Any one have any advice on when to purchase airline tickets to Kona HI for the Christmas 2013 holiday? Wondering if we should bite the bullet this far in advance(April 2013) or if there is ever a chance of them going down?

It would probably help if you said where you were flying from and what you found, rate-wise.

Flying from Seattle. $1025 RT the cheapest right now(not direct).

Which airline has that price? In general, from Seattle Alaska and Hawaiian have the best prices. United occasionally puts tickets on sale - you fly through SFO or LAX into Kona.

My friend told me she bought tickets for Kona for June for about $750 and I thought she was nuts because she should be able to get them for $450 or less. But then I went and checked and they were high all the way through August. It's really a hard call but I think I personally would wait because $1025 is on the crazy side. I think you'd have a good chance of bringing that price down and it sure as heck can't get much worse (can it?).
I bought tickets last year for Oahu Oct/Nov for $400 and I know I didn't buy this early in the year though I can't remember when I did.

pdx, yes, prices can get higher. Last year when I was looking for tickets SEA to LIH, the fares were in the $1400 range on United (and they only went higher!). We eventually got two first class tickets in Alaska for $1600 using the companion fare.

Do you know about the Alaska Air companion fares, Giwi? Get their credit card and you can get a companion fare for about $100.

Fares will be high for the December holiday period, it is the nature of the game.