People in Hawaii sometimes decorate palm trees at Christmas, although they also import traditional evergreens.
People do not commonly associate Hawaii, which has a tropical, snow-lessfree climate, with Christmas. However, you can still give Hawaiian-themed gifts to friends and family on this popular winter holiday. Ideally, such gifts will help bring a bit of Hawaii's sun and warmth to a day that -- in many parts of the country -- is often cold and icy. To express your creativity, and to save money, you can make Hawaiian Christmas gifts at home. Does this Spark an idea?
Lei
The lei, which is a garland of flowers, is one of Hawaii's most well-known decorative items. Making an adult-sized lei requires the use of between 40 and 80 flowers; the precise number depends on the size of the flowers and how tightly you string them together. Some of the most popular flowers that Hawaiians use for making leis include orchids, plumeria, red and white ginger, gardenias, ilima, carnations and tuberoses. However, for a Christmas-themed lei you could use a combination of red poinsettia flowers and green holly leaves. People commonly string lei flowers on to thick lengths of crochet thread, fishing line or even waxed dental floss. For best results, assemble the lei using a needle with a medium-sized eyelet, such as a carpet or upholstery needle. Specialized lei needles are also available online, as well as in Hawaii.
Edible Ideas
If you are worried that a potential gift recipient will not get much use out of a lei, try giving Hawaiian-themed baked goodst as a gift. Even if you are not a marvel in the kitchen, you can easily introduce a tropical, Hawaiian flavor into your favorite recipes with the help of one key ingredient: pineapple. For example, you can add crushed pineapple -- and crushed butterscotch candies -- into biscuit batter to create Hawaiian-style muffins; or mix crushed pineapple as well as nuts and mashed bananas into bread mix to make Hawaiian-style banana-nut bread.
Gift Basket
Instead of giving one Hawaiian Christmas gift to a friend or family member, you can give a whole basketful of gifts. You can adorn the basket with one or more colorful homemade leis and fill it with homemade Hawaiian-themed treats. A popular centerpiece option for Hawaiian gift baskets is a whole, fresh pineapple, while coconuts, bananas, mangoes, passion fruit and citrus fruits can serve as colorful surrounding elements. To give the basket a Christmas theme, you can fill the bottom with red and green artificial moss, available at craft stores.
Tags: Hawaiian Christmas, crushed pineapple, People commonly