If you’re getting ready for some serious Christmas shopping today, consider ways your choices can make a difference.

Buy a gift for charity, like the Salvation Army’s Angel Trees, which gives presents to those who might not otherwise get one.

If you can, buy the gift from a local small business, and do it in person.

Surely Black Friday at the malls, with the crowds and excitement, is more fun than clicking through Cyber Monday.

‘Moana’ and Hokule‘a share a common theme

Disney’s “Moana,” the animated tale of a young girl called by the ocean to save her people, is a family-friendly mix of imagination and inspiration, with some of the latter drawn from Pacific wayfinding. The Polynesian Voyaging Society weighed in on matters of authenticity.

Its timeless messages about land-and-sea sustainability echo those spotlighted by the society’s Hokule‘a crew as it continues its around-the-globe Malama Honua (“Care for the Earth”) voyage. The film promises to both entertain and create opportunities for educators to engage students in meaningful lessons about the environment and Oceania history.