ilovemaui

dolciani, we spent a lot of time a little money a the Aloha Stadium Flea Market on Oahu. They have it 2 or 3 days a week. Vendors from all over the islands have booths with everything from nuts & fruit to Hawaiian gold jewerly to luggage! It was huge and many of the items were EXACTLY the same (brands and everything) as what you would spend in resort gift shops. My daughters loved all the local artists drawings and carved wood sculptures and serving bowls. We even found music CD's of local musical artists. IT HAS EVERYTHING! Hope this helps!

Tasha440

Would you say that the Kahului flea market on Maui compares to the one on Oahu as far as what they offer? I'm interested in a Hawaiian quilt and some nice souvenirs as described in ilovemaui's description of the Aloha Stadium flea market's offerings. Thanks!

suze

Kukui Lotion, just discovered on this one on my last trip, but you'll see it many places including the airport. It's lovely body lotion that is made from native nuts etc.

Beanie39

I brought back coffee from Kauai Coffee Company and got rave reviews.

crefloors

T-shirts at Sherri Reeves shop in Makawao on Maui. They are not the cheap ones but the are just gorgous!!! If I'm not in the islands to buy at her shop, I order new ones every couple of years..just love them in the summer. She also does tile, earrings..the colors are fabulous. I also bring back lotions and perfume. I haven't been able to get back to the Islands for a couple of years now, but found the website for my body lotions. Plumeria..Yumm. You can also find Hawaiian jewelry at Costco.

mahina

My favorite place on Oahu for things for the house and for family and friends is Nohea Gallery, hands down. They have real Made In Hawaii things, not made in China and the Phillipines. I got a beautiful Hawaiian Koa wood box for 30% less than I saw one for(that wasn't nearly as pretty as mine) at Ala Moana center and in Maui. They sell mostly to locals so the prices are really good, and the things are BEAUTIFUL! I got really pretty earrings for $15.00 that were made there, silver ones and pretty glass ones too. I love that place and wish they had more things on their website (noheagallery.com) but OH WELL I'll just have to go back to Hawaii one day!

lindsayjoy77

If you are on Maui on a Saturday morning, check out the swap meet in Kahului. It is from 7 to 12 and cost 50 cents to get in. I found lots of stuff there for really good prices. I got shirts for 5 for $10.

Natelem

Aloha, and hello,

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HunyBadger

Being from there, I always ask for poha jam/jelly which I have not found on the East coast(where I live now). Most everything else can be bought online these days.

Some very, very fine gifts would be shell necklaces made on Niihau or Hawaiian heirloom gold bracelets with black etching of a name in hawaiian or sweet phrase like "ku'uipo" (=my sweatheart).

Personally I would stay away from big quilts. The authentic ones are very $$ because they are made by hand. That said, you can still get cheap imitations that are lovely for potholders etc. I figure the imitations are fine if you're going to be hard on them...leave the authentic ones to be cherished and passed down, as they should be.

On those same lines, I perfer to bring back hawaiian quilt print trivets made of ceramics with a wooden base. They are colorful and useful, besides only being ~$20.

olesouthernbelle

Natalem: This is a sharing board, not an advertising one.

L84SKY

If you know some gardeners Birds of Paradise seeds might be good for them. The seeds are very colorful and pretty and run about $5 in the tourist places but at Walmart they were $1.88 a pack. At that price I brought back enough so my mom could share them with her garden club. Everyone gave them to was delighted with them. Most people didn’t know that the plant was grown from seeds and not a rhizome. It says on the package that they can be grown indoors. I also brought back an orchid for a friend who was having a birthday. All the plants are clearly labeled and inspected .

Like others have said, there are many artists on the islands so it’s easy to find jewelry, woodcrafts and pottery etc made by a local artist.

My husband loved the cookies I brought him from the Big Island Candy Company in Hilo.

L84SKY

BTW- I developed quite a little addiction to Wasabi Macadamia nuts and brought some back for a friend who also likes hot food.

Sarah

leis from china town, quilts for wall hangings are quite dramatic, shop around for good price. Beyond this I send people restaurant gift certificates to Roys in their home state if they have one. If you have AMEX miles you get the best bargain for these.

Might want to explore the more dominant ethnic group items here, Japanese. Shirokiya in alamoana has a lot of nice items. I like the wooden folk dolls that come in several price ranges. You want to remember there are more Hawaiians in California than in Hawaii. This impacts the folk art items you would traditionally shop for.

kauai_aka

Save the time by not shopping while on your trip and get it on ebay. You can get a case of wasabi peas, hawaiian print lanyards and kona coffee, etc. I bet it’s cheaper too. And no I’m not a seller. If it positively, absolutely has to be from hi where it’ll take up more space in your luggage, go to the swap meet at aloha stadium.

Heck, by the original post date, I’d say the gifts are probably collecting dust or in some landfill anyway.