold at Kailua Beach Walk.
Island fragrance
Fragrance has the ability to transport. Plumeria, pikake, ginger and pua kenikeni are so nostalgic. Companies such as Tropical Elements, Puna Noni, Malie and Island Soap and Candle Works offer them in a variety of forms.
Maile is a fragrance reminiscent of a walk in the rain forest or life's most important passages: graduation, wedding, opening a new business. Now the clean, fresh earthy aroma of maile is available in a line of products from SpaHalekulani, the elegant spa on the grounds of the hotel. The spa adopted maile as its signature fragrance, working with chemists to develop a botanical extract from the maile leaf and bark. There is a special gift package in a gorgeous box, including all five products for $95, or the products can be purchased individually: The mist is $22 and the other four are $18 each.
Hawaiian breathing herbs that come in a tin, Hanu for perking you up and Hiamoe for helping you sleep, are easy to mail and you can send replenishing oil next year as a no-brainer follow-up gift. They are sold for $20 at Island Treasures galleries, Executive Chef and Pat's Island Delights.
'Ono grinds When Michele Lee of 'Alewa shops for those faraway folks who "have everything," she buys chocolate covered mango from Clara's Confections.
Advertiser library photo Liliko'i anything, from jam to curd to cream cheese, will bring a taste of Hawai'i to the breakfast table. The farmers markets at Kapi'olani Community College and in Kailua often have specialties in these flavors. Poha and 'ohelo berry jams are other faves, although they're becoming increasingly hard to find.
My 90-year-old Auntie Margaret, who has lived in Texas since her college days, still craves see moi (or crack seed, if you prefer). We always send her the old classics, but it's fun to introduce her to some new flavors too. Be sure to protect them with sturdy baggies. It's pretty awful when the goo gets through.
My son, on the other hand, is a Zippy's fanatic, so his Auntie 'Berta Cullen sends him frozen chili. She simply goes to www.zippys.com and has it mailed to him in San Francisco. Kaui Philpotts of Nu'uanu goes online to www.bigislandcandies.com and has them send her friends those outrageously popular chocolate-covered shortbread cookies. The gift of sound
A Hawaiian CD is a nostalgic gift. You can either send the latest or an old favorite that can bring up the recollection of a special time and place; perhaps when you sat and sipped sunset cocktails, listening to a group playing at Aloha Tower.
Then there are the delightful music boxes we spotted at Na Mea Hawai'i that play "Aloha 'Oe," and "The Hawaiian Wedding Song." Sure to elicit sighs.
It's all about making 'em miss you, and Hawai'i. Foods and fragrances, especially, need frequent replenishing.
And here's your mailing deadline reminder: Send priority-mail parcels by Dec. 16.
Reach Paula Rath at 525-5464 or prath@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Lee buys hers from the epicure department at Neiman Marcus. She loves the elegant packaging and, although six pieces cost $11.50, she said the recipients can taste the quality and always comment, "This isn't like any mango I've ever had." It's also sold at Pat's Island Delights stores in Kaimuki and 'Aiea for $8.25.
Frozen packages of Zippy's chili make great gifts for people on the Mainland with a craving for one of Hawai'i's most gratifying grinds.
