Many Waikiki hotels has lesson on lei making and other cultural activities – free to their guests. Check them out. Fun, fun, fun.

Hyatt Regency Waikiki
Lei Making Demonstration
Learn to make your own traditional Hawaiian lei. Our Hawaii family resort offers a Lei Making Demonstration every Friday from noon to 2:45 p.m. on the second floor of the Ewa Tower in back of the ground floor escalator. Visitors can take part in the demonstration and make their own lei as well.
http://waikiki.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/activities/kids/family.jsp

Outrigger Waikiki
Specialty Lei Making
Every Tuesday, 9:30 am -10:00 am
Outrigger Waikiki Lobby
Weave special lei using a technique called Hilo, using ti leaves
http://www.outriggerwaikikihotel.com/events.cfm

Outrigger Reef on the Beach
Arbor Day Celebration (Kumula’au)
(November 6, 2008)
Celebrate Arbor Day and learn about Native Hawaiian plants, with a special focus on the kukui nut tree. Guests are invited to enjoy kukui lei making and a demonstration of la’au lapa’au. Guests can also pick-up a free plant while supplies last. For more information, please call 808-924-6007.
http://outriggerreef-onthebeach.com/local_events/local_events.cfm

Hilton Hawaiian Village

Here are a few tricks to reduce cost and increase impact with your hotel flower arrangements.

1. Categorize your current flower arrangements. Put them into three categories: 1. Background arrangements, 2. Close proximity arrangements, 3. Focal arrangements

2. Arrangements that are on a side nitch, side table, along a pathway are usually good to have but not necessary. This type of arrangements are the least effective since they are located either in the background or along a path way. Do a test, take them away for a few days and see if anyone noticed. If no one did, hurray! An instant floral budget saving. If you are a little concern about the empty nitches or side tables, you can replace the arrangements with live indoor plants such as orchids or greens.

3. Instead of having a large arrangement behind the front desk staff, place a smaller one right on the counter where guests can appreciate the flowers up close. Size them down and move them closer. Close proximity arrangements impress the guest the most. Small exotic arrangement on the coffee table or the concierge desks are good places for this close proximity arrangements.

4. If you have a few arrangements in the lobby but none of them really stand out, think about reducing the number to just one or two larger one. These couple focal arrangements should wow you guests. Don’t settle on ordinary arrangements, with your saving from step 2 and 3, you can have exotic flowers for your focal arrangements. To maximize the effectiveness of it, pick spots so that the arrangements can be seen from many directions and from far and near. Pick spots that the guests can get up close to appreciate the flowers.

5. A small arrangement in the bathroom can make a great impression on your guests. Try ask your florist to throw this in as a freebie. Nothing fancy. A few anthurium in a special vase can be easy enough.

6. Guests appreciate seeing different flowers. The orchid, red anthurium sometimes is just too ordinary. So go for broke when it comes to using exotic flowers. Try protea, pin cushion, beehive ginger, tower ginger, purperia, caribaea or dendrobium.

Don’t you just love the Aloha Festival Floral Parade . 62 years since the first and still better than ever.  It is only one of the many events of the Aloha Festival – a month long celebration of the Hawaiian culture statewide.

It is simply spectacular floral display from head to toes.

Choose a location where family members gather. That way everyone can enjoy the flowers more often. It could be the dining room, kitchen, family room, entrance hallway, sun room. Now look for a spot to place the flower arrangement that is away from foot traffic.

Next you can choose the size and shape of the arrangement. It could be a low arrangement at the center of the dining table, a medium height arrangement in a kitchen nook, or a tall arrangement on a side table at the family room. Make sure the spot is away from direct sun or other heat source. The arrangement will last longer when it is located at a spot with a constant cool temperature. Stop by your neighborhood florist and pick out your favorite flowers. Your florist can work with you on flower selections that would meet your budget. A tropical arrangement would match any island home decor. You’re not stuck with the standard red ginger, bird of paradise and anthurium. Your florist can introduce you to the helicornia, protea, pin cushion, beehive ginger, tower ginger, purperia, caribaea and dendrobium. If tropical arrangement is too much of a just look-so-the-same to you, your florist can introduce you to a variety of seasonal flowers such as peonies, cherry blossoms, godetia, daffodil and narcissus. Some flowers were seasonal but are now available year round, such as the tulips, roses, Gerbera Daisy, Freesia, Alstromeria, mums. Carnation, Iris, and Ranunculus. Enjoy your flowers.

For a Chinese funeral, it is best to send a wreath or flower arrangement of white and yellow chrysanthemum. For a more traditional Chinese funeral, thorny flowers such as roses should be avoided. And when the deceased  are more than 80 years old, brigher flowers are appropripriate.  Ribbon banner naming the senders and their relationship to the deceased are often draped across the arrangement. Usually the banner is written in Chinese, so ask ahead if the florist can provide Chinese calligraphy service.

Often time the obituary notice may say “No Flowers” This is more often just a directive to the general public. Extra flowers from the general public may require extra transportation expense to move the flowers after the ceremony. Closed families and friends are often okay to send flowers but just check with the family to make sure.