My in-laws are taking the family to Hawaii for their 40th wedding anniversary. I'm looking for gift ideas for them. I thought a nice family picture taken while we're there would be nice but the entire family won't be there so that idea went out the window. Any ideas of something special to give them before we leave or something to do while we're there? We'll be on Oahu and the BI. Thanks everyone!

If it were me I'd like photos...maybe an album or calendar with various photos of the family. You could gather favorites from other family members, scan and assemble. It's a lot of work but would definitely be appreciated (IMO)

On a service like Shutterfly, you can make a digital album. A friend's daughter did one of her semester in Rio and it was really special.

http://www.shutterfly.com/shop/produ...00/Photo_Books

Oh, sorry, I should have said you "make" the album digitally (online) but you actually receive a hard copy.

What are you looking to spend? Depending on your budget, you could buy them a gift certificate to one of the nicer restaurants, like Hoku's on Oahu, or you could treat them to a massage at the hotel spa. If you want something a little cheaper, you could fill a picnic basket with Hawaiian fare (pineapple wine, Mauna Loa chocolate, sweet bread, spam ) and send 'em out to DeRussy Park or Kapiolani Park.

SPAM??? LOL

Why do you say SPAM?

To those who answered my question, thanks, I appreciate all your suggestions. Thank you!

Becasue spam is the favorite meat of Hawaii. Not kidding. I think only Guam consumes more SPAM per capita than Hawaii. You'll find Spam and eggs on all breakfast menus here (including at Mcdonalds!).

I don't know how outgoing your in-laws are but what about a chance to renew their vows on the beach? Maybe followed by a nice dinner..alone. No matter how close your family is, too much "together" on a trip can ruin it. Or what about having a champagne brunch deliverd to their room (although you don't say if you're staying in a hotel or condo)

Treat them to a luau or dinner at a fine dining establishment, like Duke's or Ocean House in Honolulu. Ocean House is in the Outrigger Reef on the Beach resort. Request a table that overlooks the beach so they can watch the sunset. Make sure the waiter takes a picture of them with the sunset in the back ground. There is also a revolving restaurant in the top of a big tower building along Kalakaua Street, but I don't remember the name of the place.

Buy them a nice digital camera with extra rechargeable batteries and memory cards, if they don't already have one.

And, listen to dmlove.... Shutterfly does a excellent job on digital albums & they are very good quality. The one my daughter-in-law did of our trip to the BI & O'ahu is one of the best ever, so many cute designs to chose from.

How about a helicopter ride over the volcanoes for just the 2 of them?

Duke's is really not fine dining. In fact, it has more of a younger crowd.

Our best meals on Oahu were the Friday night seafood buffet at the Royal Hawaiian and the Thanksgiving brunch buffet (they have a lovely Sunday buffet) at the Halekulani. One of the more elegant places to get cocktail is at the Banyan Tree at the Halekulani where a former Miss Hawaii performs beautiful Hawaiian dances.

Our favorite things to do on Oahu were:
1.) Visit the Doris Duke estate which is set beautifully overlooking Diamondhead, and the interiors are beautifully decorated with Islamic and Indian tile.

2.) Driving around the island to visit the blowhole, Hanauma Bay, Na Pali Cliffs, swim at Kailua beach, visit the Byodo-In Temple, and see the Pipeline surfers on the North Shore.

3.) The Bishop Museum has the largest collection of Polynesian artifacts in the world.

4.) We took a tour of Pearl Harbor and the USS Missouri. I know that Pearl Harbor admission is free, but it was nice to have a tour guide brief us with an abridged history of what happened.

5.) I have heard very nice things about the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Also, DH is an history buff. You might gift your in-laws with books about Pearl Harbour, the history of Hawaii, or Polynesian history. DH bought quite a few of these types of books while in Hawaii. For him, it made the trip more meaningful than just taking an island vacation.

On the Big Island, we took two tours with Hawaii Forest and Trail. www.hawaii-forest.com We hiked the beautiful Kohala Ditch Trail, which no they no longer offer. And, we toured the volcano with them. We did not see lava on the volcano tour. I would have taken a helicopter ride to see the lava, but DH is terrified of flying in helicopters.

For the luau, we were guests at Kona Village Resort, so the luau was included in our room rate. But, that is one of the better luaus on the BI. I am pretty sure you would need to reserve the luau in advance.

For restaurants on the BI, we ate at Kona Village Resort because it was included in the daily rate. But, the food was to die for. One night, there was a food festival and we sampled delights from Four Seasons Hualalai. FS was also excellent. Also, I have heard fantastic things about Merriman's in Waimea. Its supposed to be Hawaiian fusion at its best.

We also enjoyed visiting the Place of Refuge and the Painted Church on the Kona Coast. There is some very good snorkelling by the Place of Refuge if you are interested. Place of Refuge is a US National Park that charges admission, but your in-laws probably qualify for a Golden Eagle Pass. So, for a one time fee, they have a pass to go into every National Park in the U.S.

Don't forget, you are going to buy lots of stuff while in Hawaii. DH's favorite shirt was a silk aloha shirt I bought when he was not looking.

As for the scrapbooking, I am old-fashioned. I love digital photography, but I hate digital photobooks.
In BI, I bought a beautiful palm-leaf scrapbook for my Hawaiian photos. It was not acid-free, however. So, I spent some time spraying each page to make it acid free. Out of 200 photos, I printed 36 of the best photos and put them in my scrapbook.

Flying Maltese,
Sounds like we have done the same trip/same things. All your suggestions are great, I forgot about some of the things we had done until I read yours. Everyone told us Duke's was "fine dining", but when we went it was a large buffet. The dessert was elegant & delish! Our week in Kona included a drive around the island & one night in Volcano B&B. Then, after the drive, we took an airplane tour, so it was neat seeing places we had been two days before from a plane. Cost was only about $75 each, nice planes with big windows.

I only have a couple of digital photo albums, much prefer scrapbooks so I can add embellishments & things I pick up. Recently bought a scrapbook & kit at WDW, which should go together quickly, if I can find time!