Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So I have CA friends that come every Christmas and I take them to my favorite restaurant every year. Not so this year with the Covid. I thought I would surprise them with a Hawaiian gift basket in July but online sources don't provide much that they couldn't just buy locally so I thought i would try and put together a personalized basket. He was born here but both were raised in TX but live N CA most of their adult life. They travel the world and are top shelf spenders.
Am I fooling myself that I can put together a unique Hawaiian gift basket?
Is the Maui Ocean vodka good or just a tourist gimmick? are their other spirits that would be good?
What would you put in a gift basket from Hawaii? I'm counting on you guys.
Location: Southernmost tip of the southernmost island in the southernmost state
982 posts, read 1,164,105 times
Reputation: 1652
We made gift baskets every Christmas for our mainland family and friends. We didn't thisblastvyeasr as it has gotten crazy expensive to ship (even through USPS).
We would get all sorts of local made foods-honey, coffee, sauces etc from farmers markets and then throw in a bunch of the local kine treats you can find at some of the large grocery stores like li hing mui candies, Yan Yan and other Asian candies.
Surprisingly, most of the low-cost offbeat candy was usually the biggest hit.
Last mother's day my mom was depressed being locked down by COVID in Oregon and unable to see any of her kids, grandkids, great grandkids, etc, so I sent her flowers from Hawaii from here:
They must have a negotiated shipping rate because it essentially didn't cost anything and she LOVED them. She is still talking about them. They aren't sent as a bouquet, but as cut flowers and everything one needs to make a bouquet.
The thought of a gift basket is nice but once you buy everything locally and ship it to them it costs 10x as much as if you ordered the items from Amazon shipped to them directly, so if you are going that route I would try to find as many handmade items as possible that are scarce on the internet, or skip the "basket" and just buy as much stuff as will fit into a flat rate USPS box.
p.s. The high cost of shipping to Hawaii doesn't always work the other direction. I have a negotiated rate through FedEx and other than flat rate boxes or first class the Fedex rates can't be beat. I was recently sending a film projector to Oregon and USPS wanted almost $200, and that wasn't even Priority but some slow boat method. FedEx was about $70, took only 2 days, and the box didn't arrive all banged up like a USPS shipment.
The ocean vodka isn't bad. I bought a bottle at the package store on base after seeing it in an advertisement while flying Hawaiian. It was actually pretty tasty.
I wouldn't think of it as a "unique" basket as almost anything you can put in it can be obtained by your friends off island most likely . . . I even find the ocean vodka here on the mainland. Instead, I'd just consider it a good gesture to give them a taste of Hawaii without having to do any legwork themselves. I know I'd appreciate your efforts, OP
Note, when I'd meet a deploying vessel at a particular port visit, I'd try to bring some Hawaiian brand coffee to the crew, who were heavy coffee drinkers. I think they appreciated the taste from "home."
For “unique” from Hawaii, you could include some crack with your basket.
Crack Seed, that is. I wouldn’t make an entire crack seed basket but maybe throw in a little to round out the basket since your friend was raised on island.
I used to go to the various art/craft fairs around Honolulu (Kapiolani and Ala Moana Park in the old days) and would find beautiful items for gifts. Some I liked so much they were never given to the person I had in mind ... for shame! Maybe a koa wood bowl if you can find the right size and fill it with a few things hand-crafted in Hawaii - a small decorative box, koa key chain, or coffee mugs hand-crafted by local artists. Maybe a couple of hand towels for the kitchen, locally made.
We made gift baskets every Christmas for our mainland family and friends. We didn't thisblastvyeasr as it has gotten crazy expensive to ship (even through USPS).
We would get all sorts of local made foods-honey, coffee, sauces etc from farmers markets and then throw in a bunch of the local kine treats you can find at some of the large grocery stores like li hing mui candies, Yan Yan and other Asian candies.
Surprisingly, most of the low-cost offbeat candy was usually the biggest hit.
Hadn't considered the cost of shipping. I will probably be in the mainland for the summer so will probably take my stuff back in free luggage and deliver from there. Guess I need to check out the KCC market to see when they are open. They are not Asian so not sure about the local sweets. I'm a peanut butter cup guy and the few local sweets I tasted were off putting. Good suggestion on the farmers markets.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
