From guest blogger, Stefania Pomponi Butler, of City Mama

My family and I spend just about every Christmas in Honolulu, Hawai’i because I was born there and it’s where my mom lives. For us, Christmas means fresh ahi poke, wearing “formal” flip-flops to parties (you know, the beaded ones), and spending Christmas in our swim suits. Christmas trees are shipped in from the Pacific Northwest and are dried out by the time they hit Hawaiian waters, and there isn’t any snow, but who cares when it’s 80º outside and the heady fragrance of plumeria flowers perfumes the air.

Honolulu is much-maligned for being touristy and crowded, but if you love the energy of big cities combined with a tropical locale, this is the place for you. Even if you aren’t on Maui or Kaua’i, you can still have a relaxing, Hawaiian holiday.

All Honolulu hotels will have listings of holiday events and the concierge can help you secure tickets to events so if you haven’t made any holiday plans, don’t panic, you’ll be well taken care of. But, if you’d like some ideas of where to go and what to do, read on!

If you land in Honolulu with holiday shopping to do, chances are you will end up at Ala Moana Center, Honolulu’s biggest mall and the home of flagship stores for Chanel, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Christian Dior and more. Honolulu is the glittering gateway to Asia, and the stores at Ala Moana cater to O’ahu’s cosmopolitan tourists and discriminating locals. You can drop a lot of cash at Ala Moana or you can simply walk around and enjoy the festivities. Kids can ride the Santa Train or enjoy snow in Hawaii every evening. Check the the site or ask the helpful personnel about special performances on the main stage. Children of all ages will enjoy the nightly pageantry of the Christmas Gift of Aloha show and parade. We spend lots of time at the mall, but we try to time our visit to coincide with one of the fabulous holiday events.

Once it gets dark, you can pile into your rental car or hire a taxi and do the Honolulu City Lights tour. This is a longstanding local tradition. Think about that street in your town that gets really done up for the holidays and you’ll have a taste of what to expect. Times 100. Honolulu’s downtown district—near the state capital building—gets decked out for the holidays with lights, your favorite holiday scenes, and a giant, barefoot, lei-adorned Santa and Mrs. Claus. Touring the area is free, but once you are downtown, be sure to stop by the Christmas carnival where there are rides and delights for kids.

Around the holidays, Honolulu boasts many different concerts and performances. My favorite is the A Cazimero Christmas featuring local musicians The Brothers Cazimero. It has everything a Hawaiian Christmas needs: beautiful music, amazing singing by the Brothers Caz and their guest artists, and plenty of hula. Get your tickets well in advance and enjoy the recently remodeled Hawai’i Theater.

If it’s a big city experience you are after, and you’re in the mood to get dressed up after all those days on the beach, check the schedule for the Honolulu Symphony. From a Motown Christmas to a visit by Burt Bacharach, from classical to pops, there’s something for everyone.

On Christmas Eve, Kawaiaha’o Church, Honolulu’s oldest church, holds two candlelight services. Erected in 1842 by Christian missionaries, Kawaiaha’o Church was built from 1,000 pound coral blocks hewn by Hawaiian chisel-wielding divers. Experience what Christmas is all about in an intimate setting at the “Westminster Abbey of Honolulu.”

For a New Year’s Eve you’ll never forget do what we do and watch the fireworks from the beach. Our favorite viewing spot is right in front of the Kahala Hotel and Resort. All beaches in Hawai’i are public, even the groomed ones in front of the fanciest hotels. If you are lucky enough to stay at the Kahala ask for a beach front room. If you aren’t, bring your champagne out to the beach (look for the public access paths) and watch the fireworks literally burst right over your head. I can’t think of a more magical way to start the new year.

If you don’t want to do anything at all for Christmas but park yourself on the beach, you can do that, too. And remember, locals don’t pack up their towels when it rains, they head into the ocean and wait for the drizzle to pass. They call it “liquid sunshine,” and if you ask me, it’s better than any Christmas tree lights.

Mele Kalikimaka, Haouli Makahiki Hou!

For my birthday this year, I received a Garmin eTrex Legend personal navigator, better known as a GPS device. I asked this for this little wonder, so our family could engage in something called GeoCaching. After a few test runs around our neighborhood, we were ready to take it on vacation, and what better place than the beautiful island of Maui!

Our family loves to travel, but with two kids age 5 and 7, spending long days looking at tourist spots is not going to cut it. And in Maui, too much time on the beach turns us all into lobsters. A mid-day treasure hunt would allow us to learn more about a locale, at the same time providing my kids an outlet for their boundless energy.

Consulting Geocaching.com, an online repository for hidden caches, I downloaded a plan to find a cache in downtown Lahaina. This was not far from where we were staying in Kaanapali, and a quick ride on the West Maui Shopping shuttle put us right behind the movie theater on Front Street, a good starting point for our search.

I already knew from reading the other reports about the cache, that it was hidden close to the Banyan Tree on Front Street. That tree alone is worth a trip to Lahaina – the tree was planted in 1873 and is currently 60 feet high and takes up about 2/3 of a acre at Banyan Tree Park. After snapping the required photo of kids next to one of the huge trunks, we moved away from under the tree (the signal was not able to make it through the canopy) and got a line on our treasure.

We were after a virtual cache, which meant there was no hidden treasure to find, but there was a plaque for us to locate with some significant historical information. We were to find the plaque and email the answer to the question to the cache owner. From Front Street, we headed towards the water, around the side of Banyan Park. On the way, we went past local musicians playing ukuleles, and many island crafters with their wares set up on blankets in the park. As we got closer to the water, we could see the cruise ships out at sea. Our GPS device was telling us we were very close, so we started to look for a plaque. The only one we could find nearby was in front of the lighthouse. And reading the plaque indicated we had found the right place! Our job was to find out how much the Hawaiian caretaker was paid – $20 a year! In addition, we learned that the Lahaina Lighthouse was constructed in 1840 to help navigate the tricky waters through the narrow coral reef. At this point, my kids lost interest and spent the rest of the time climbing on the posts around the lighthouse. However, we decided that all in all, the adventure was pretty successful. The husband and I learned more about our destination and our family had a fun puzzle to solve. As soon as we found it, the kids were asking what our next cache was going to be!

Hawaii’s spectacular natural beauty are no longer just for honeymooners. According to Babycenter’s survey, “beach” is the No. 1 family summer vacation choice (38% of 11312 responses). Hawaii welcomes kids and family with its warm and shallow waters, Hawaiian resorts incorporate natural beauty into fun kids’ program. In the coming weeks, we will pick the best kid friendly resorts or hotels in each island of Hawaii. We are not going to rank the resorts here and you can click on the points on the map and then click on the photos t0 read hotel reviews.

Interactive Map: Best Kid Friendly Resorts in Kauai, Hawaii

In the interactive map above, we can see most of the hotels are around the two best beaches in Kauai: Hanalei Bay Beach in the north and Poipu Beach in the south. Poipu Bay Golf Course has hosted the star-studded PGA Grand Slam of Golf for 13 consecutive years. While there are a few on the east part of the island which is relatively closed to the airport. Except of Hanalei Colony Resort, all other hotels have children’s pools, or keiki pools; kids under 17 (or 18) can stay with parents for free, but room services are mostly avaliable in limited hours.

Highlights for each resort (in thinking to take kids):

• Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa: has a 150 feet water-slide which makes it kids’ paradise; 24 hours room services, complimentary daily continental breakfast in Regency Club, afternoon cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and upgraded room amenities; Camp Hyatt for kids 3.5 – 12 years old.
• Sheraton Kaua’i Resort: Playstations in game room, kids (under 12) eat free at Shells; access to Kiahuna Beach; Most rooms are connected to others by a lock-off, which are good for families needing multiple rooms.
• Marriott’s Waiohai Beach Club: Access to Poipu Beach Par and Poipu beach, full kitchen with cookware and tableware in guest kitchen.
• Hilton Kauai Beach Resort: Complimentary scuba lesson in pool; has a sandy beach pool and water slide.
• Aloha Beach Resort Kauai : Access to Lydgate Beach Park, has restaurant where kids under 12 can eat free; Sony PlayStations in every room.
• Hanalei Colony Resort: Free maid service twice a week, fully-equipped kitchens(lack dishwashers) in guess kitchen.
• Kauai Marriott: Spectacular circle pool; Nintendo in rooms.
• Princeville Resort: 24h room services; access to Pu’u Poa Beach, keiki program for kids from 5 to 12.
• Poipu Kai Resort: access to Brennecke, Poipu Beach and Shipwreck Beach.
• Kiahuna Plantation Resort：Access to Kiahuan Beach, has a sand-lined pool.

We are researching for the best kids’ clubs and kids’ programs provided by family friendly hotels/resort on each Hawaii island. Camp Hyatt of Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort and Spa (formerly as Hyatt Regency Kauai) is one of the top picks for Kauai.

Grand Hyatt Kauai is in Poipu which is to the south of Kauai island. The hotel has beautiful grounds and was voted as “Best for Romantic” in 2006 by tripadvisor members. One of the highlight is the Anara Spa which Grand Hyatt Kauai has spent millions to expand and which will be completed sometime this year. Camp Hyatt Kauai operates from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. It provides various activities to kids from 3 1/2 to 12. Full day admission is $70 (with lunch), half day without lunch is $45 and with lunch is $55. Night camp is perfect for parents who want to some quality romantic getaway, $10 per child, per hour.

It is difficult to get program reviews since the participants are kids. Here are some reviews by parents I collected in my research:

“…We had two kids ages 4 and 7 with us. They went into Camp Hyatt for one day. The price was about 75.00 per child including lunch and there were about 8-10 kids in the camp with two to three helpers. They both said it was fun. They made crafts, painted t-shirts, watched a movie, ate a nice lunch, and swam in the pool….”

“…Camp Hyatt is very-well run (same director for 16 yrs) and our kids had a good time there doing Hawaiian themed crafts and playing games…. “

Besides the camp, it is the water-park (pools) that makes the Hyatt Kauai our top choice. There are salt water lagoons and freshwater river-like pools. The upper swimming pool is for adults and the lower pool is an “action pool” with a volleyball net, waterfalls, spas, and an area for children. The connector between two pools are the undoubted kids’ favorite -a 150-foot water-slide. Activities includes drifting gently on a floating chair, taking a two-person kayak or taking snorkeling and diving lessons from experienced instructors. Be sure to explore the pools and there are surprises on the islands. What’s more, a white sandy beach, Shipwreck Public Beach, is adjacent to the resort. Note: all the water activities is no lifeguard on duty, kids must be accompanied by an adult. The water-park is open from sunrise to 8pm.

Photo courtesy of Sumomo-Chan

What about babies and toddlers? The website says the resort provides babysitting services and I have emailed to request detailed information. Will update once I get the reply.

With the camp and the pools to kids, we picked Hyatt Kauai as one of the top choices for family vacations in Kauai.

Quick Facts:

• Rooms: 603
• Restaurants: 7
• Pools: 3
• Average prices: Spacious rooms (600 sq. ft.) are $430-$910. Suites (866-2,463 sq. ft.) are $1,540-$5,140. (an early departure fee might apply.)