As I had learned last year, the Christmas season doesn't quite feel like Christmas in Maui. It's not cold. I'm not surrounded by holiday cheer and overly decorated stores, houses, and people :-/. Living in Hawaii, it's a little bit of groundhog day. A beautiful, wonderful groundhog day. Every day seems the same. The seasons don't change. The only seasons we have is Whale season, and not whale season. So when Christmas comes, it just doesn't seem like it. Here are a few Christmas celebrations Maui style:
My employer, Hula Grill, is closed only twice a year. Christmas day and for the employee Christmas party. This year's Christmas party took place on another island. Lanai is an island close by Maui. It is not very developed. Only a few hotels and businesses, it is more of a place to just get away and enjoy the solitude. It is where many locals go for a small vacation from their life on Maui. So Hula Grill paid for 2 major catamarans to get us over to Lanai and provide games and food for everyone while on Lanai.
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| The ride over |
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| My "work hubby" |
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| Suit twins |
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| I taught a few some Zumba moves, like how to vibrate |
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| You can see my skin flapping around from my vibrating. Picture how a massage chair vibrates, but creating that vibration through your whole body. Not very good looking in a bikini but really fun.. haha |
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| The Teralani catamaran staff provided lunch and we had our Employee meeting. They announced the Employee of the Month(s) and the Employee of the Year |
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| Games |
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| Hop to the center on one foot and bend down and pick up the bag with your teeth and take it back to your group. I won :) |
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| Bronson did a flip while on one foot over to our group :) |
On the ride back to Maui we saw whales breaching and spouts close by! It was really fun to see them from the ocean and not from a beach! The ride back from Lanai is after plenty of employee drinks, so the boats were rowdy and really funny. Ask me more about that in person if you're interested ;)
After we returned to Maui, we continued to an after party at a coworker's Lahaina ocean front house. It was so cool! I love experiencing a real down to earth, surfer's home life. Huge windows, dirty carpets, string of lights, sarongs and surf boards hung up for decoration, speakers outside, chairs along the ocean, carpet laid over uneven walkways lining the ocean break. That is a real local's house and I enjoy how homey and comfortable these places are. After that, we after-after partied at a bar, Paradise Grill. It only happens once a year when all of the employees are off on the same evening and available to play (hang out). And luckily there was a DJ that night. So I took to the dance floor for most of the evening. I literally danced that entire day. On the boat over, on the beach, the boat ride back, at the Lahaina house, and now to a DJ at Paradise. The next day my feet were literally raw from so much dancing. The Christmas party also too place after a few consecutive nights of going out dancing (Bachelorette party and Jon's Christmas party)
I am so blessed to be provided a free catamaran cruise to a traditional Hawaiian calm island, given food, entertainment, and fun memories. Hula Grill allowed this. They are such a good company that really care for their employees. I am lucky God gave me this job, it has completely made my Maui experience. My life here would be really different if not for this company and the people I have met through it.
Jon's Christmas party took place at the restaurant, Pineapple Grill. I do not have many pictures because our camera got locked up in the office before Jon could get it out for the evening. But an over view of the evening:
It was a much more mainland styled Christmas party. It had a Roaring 20's theme with a best dressed award of which I was apparently runner up.... psh! There was an open bar with a few free drink tickets. The food was amazing. Bottomless wine during dinner. And a DJ with a dance floor. BUT Jon had to manage that night. He had to make sure everyone stays in check, help set up and break down. He couldn't really partake in the party. So I made some friends. And just danced the night away. The DJ started, and no one was dancing. So I took off my heels and grabbed my other darling blonde friend that I just met and started the dance party. A people few at a time joined in and then it was raging. The remainder of the evening my dance partner was a 3 year old little boy (Jon had definite competition). He was in a darling little suit and couldn't help but wiggle to the music. So I took his hands and we danced for a good... 2 hours maybe?? hahah. It kept the random guys away from trying to hit on me since I didn't have my man to dance near by, and I enjoyed every minute of it! After my dance partner had to go home because it was bedtime, another guy said to me, "I have to give you props, you were THE first one on the dance floor and you are STILL dancing!" I was like... "that's how I do!"
Forgive the zombie eyes, my iPhone's camera tends to create white pupils instead of red...?
Oh ya, and Jon won Most Improved Employee. You can see that through how he moved up to management way before others who had been there for way longer :) hehe. They love him there.
Since Hula Grill also closes the restaurant for Christmas Day, us employees who are family-less were able to gather and celebrate together.
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| Christmas Eve church service with Hula dancers |
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| Candle lit Christmas Eve service |
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| Christmas morning with Jon at Pineapple Grill |
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| Sporting our new Christmas presents from Jon's brother Casey (our shirts) |
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| Jon had to manage Christmas evening so I went to a friends house for a traditional and Italian styled dinner |
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| My friends are my family during the holidays |
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| Playing a game where someone writes up a bunch of famous names and you stick it on your forehead and have to guess who you are |
The night ended in more games and wine. The police even came to shut down the party, ON CHRISTMAS?! It was midnight and some one called in a noise complaint because we got really into catch phrase... our favorite game.
That's how it's done in Maui. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. The holidays are a hard time for us transplants, missing our families and traditions, but I thoroughly enjoyed my Maui celebration of Christmas. Keeps the mind off things :)
Maui No Ka Oi
