Savvy shoppers
avoid holiday
crowds
They are using a lull after
Thanksgiving to begin their
Christmas shoppingNeighbor islands: Kauai | Maui | Hawaii
By Peter Wagner
Star-BulletinThe two sisters, dressed in matching Christmas red, paused on the mall above Center Stage at Ala Moana Center. It was the first in a series of Mondays the pair had set aside, as they do after each Thanksgiving, to eat, laugh and shop their way across town.
"Every Monday we come to a different mall," said Kathy Tagawa, who, like her sister, Judy Kanetake, had a large shopping bag in each hand. But while the mission was aimed at Christmas gifts, just one had found its way into each of their bags.
"It's been a bad day," joked Kanetake.
"We're shopping for ourselves today," noted Tagawa.
The siblings, both from Aiea, knew that Ala Moana, like other malls across the state, would be quiet following a furious weekend. Stores that 24 hours earlier were crammed with customers chasing "post-Thanksgiving" sales were now calm as people ambled by or sat on benches outside.
Taking a breather next to the Louis Vuitton store was Doris Leone, 72, who started Christmas shopping earlier this month on a mainland trip.
But with about 18 gifts to find for everybody from family to the mailman, some heavy browsing lay ahead.
"My strategy is to do a little bit each day for the rest of the week," said Leone, toting a gift for her son -- a golf distance scope.
Friend Liz Butler reached into a bag to show a small black object, light as a feather.
"It's an umbrella," she said. "It folds out into this huge thing."
Leone offered a tip. "Tonight's a good time to shop," she winked. "There's a football game on TV."
Outside Liberty House, Salvation Army kettle worker Sharon Cripton swayed in a subtle dance, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"It's not a hard job," she said. "But it is hard on the feet."
Cripton's kettle was nearly full, about $400 in bills and change by midday. People have been generous, she said.
"Sometimes I meditate," she said. "It helps keep the money coming in."
KAUAI
Last-minute shoppers are
By Anthony Sumner
an island tradition
Star-BulletinIHUE -- Kukui Grove Center lacked only a few tumbleweeds blowing down the mall to keep it from looking like a 50-store ghost town.
"I was on Maui last weekend and it's jumping, but here on Kauai it's dead," said a Kauai shopper.
From Liberty House on one end to Sears on the other, clerks wearily scanned the horizon for customers.
Traffic picked up the first two days after Thanksgiving but by this week only a handful of shoppers roamed the mall.
None carried anything remotely resembling a Christmas bundle.
Out in the parking lot, empty parking spaces abounded.
Christmas lights had been strung but were yet to be turned on. There was no Christmas music in the mall.
"Friday and Saturday were pretty good, but not as big as anticipated," said Melody Stevenson of the Kauai Products store, who had plenty of time to chat on Monday. "I think everyone was worn out from Thanksgiving."
Reminded that the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the biggest shopping days of the season throughout the United States, Stevenson could only shrug.
"This is Kauai," she said.
Kauai shoppers are notorious for waiting until the last minute.
The island's only other major mall, Coconut Marketplace in Kapaa, was equally deserted.
"This is traditionally one of the deadest weeks of the year for us," said Jameson Crowner of the Ship Store Galleries, an upscale art shop. "The week before Christmas we'll be jammed."
The only faint signs of retail life were found at Wal-Mart and Kmart, but there were far more T-shirts than toys going out the door.
One Kauai women's clothing store, Lifestyles Boutique in Nawiliwili, reported booming sales, but not in Christmas gifts. Instead, sales are way up in gowns and other formal wear for the holiday party season.
MAUI
On everyones list
By Gary Kubota
Pokemon or money
Star-BulletinKAHULUI -- Max and Lee Ann Simon of Lanai were browsing this week at Kaahumanu Center, where they usually come to spend a couple of days Christmas shopping.
"We don't have anything like this" on Lanai, Lee Ann Simon said.
The couple, who have two daughters, plan to buy gifts for them and friends and family.
Max Simon, who works as the sous chef at The Lodge at Koele, said he feels confident about the health of the economy, and living on Lanai has its advantages, including cheap rent and not many places to spend money.
Also peering into shops at Kaahumanu Center was Nick Ramos, who works as a maintenance manager in Lahaina.
He and his wife, Kathy, decided to shop in November to avoid the Christmas rush and to enjoy the holiday season.
Ramos said they plan to buy more gifts than last year but the gifts will probably be less expensive.
"The kids are going crazy for the Pokemon," Ramos said.
Robert and Rosemary Howell of Hana were at the Center, but not in search of Christmas gifts.
Robert Howell said he's amazed at the number of people who shop in November for Christmas gifts.
"It seems odd to me," he said. "I can't believe the pack behavior."
Debbie Wallace, a bartender who has dealt with ups and downs in the economy, said she plans to be cautious with her spending this year.
"I'll just limit myself," she said.
Elaine Ishikawa, a retiree, said she has difficulty knowing what her great-grandchildren want for Christmas.
"I just give them the money," she said.
BIG ISLAND
Families enjoy stability
By Rod Thompson
in gifts and economy
Star-BulletinHilo -- Keala Zoll is shopping more conservatively for Christmas this year, largely because her family's biggest Christmas present will be a new car.
Zoll's car will be the family's second and it won't be brand new. But it will be big enough to tow a horse trailer, since the family likes horseback riding.
Nora Galarse of Keaau, just south of Hilo, can afford to be a little more generous this year, because she earned a community college degree in accounting and has found a better job.
Although east Hawaii is still trying to recover from the closing of sugar plantations a few years ago, Christmas shopping in Hilo seems to indicate, if not prosperity, at least stability.
"We always say this Christmas won't be like last year, but it always ends up to be a better one," said Terry Martins of Hilo.
Martins' family has a system for controlling the cost of Christmas presents.
Each year about 20 members of the extended family gather at Thanksgiving, then pick names on slips of paper to decide whom they will give a present to.
With four members in the family -- Martins, her boyfriend, and two children -- they'll be giving four presents. And they will each receive one present from other family members.
Martins and her boyfriend have jobs, but they're just getting by financially. They'll have to budget their money, but Martins still expected this Christmas to be fun.
JoAnn Paiva of Hilo expected this year to be a "practical" Christmas, which is pretty much the way it is every year.
Her son, Allan, mentioned that he got a remote control toy truck once, but an electric drill from Uncle Fred is more typical.
Doug and Norma Smith didn't come all the way from American Samoa to shop. They're visiting Doug's sister and her family. But while they're in Hilo, they're doing some Christmas shopping at Prince Kuhio Plaza mall.
What do the folks back in Pago Pago want? Clothes, clothes, clothes, Norma said.
"We don't have the malls back home," Doug said.