How to bring the island spirit into your home and garden for Thanksgiving

Order leis for family and friends. Have them shipped from the islands to your home the day before Thanksgiving. (One island source we’ve used: www.hawaiian-tropical-flowers.com. Or visit www.islandflorals.com, a Southern California-based supplier.

Create a leafy runner for your dinner table. Use ti (“tee”) or banana leaves and snippets of ferns. Add a few anthuriums, dendrobium orchids, or sprays of yellow oncidiums. Some nurseries and florists sell tropicals by the stem at this time of year. Or order direct from the islands from a source such as Hawaiian Tropicals Direct or www.hawaiian-tropical-flowers.com.

Place tiki torches among greenery in your garden, and portable lanterns along the entry walk.

Play Hawaiian music. Some of our favorite CDs: Soliloquy: Ka Leo O Loko, Keola Beamer; Rust on the Moon, Mihana; Black Sand, Led Kaapana; Masters of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar, various artists.

Mix up some mai tais.  Click here for our favorite recipe.