A Helemano holiday gift
Friday - November 30, 2007
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If you’re looking to cut the holiday stress in your life this year, and to find gifts that are high-quality, locally made, inexpensive and already wrapped, then I might have found the perfect solution.
Helemano Plantation is one of my favorite spots on the North Shore, not least because the restaurant has some of the most delightful, enthusiastic staff on the island. Within the plantation grounds, a gift shop and bakery carry a surprising range of gifts perfect for the holidays - especially if you want gifts that are easy to mail and carry a taste of Hawaii with them.
Everything at Helemano is sold to benefit ORI (Opportunities for the Retarded Inc.), so all purchases contribute to the ongoing efforts of the devoted Helemano team headed by Susanna Cheung.
“We tell people to come here and buy from our shops because they’re cheaper than Waikiki,” says the dynamic Cheung with a grin.“And when people actually get here they’re amazed at what we have.”
My own purchases last week included quality T-shirts in every size, from infant to XXL (they’re three for $10 or 10 for $28); hand-cut, made-in-Hawaii wooden puzzles for less than $6; two homemade pineapple pies ($7.50); and boxed Helemano Plantation Coffee and cookies.
If you’re one of the thousands of people who drive past Helemano every week and think of it as just a lunch buffet spot, then please stop and make a visit.You’ll be surprised at what else is there.
“We’re a real working plantation,“says PR director Ron Renshaw of the vegetable gardens that supply the kitchen, the orchard that produces fruits for pineapple and coconut pies, and the shops and bakery that sell a steady supply of baked goods, fresh fruits and crafts.
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Seasonal good buys include Helemano gift boxes like the ones illustrated here. A triple gift tower includes two large pies in a gingham box, two medium pound cakes and a package of coffee in the second box, and four packages of assorted cookies in the top tier box. Brownies and candies are added for the holidays, and the entire package - wrapped and tied with a ribbon - is $38. The pies come from a secret recipe handed down to Cheung by a respected Hawaiian teacher.
“I promised never to sell the recipe or to sell the pies for anything other than our charitable causes,” she says.
A double gift tower (two boxes stacked and containing two medium pound cakes, one package of coffee and four packages of assorted cookies) is just $20. Smaller individual gold-colored gift boxes containing cakes/cookies and coffee are $10.
The programs at Helemano that benefit its clients include day care for the elderly, job-training programs and a residential center where boarders and day care mentally retarded clients live and work.
And if you think the drive is too far, then cast your mind back to last Christmas and the time you probably spent driving around Ala Moana looking for a parking stall. This might just be the perfect way to shop,support a worthy cause and eliminate stress all in one.
“We built the restaurant and the gift shop so we could support ourselves,” says Cheung.“But we also wanted to create a place to give people in the community something special - and value for money.”
Helemano Plantation 64-1510 Kamehameha Highway Wahiawa 622-3929
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