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Kailua Hawaii Holiday Ornament - Mokulua Christmas Canoe

Kailua Hawaii Holiday Ornament - Mokulua Christmas Canoe

Regular price $28.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $28.00 USD
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A fir tree, lights and all, riding an outrigger canoe across the bay toward the Mokes. It looks like a joke. In Hawaii it's closer to the truth than you'd think.

Christmas in Hawaii arrives by sea. Growers in Oregon and Washington load fir trees into refrigerated containers each November, and shippers have been bringing Pacific Northwest trees to Hawaii for more than a century — the arrival of the "Christmas tree ship" is a holiday marker of its own. Out on the water off Lanikai sit the Mokulua: Moku Nui on the left with its two humps, Moku Iki on the right, the twin islets everyone in Kailua simply calls the Mokes. They lie about half a mile offshore, a state seabird sanctuary ringed by reef.

So the tree has come a very long way. The canoe is just the last half mile. Nobody actually paddles a Christmas tree out to a bird sanctuary, of course — but on a calm December morning, with the trades down and the naupaka blooming at the edge of the sand, you could almost picture it.

For windward families, Lanikai regulars and anyone who has paddled out to the Mokes.

A three-inch faceted crystal ornament, the art printed on a white backing so the line work stays crisp and the facets catch the light. It comes in a white or gold gift box, ready to give, and is printed to order in the USA. Drawn as an 1880s-style engraving; the tree and its lights are the only color.

3-inch faceted crystal glass · white-backed print · white or gold gift box · printed to order in the USA


QUICK FACTS — KAILUA HI CRYSTAL ORNAMENT — MOKULUA CHRISTMAS CANOE

Town: Kailua, Hawaiʻi

Founded: Settled c.500 AD; Lanikai 1924

Known for: Kailua Beach, the windsurfing capital of the world; Lanikai and the Mokulua Islands; Kawainui, Hawaiʻi’s largest wetland

Art: Mokulua Christmas Canoe, original Merlin Classics engraving

Blank: 3-inch (76 mm) round clear crystal glass ornament, faceted gem-cut edge

Print: white-backed for contrast; red ribbon hanger

Packaging: white or gold gift box, chosen at checkout

Made to order in the USA



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Wear Local. Feed Local. Stay Classic.

Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

Kailua's name means ‘two seas,’ for the two currents that meet across its broad windward bay, and people have lived along that bay for many centuries. Native Hawaiians settled the fertile lowland behind the beach, farming taro in the wetlands of Kawainui — the largest ancient marsh in the islands — and raising fish in walled coastal ponds. Above the marsh still stands Ulupo Heiau, a massive stone temple platform whose terraces were laid by hand long before Western contact and are preserved today as a state monument. This was rich, settled country: water, fishponds, taro, and a sheltered bay, all held in by the green wall of the Koʻolau Range that rises sharply behind the town. From the water it is an unmistakable place — a wide blue bay, a green ridge, and a low, fertile plain in between, the kind of setting that draws people and holds them.

Today Kailua is loved for exactly what it has always been: a windward Oʻahu beach town that stayed itself. Its days run on sand and trade winds — paddling out to the Mokes, swimming off Kailua Beach Park, hiking up to the pillboxes, and a walkable town center behind the dunes that never tried to become Waikīkī. Our Kailua designs gather that into wearable form. Wear the windward life. Two seas, one beach town.

Why People Visit Kailua

Kailua blends scenic windward beaches with deep Hawaiian heritage. Visitors come to swim, paddle out to the islands, and hike to a pillbox view, then slow down in a town that stayed local. It is picturesque, approachable, and meaningful to the island families who call it home — natural beauty and everyday culture side by side, with year-round appeal in its parks, paths, and shoreline.

Kailua Hawaii Merlin Classics retro logo — Hawaiian hibiscus, 1795 Kamehameha unification