Local books that are purchased from, and hence support, local bookstores top this list of gifts that give back to our community — because what’s a community without a bookstore?
“Makahiki” is an ancient festival lasting several months during the rainy season, and “helu helu” means to read, according to the “Illustrated Hawaiian Word-A-Day Calendar” by Kahikahealani Wight, with drawings by Robin Yoko Racoma (Bess Press, $16), which comes attached to a foldable stand that makes it easy to leaf through on a desktop.
The calendar is available from Kaimuki independent bookstore Da Shop (dashophnl.com), along with keiki pleasers like “Honu 5690” by Shaowei Liu (Bess Press, $17.95) and new novels by Hawaii authors such as Scott Kikkawa’s noir “Red Dirt” (Bamboo Ridge, $20).
Mutual Publishing (mutualpublishing.com) and Na Mea Hawaii (nameahawaii.com) also offer a wide array of local books, puzzles and gift items.
Manu means bird, and the prettiest wall calendar for the coming year features 12 colorful paintings of an endangered endemic yellow songbird — the palila. Mililani artist/conservationist Laurie Sumiye’s “Palila Portraits” calendar costs $25; the artist will donate $5 for each one sold online before Dec. 29 to Hawaiian forest bird conservation organizations Mauna Kea Forest Restoration Project, Maui Forest Bird Project and Kauai Forest Recovery Bird Project. Available at lauriesumiyestudio.com.
Also for the birds: O’o Hawaii’s soothing and smoothing face creams, serum and cleansers are certified cruelty-free and made of natural ingredients such as noni, limu, acai, kukui nut oil, manuka honey, mint, cucumber, rose and coconut, in subtle floral and fruity scents and groovy colors like purple, magenta, green and pale lilikoi. Birdseed Detoxifying Face Scrub ($58), containing volcanic rock, coffee and red alaea clay, is gentle but effective. For every online sale, O’o Hawaii donates $1 to the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center Discovery Forest program. The products range from $48 to $65 at oohawaii.com.
Nonprofit Actions of Aloha’s decks of cards, launched in March 2020 as a response to COVID-19, include suggestions for daily positive actions to take, and the A‘a I Ka ‘Olelo Cards, created in partnership with Kumu Kahanuola Solatorio, sport conversational phrases in Hawaiian on one side, and English on the other.
All profits from the $20 decks are donated to local organizations; the group has given $10,000 each to Iolani Palace, Waimea Valley and Bishop Museum. In February, they will give $10,000 to ‘Aha Punana Leo.
For the holidays, new Aloha Action Gift Kits include a journal, essential oil, calendar, language card deck, notecards and more, $75. Go to actionsofaloha.com.
A significant portion of each OluKai footwear purchase goes to its Ama OluKai Foundation, which gives grants to grassroots local nonprofits like North Shore Lifeguard Association, Na Kama Kai, Edith Kanaka‘ole Foundation and Polynesian Voyaging Society. “It’s really about preserving Hawaiian culture and the environment around the culture,” says executive director Dan McInerny. Featuring their trademark insoles that mold to and support the wearer’s feet, waterworthy slippers include the men’s Ulele, $75 (pictured at right); for winter rains, women will dig the waterproof Hawai‘iloa Manu Hope Booties, $150. Available at olukai.com.