My parents really enjoy Hawaii and we go quite often! When I was little my grandparents used to rent a condo there and we would spend a week or two having a blast in Hawaii! The luau’s were great: eating food, dancing, wearing leis, and basking in the aloha spirit! My parents even got married in Hawaii, and I think that that is super adorable! My sister and I loved the Luau’s because we got to learn how to Hula (Tasha picked it up a lot faster than me *grins*)!

My family and I just recently went in May of 2013. It was a very nice family vacation because we got a chance to visit with my sister who had been off at university in BC for the year. We did lots of cool and traditional activities like attending luaus, visiting the Polynesian Cultural Center, and my favorite, surfing! I would recommend participating in surfing, it may seem a bit scary at first but you pick it up really fast. With the help of our awesome instructors my sister and I were on the board riding waves like pros (sort of…) after only a couple of tries. My mom found a really nice place to take lessons; it wasn’t busy at all, the waves were the perfect size and it was taught by fire fighters. I know what your thinking, pretty safe… And pretty AWESOME! My dad was a bit jealous after seeing what a great time my sister and I had, so he ended up taking a few lessons near the end of the trip too!

I really love going to Hawaii, the people there are so kind and love to share their culture with you! The first time you realize that you made the right choice about going to Hawaii is the minute you step off the plane and are greeted with a traditional Hawaiian lei. Lei is the Hawaiian word for garland; they are given as a sign of respect and friendship! Leis are constructed of flowers, leaves, shells, seeds or nuts. I really like the seed leis because they don’t die like flowers do, so they make fantastic keepsakes!

Hawaiian Leis on DLTK’s Crafts for Kids