Oh, Hawaii the perfect vacation spot for just about anyone, and what Hawaiian vacation would be complete without souvenirs? While vacationing you will find ample opportunity to pick up souvenirs to bring back home to your loved ones.
Hilo Hattie’s is the big souvenir store. Unlike, the name suggests there are not located strictly in Hilo. It’s a big chain store that has several locations on just about all of the islands. Hilo Hattie’s is famous for all different types of souvenirs, but their crowning glory is, of course, the Hawaiian shirt. Every tourist needs a Hawaiian shirt. You will also find the other stapes, such as homemade chocolate covered macadamia nuts. These are sure to please every grandma. They also have a wide assortment of hula dancing dolls, perfect for your brother-in-law.
They have the standard dash board version, as well as the world famous hula lamp. I was surprised by the extreme variety available in the hula lamp. You can find cheap plastic hula lamps for as little as about thirty dollars; and the hand crafted more classy (if there is such a creation) hula lamp that can be as much as two hundred dollars.
Perhaps the goofiest souvenir, in my opinion, is a real live coconut. You can actually ship a real coconut back home to the continental United Sates. It usually costs about thirty bucks. I say, save your money, I’d rather have the dash board hula dancer. Coconuts are not the only live things that are frequently shipped from Hawaii as souvenirs. The live lei industry is very profitable in Hawaii. You can have a fresh flower lei sent back to grandma to go with those macadamia nuts.
Tiki statues are another popular Hawaiian souvenir. Hawaiian legends say than the ancients, who carried a Tiki statue with them experienced, an immediate run of good fortune. Today, you can find these statues just about anywhere. My favorite is the tiki statue that doubles as a bottle opener. You can have good luck while drinking your beer.
Ukuleles are another popular Hawaiian souvenir. These are miniature guitars that have been prevalent in Hawaii since ancient times. Again, just like the hula lamp, you can spend anywhere from about thirty bucks and up (really up). Some of these Ukuleles actually cost thousands of dollars. The work ukulele actually means “jumping flea” in Hawaiian. This refers to the way the player would strum around the strings.
There are many different souvenir shops on all of the islands from which to choose your gifts. In addition to Hilo Hattie’s, there is the old stand by the ABC store. This isn’t the type of ABC store that you think of on the mainland. It’s really just like a convenience store molded into a souvenir shop. They are on just about every corner in Honolulu. Another spot for cheap souvenirs is the flea market on Oahu. It’s located in the parking lot of a stadium on the northern side of Oahu. Here you can find everything from knock off purses to hand carved tiki statues. Whatever you are looking for, Hawaii is sure to please.