Hawaii 2015 – Christmas Eve and Day
Hawaii is one of my very favorite places! My branch name, Pineapple Escapes, centers around my love for Hawaii and all things pineapple — including my beloved Dole Whip!
We took the trio to Hawaii for the first time over Christmas in 2015 and we loved every minute! It was definitely a Mele Kalikimaka year!
We flew out on Christmas Eve and arrived in Honolulu in the late afternoon. We rented a minivan and headed to our hotel, as we were leaving the airport, this rainbow was one of the first sights we encountered. What’s not to love?!?
We checked in and then headed straight for Waikiki Beach. Even though we were exhausted from a long travel day, the sun was still shining and we wanted to see Diamond Head and walk on the sand for our Christmas Eve festivities.
Watching the sunset on the beach on Christmas Eve was a great way to start our trip!
We had already celebrated Christmas at home and asked Santa to come early with gifts for the trio. Our gift to them was our trip, but Santa still brought the traditional three gifts that he brings at our house and we gave gifts for our trip – sunglasses, Aloha themed clothing, etc. The trio was thrilled that Santa still managed to find them and leave a little something in Hawaii on Christmas morning. It wasn’t much – a Disney gift card for souvenirs at Aulani, a travel game, and a card, but they were over-the-moon thrilled. There isn’t anything quite like the joy of kiddos on Christmas morning!
We spent Christmas morning at the beach, enjoying the lagoon by our hotel and the ocean. I did make my trio pose with Santa hats and sing Mele Kalikimaka and recorded it for all eternity. The Santa hats were inspired by my bestie, Laura, who had been in Hawaii the previous year on Christmas day.
We spent the afternoon exploring, eating shave ice, and finding Christmas trees!
One of my very favorite photos of Clara was taken that afternoon!
That evening, we headed back to the beach, played with our new travel games, and watched the fireworks from right outside our hotel.
It was truly one of our most magical Christmas days! If I could go back in time and be right there, I would do it in a heartbeat! Even better, we still had nearly two full weeks left in Hawaii after Christmas!
To be continued…
