Two Hawaii cities among the costliest for Christmas
University of Hawaii at Hilo student Alec Hill of Fresno, Calif., and his mother, Pat Hill, stocked up on supplies for his apartment at the Hilo Walmart on Sunday after flying in earlier that evening. Their arrival coincided with then-Tropical Storm Flossie as it approached Hawaii island.
Hilo, Hawaii is the second-costliest place to celebrate Christmas in the U.S., according to online personal finance site Nerdwallet.com.
The average family of four in Hilo will spend $1,172.02 for the average cost of gifts, decorations, greeting cards, flowers, Christmas tree, cost of food, four movie tickets, bottle of wine.
That is second only to the $1,293.93 of average holiday spending in New York (Manhattan).
Honolulu spending is ranked 10th in the nation, at $1,037.62, behind Brooklyn, New York, Boston, Mass., and Stamford, Conn. at No. 5.
Providence Rhode Island was 6th, followed by Fairbanks and Anchorage Alaska, and Portland, Ore., in 9th place.
The cheapest U.S. city in which to celebrate Christmas with the identical shopping list, is McAllen, Texas, with an average cost of $717.87.
http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/shopping/2014/spending-cash-christmas/
