We are spending a week on Oahu and 9 days on Kauai this Christmas season. Does anyone have fond memories of special places/local events they would share with us? Suggestions for a special restaurant for Christmas dinner (with a child). So far like the sound of Green Garden in Hanapepe. We have checked some of the Calendars of Events on the internet and know about the Restaurant Row special event on Dec. 12, the Jingle Bell Run and a couple of Santa parades, e.g. Waimea Dec. 22. More please?

sounds like you are on top of it. Only if you are in the area I would pick up a loaf of Christmas Stollen at The Patisserie 2380 Kuhio Ave in Waikiki or in Kahala Mall. I spent a few holidays there and have never found a Stollen to rival it. I live in NYC now and have opportunities every year to buy stollen flown in from Germany...not as good at all. So pick up a loaf to enjoy with coffee in your room/rental. The islands are wonderful at Christmas. If you are there for the New Years don't think you are being invaded, just a community wide love of fire works chasing out those God awful evil spirts of the old year. OH AND YOU WILL LOVE THE LIGHT DISPLAY AT DIFFERENT MARINAS AND BEST IN DOWNTOWN HONOLULU. Aloha and enjoy.

Kids love those Christmas lights in Downtown Honolulu! You can get on the horse-drawn carriage for extra effect.

What dates, exactly, will you be on each island?

We were on Oahu for Thanksgiving and we went to Yama's Fish Market for plate lunch on the day before Thanksgiving. Locals were lining up to pick up their special haupia pie (coconut cream) which they had special ordered. We wanted one too but they had to be preordered. They looked yummy! I bet they do the same for Christmas and I'd preorder one if I were there!

Yama's Fish Market
2203 Young street, Honolulu
(808) 941-9994

Thanks for so many great ideas and greetings! We are in Honolulu from Dec. 10, going to Kauai on the 17th and returning home to Canada on the 26th. We'll try everything suggested so far, and welcome even more ideas, especially some Kauai suggestions. Anybody tried Green Garden restaurant?
We're really enjoying the planning process and this message board has been very helpful.

Will be envious of you during your visit. We spent the Christmas season last year on Kauai as my daughter and her husband were married on Dec. 20th on Shipwreck. Beautiful ceremony, beautiful island. Would love to be there now!!

Merry Christmas.

You might like restaurants that are beachside, just to remind yourself that you are nowhere near cold weather! The Surf Room at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is nice, especially early in the day. I just had brunch at the Hau Tree Lanai at the New Otani, and unfortunately the service was a little slow...but the ambience was great for tourists!

I like the Kahala Mandarin, and since they have dolphins & fish, your child will like it, too. Hmmm, while we're thinking about fish, you might also want to check out the Oceanarium Restaurant at the Pacific Beach Hotel. The food there is just okay, but that fish tank is something else!!

You will have a great time with whatever you choose to do. Hawaii at Christmas time is wonderful!!Mele Kalikimaka!!! Lee in Austin,Tejas

Aloha. Sounds like a wonderful trip. I would suggest looking at restaurants at a hotel like the Hyatt or Sheraton for Christmas dinner. The Ilima Terrace at the Hyatt does a beautiful buffet. I would imagine that the main restaurant at the Sheraton (Shells?) would too. (The waiters there have always been delightful to our children and it has a gorgeous view.) I suggest these over a restaurant like The Green Garden because the service is great, the food well prepared (and bountiful) and both restaurants work really well for kids. The Ilima Terrace has swans and koi in ponds that border the dining room. My kids find these very entertaining. The wait staff is great. The resort is gorgeous.
The Green Garden is really fun for lunch or dinner on the way back from Waimea canyon. It is funky and a real Kauai institution. I wouldn't choose it for Christmas dinner. (They may not even be open on Christmas.) The restaurant has some character but is a bit ragged around the edges, sometimes a little lacking in aloha, and the food can be uneven. (Think institutional china plates and spider plants hanging and sitting everywhere in old flower pots and jam jars.) Fun, once or twice, but not a place I would choose for Christmas dinner.