To give you a start with your holiday gift shopping, we visited retailers around O'ahu to see what we could find that's made in Hawai'i and costs $25 or less.

We have only listed the places where we shopped. Of course, the same items may also be available in a store closer to your neighborhood, or even online.

To make our shopping list more manageable, we have divided the items into five categories: co-worker, him, her, keiki/teens, and home and tree. Naturally, many items can cross over and work for many of the people on your list.

For the co-worker

As always, the little elves at Wabi Sabi in Kaimuki have been working overtime to produce practical, inexpensive holiday gifts. For those who work in over-air-conditioned offices, crafter Carol Oshiro is making "Comfy Throws," a 48- by 60-inch lap robe made of sweatshirt fabric ($25). It comes in black, red and heather and can be tossed in the washing machine.

When Cathy Harada was living and working in Hilo, her charming washi products were seldom available in Honolulu. Now she's living on O'ahu, and her crafts can be ordered via e-mail at acsharada@hotmail.com or phone at 271-9924. Among her offerings for 2004 are washi-embellished back scratchers ($4) for the person who needs a stretch-and-scratch break at work, as well as a hexagonal candy box ($15) in which to keep stress-buster candies, a tissue box ($20) for those emotional moments at the office, and a pencil cylinder ($10). Her three-drawer jewelry box ($15) is a great gift for a co-worker to take home and enjoy. Today, tomorrow and Sunday, Harada will be in a booth at the 18th Islandwide Christmas Crafts & Food Expo.

Many co-workers like to be surrounded by little meditations that remind them of the important things in life. Nancy Lake decoupages wood signs ($20) and magnets ($7.50) with meaningful sayings from a wide range of people — from Kate Hepburn to Albert Einstein. We found them at Na Mea Hawai'i downtown. Vue Hawai'i at Kahala Mall carries several styles of tiny koa boxes that are the ideal size for paper clips, push pins or jewelry. The Koa Keepsakes dovetail box ($19) has a honu (turtle) or hibiscus on top, while the cylindrical boxes have koa quilt designs ($16).

Send a permanent postcard to remind a former co-worker of the Islands. Hawaiian Woodys of Kaua'i carves wood into the shape of a surfboard and etches art and a saying on it, such as "Gone Paddling," "Live Aloha" and "Aloha is Kailua." All it needs is a stamp and message and into the mail it goes ($6). We found them at Island Treasures Kailua.

For him

"Manoa Volley" T-shirt, Mango Season, $16. Photos by Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Makizushi pillow, Wabi Sabi, $20.

Embellished rubbah slippahs, Na Mea Hawai'i downtown, $16.

"Surf's Up!" towel and washcloth, Na Mea Hawai'i downtown, $17/set. "Musubi Friends" golf towel, Wabi Sabi and Mango Season, $14.

Koa bookmark, Island Treasures Kailua, $8.

"Rockfish" engraving on slate, Island Treasures Kailua, $22.

'ili retail scene, costs under $25, with the exception of the Bete mu'us and Tutuvi clothing. New for 2004 is Cane Haul Road's deep forest-green T-shirt featuring "Manoa Volley," a pun on the valley and the fabulous volleyball teams at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa ($16).

For the golfer on your list, Cane Haul Road sells a "Musubi Friends" golf towel at Wabi Sabi and Mango Season ($14).

Artist Scott Kekuhaupi'o Manley has collected slate shingles from historic buildings and carved motifs such as rockfish into them. They are suitable for hanging or placing in a stand on his desk or table. We found some at Island Treasures Kailua ($22).

While koa is increasingly rare, Pat Kadooka uses small pieces to make his popular beer openers and wine corkers ($10). We found them at Island Treasures Kailua.

Wood turner Aaron Hammer of the North Shore of O'ahu makes his wine corks from a variety of island woods in graceful shapes and sells them at Pacific Handcrafters Guild fairs and Na Mea Hawai'i stores for $15.

He can never have enough keys, so he needs one more key chain, yeah? Island Treasures Kailua has some rectangular ones with a decoupaged, varnished image of aloha or kapa prints, hula dancers or tiki ($10).

Out Waimanalo way, artist Patrick Ching of Naturally Hawaiian offers a humorous black T-shirt with the message "We accept Visa, MasterCard, cash, fish or poi" ($22). Prints of Ching's art ($15) provide a nostalgic moment to anyone who owns them; "Bellows Inlet," "A Horse Called Ehukai" and "Light Waves at Makapu'u Point" caught our eye.

To hang somewhere eyecatching, Island Treasures Koko Marina has a dangling accessory made of beach glass, shells and chunks of coral ($16).

Light up his life with fresh-from-the-rain-forest laua'e fern candles by Big Island company Double Brush Candles. We found them at Martin & MacArthur, each wrapped in handmade banana- and mango-fiber paper and embossed with a laua'e fern design ($13.50 for three).

For her

Irene Kawaguchi of Wabi Sabi makes a tote bag bag — and no, that's not a typo, it's a bag within a bag. You can hang the little black mesh bag on your hand bag and, when you need a roomy shopping tote, just pull it out and stuff it full ($12).

For the Christmas nut, Kawaguchi has made a lanier-style necklace that says either "Believe" or "Merry Christmas" with little bells and Christmas balls for color and sound ($6).

At Na Mea Hawai'i downtown we found Toyo Yamamoto of Hilo's fashionable rubber slippers with Hawaiian prints around the thongs and a kukui nut at the toe ($16).

Ben Diller of Maui Clay has started making ceramic honu in several sizes with a "shell" top that comes off to reveal a little puka just right for jewelry, keys, coins or paper clips ($10 to $14), making it an ideal gift for just about anyone. We found them at both Island Treasures Kailua and Martin & MacArthur.

Diane Masumura of Weslyn's Creative Feathers, who creates on Kaua'i, makes gorgeous hair ornaments with feathers. Her hair clips and headbands ($15) are sold at Bishop Museum gift shop, while her hair pieces and hair pins ($5 to $20) are available at the Little Hawaiian Craft Shop in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.

Montsuki in Kaimuki is now carrying flexible "Tomodachi (friendship) bracelets" by Carleen ($15). They also have Kaila Kennedy earrings made of cloisonné, jade and pearls in Asian motifs for $20.

For teens and keiki

To protect them from the damaging rays of the sun, Excel Hawai'i of Hale'iwa is making their signature protective rash guards with a UPF 50-plus sun protection factor in a wide range of kid-friendly styles and prints ($24.50) We saw them at Kahala Kids but we know they're also in the Xcel stores in Ward Village shops and Hale'iwa, as well as at other retailers.

Also at Kahala Kids are Kolohe Baby burp cloths sporting Hawaiian print panels that can be personalized ($10).

For the young surfer, Noriko Miller embroiders sets of wash cloths and towels with "Surf's Up!" and a charming VW bug with surfboard ($17 per set at Na Mea Hawai'i downtown).

Wabi Sabi has a black mesh cell-phone holder that clips to a hand bag or backpack and comes in three sizes (Kawaguchi calls them mama, papa and baby: $7.50 to $12.50). Each sports a little charm that speaks to the passion of the person you are gifting.

Kawaguchi also makes a pouch that can hold a cell phone, keys, cosmetics or whatevahs. It comes in all sorts of cotton prints with an optional clip as well ($8.50 without clip; $10 with clip).

To encourage a young reader, we found many pretty bookmarks. At Na Mea Hawai'i there's a Hawaiian Chili Paper handmade one embellished with tiny shells ($3). Island Treasures Kailua and Koko Marina carry elegant koa bookmarks made by Island Collections featuring honu, palm trees, bamboo and heliconia ($8). For those who dream of surf while reading, at the Koko Marina Island Treasures store we found bookmarks that reproduce watercolor paintings of favorite beaches ($3).

For the home and tree

Debbie Kitayama takes hundreds of tiny scraps of fabric, cuts them in squares and patchworks folksy-looking Christmas stockings ($20). She sells them at Na Mea Hawai'i stores.

From Kaua'i comes Malie, a line of home and body fragrances that are rich and exotic. At Martin & MacArthur we found pikake, gardenia and coconut vanilla ($9 to $49). We also spotted them at Na Mea and Island Treasures stores.

Ka'ala Designs of Honoka'a continues its tradition of hand-painted glass Christmas ornaments. This year we found hibiscus, hula dancers, plumeria and Santa with Mrs. Santa at Island Treasures Kailua for $12. The company is also offering honu necklaces of polymer clay ($20) at the Kailua store.

For 2004, wood burner Cinzie Stepp is applying her art to Christmas ornaments. She shapes them as aloha shirts, surfboards, fish or little hales (houses) and burns in the art ($20). Available at Island Treasures Koko Marina.

Kathy Rasor of Imagine That makes one-of-a-kind whimsical ornaments from innovative materials. We found a delightful little surfer girl riding a puffer fish ($21) at Island Treasures Kailua.