Hawaiian leis! Ladies....need to find them cheap...any suggestions??
 

Hey Ladies!

Kent spent a horrific amount of money last year on leis ($10) and I KNOW that I can get them for cheaper than that. I spent $3 each on them when I was VP Membership at Akron and cannot remember what the place was called or even what the number was since it was 3 years ago. So....if anyone has any idea where to get them cheaper or has access to a recruitment chair that is using the lei ceremony this year, please let me know ASAP. We have recruitment starting in 3 weeks and need to get them ordered! Thanks!!
LITB,
Andrea

Wow, you let me know when you find the $3.00 place...$10-$15 seems to be all I can find when I google.

Pardon the crash, but here's a helpful tool...

If you do a Google for 'hula supplies' -- it'll take you to a number of reputable stores here in Hawaii. Some have websites, but my suggestion is to just go ahead and call the store to see what they have. Real flower lei go for as little as $3 here, you may get them for that price, maybe even cheaper.

Try Oriental Trading

Thanks for the suggestion, but we are looking for real flower leis...OTC is great for little trinket ones...but they just won't do for such a special night. ;)

I know we always had ours flown in from Hawaii, but I have no clue how much they were :confused:

The more exotic and rare the flower, the more expensive it is.

You can get orchids, tuberose, and carnation lei for $3-$10 each. Anything more than $10 is a rip off for those flowers.

The Chinatown lei vendors always have the best deals. I tend to stay away from Airport/Waikiki vendors.

Do they have to be floral leis? Shipping for real flowers alone would probably kill you. I used to live with a girl from Hawaii and she gave me two gorgeous shell leis. Could you use something like that?

Luckily we have this same discussion on dgrecruit each year :)

Here's the places and info suggested this year (aren't you lucky that I keep so many e-mails? :p )

Lin's Lei Shop
808-523-2930
Purple orchid leis are $3.50 each plus shipping. They are beautiful and last 3 - 4 days if you put them in the fridge.

Mauna Loa Orchids, Ltd.
2801 Kilea Avenue
PO Box 4007
Hilo, HI 96720
800 356-7244 office
800 959-4497 fax
www.maunaloaorchids.com
Approx pricing 60 Lani Leis (35 blossoms per lei) $6.00 ea
You have to pay for ice and boxes and shipping. To New Braunfels (close to Austin) shipping of 2 boxes was $50.00 It is overnight. Ice is $3.50 (they needed 4 packs) and 2 boxes at $5 each were needed.
Talk to Dayln or Crystal.

Hannahgirl -- are you on dgrecruit? If not, I strongly suggest it as they have many great ideas that are shared between chapters! If you don't know how to join, PM me.

Consider that leis can sometime be pretty uncomfortable to wear. They can itch and poke around the neck, and some people are sensitive to the smell so close. We honeymooned in Hawaii and they dole those puppies out at every stop. I was running waway after awahile.

Lin's Lei Shop!!! That was it! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

I was on DGrecruit at one time (when I was VP Membership...3 years ago) but have not subscribed since becoming a Membership Adviser. Maybe I should do that! :p

From a former resident of Hawaii: make sure that you don't wear the lei resting against the back of your neck. It needs to be centered more, a couple of inches off the back of your neck. Otherwise, a triple carnation lei can give you a heat stroke!

SAILOR HATS!
 

Ok.....next thing I need help with. I want to find sailor hats cheaper than Oriental Trading (they come 12 for $19.99). Anybody know? Thanks bunches!

ok we found them for 1.59 each with $10 off for every purchase over $75. So we split them and got $20 off since we needed 8 dozen hats = ) I believe the website was www.ustoys.com

bump! because fall recruitment is sooner than you think!
 

are these lei places still current??

and does anyone have tropical (but elegant, of course) ideas for centerpieces??

and also, how about wholesale tropical fruit? what food did your chapter use with the lei ceremony? I feel like I read somewhere that someone used starfruit?

and what is this dgrecruit? i probably just don't know about it because I'm only a committee member, but I'm still curious!!

AND, if your chapter has done anchor ice sculptures, post them! I've seen the one in the full frills recruitment thread and it's so fun that I'd love to see more!

Lin's is still there! I pass by it every morning on my way to work.

Maunaloa on the Big Island is one of the biggest suppliers of orchids so I doubt they'll be going anywhere anytime soon!

I clicked on the manunaloa website and it took me someplace different. When I clocked on the lei section, they were beautiful, but like $50... am I looking in the wrong spot?

I'd talk to someone over there about pricing as the prices on the website are retail, and not wholesale. You're looking at the more pricey specialty leis.

And it's the Maunaloa website even though it says Orchids of Hawaii. If I'm not mistaken, Maunaloa's the name of the farm -- but still part of the same company.

awesome! thanks!

does anyone have any fruit recommendations?

we used Lin's in the fall and will continue to use them. the lei's come in beautiful and you definately can't beat the price!

as for fruit....i would go ahead and stick with melon, pineapple, strawberries, etc. sometimes if you get too exotic with the food, girls are intimidated to eat it or think you might be doing TOO much to impress them. just a thought.

I have photos of the sculptures and centerpieces from Fall '03 Recruitment for Prefs (they were really nice; Rachel H did a great job as round chair). I will scan and send them to you.

Site for Hawaiian Leis
 

Try this. Tried and true - make your own and save a bundle - very easy to make:
http://www.hawaiiflowerlei.com/lei/orchid.asp

$560 for 35

has a lei making kit for $56 makes 10!!

loose flowers are $26 for 250