At-Home Ways to Celebrate

December, 14, 2020

Like many things this year, the holiday season has been impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control has officially stated that minimizing social gatherings, especially for the holidays, is recommended due to health and safety concerns. Even though you may not have the same exact holiday plans as you did in year’s past, this doesn’t mean you can’t get into the festive spirit at home. In fact, there are so many different ways to stay entertained and get in the holiday season. It’s time to get creative this year and come up with some new traditions so we can keep one another safe as we head into the new year. ‘Tis the season!

Bake & Decorate Cookies

Store-bought or homemade, enjoy baking and decorating cookies however you please. Many grocery stores have pre-made decorating kits, or of course, you can bake your favorite recipe. Gather some icing, sprinkles, and candy to let the creative side out.

Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe Here

Movie Marathon with Favorite Treats

Everyone has their favorite movies to watch this time of year. Why not make a day of it? Line up everyone’s go-to movie, get comfy, watch, and enjoy. No movie marathon is complete without your favorite seasonal snacks. Break out those decorated cookies, pop some popcorn, and warm up some hot cocoa or cider.

Top Holiday Movies List

Drive-Thru Holiday Lights Show

While many events have been canceled this year, the holiday spirit has not! Many people are still decorating their homes and bringing magic to the neighborhoods. Take a drive in your neighborhood and town and enjoy the displays. Play some holiday music, and have the added bonus of staying warm in the car.

Top Bay Area Light Displays

Top Big Island Light Displays

Decorate | Go Big!

Since most of us are spending more time than ever at home, why not go all out this year? Put out your tried-and-true decorations to enjoy, and even craft some new ones. Buy a wreath or garland strand from your local tree lot and decorate it with ribbons, ornaments, glitter, etc. Make some new homemade ornaments to jazz up your tree. or even craft homemade cards to display at home and send to loved ones.

Festive Home Decor Ideas

Holiday Nature Walk

Go on a nice, brisk walk or hike, spending time outdoors, while social distancing, is a great way to help break up your day. Many trails and parks are still open or simply take advantage of a walk in your neighborhood. While doing so you can gather pinecones, leaves, branches, to add to wreaths, tables, or trees and decorate the home even more for free.

Bay Area Park and Trail Updates

Big Island Park and Trail Updates

Virtual Party with Contests

Holidays are usually the time of year you can count on getting together with the ones you love. This can still be achieved this year, virtually! You can hop on a virtual video call and have an “ugly sweater” contest, holiday trivia, or best cookie or gingerbread house decorating contest. Keep the video streaming, socialize, and even vote virtually.

Holiday Virtual Party Ideas and Tips

We would love to hear how you and your family are celebrating this year! Let us know below.

Classic Movies and the Big Island

August, 4, 2011

Elvis Presley in Blue Hawaii

Have you ever want to see where Elvis sang “Hawaiian Sunset”? Does the idea of walking along the same beach as Betty Grable or Charlton Heston bring a smile to your face? If you’re visiting Hawaii, you might be interested to see some of the locations where classic films were made on the Big Island.

Because of Hawaii’s unique topographer and lush tropical environments many production companies choose to film here. Features have been set on the Big Island, as far back as 1918 when Paramount made The Hidden Pearls in Kalapana. Below is a list of classic films and the locations where they were filmed.

The Old Man and the Sea: The classic adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel was filmed in Kona in 1958. Spencer Tracy stars in this adventure movie about a fisherman who hooks a gigantic fish that drags him out to sea.

Diamond Head: Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux play the leads in this drama about a US Senatorial candidate who tries to control everything around him and finds out that money and power can’t buy happiness. Hilo, Hanalei, and Kaua’I were some of the locations used to make this film in 1963.

Blue Hawaii: This musical/ comedy, starring Elvis Presley and Angela Landsbury was filmed in Hilo as well as many other locations in Hawaii in 1961. Some of the locations used in the film still look the same as they did in the 60s.

Robert Mitchum and Elsa Martinelli in Rampage

Song of the Island: Betty Grable and Victor Mature star in this comedy/ romance about a young couple falling in love. Twentieth Century Fox made this film in 1941, and used locations in Kalapana.

Rampage: This tense black and white film was made in 1963. Robert Mitchum and Elsa Martinelli play a couple who are on a hunt for a rare breed of panther in Malaysia. Parts of the movie were filmed in Puna

Birds of Paradise: Debra Paget and Louis Jourdan star in this drama/ romance from 1951 about a married couple who have to decide what to do when the island’s holy man tells them a sacrifice needs to be made to appease the erupting volcano. Many locations on the Big Island were used including: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Puna, and Pu’uhonua O Honaunau.

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