Honolulu’s holiday elves are already hard at work

It might still be summer, but we are halfway through the year, which brings us one step closer to the bustling holiday season! While we wrap up our summer vacations and enjoy some time in the sun, the Friends of Honolulu City Lights team has already begun planning for their annual holiday festivities.

Michelle Orian-Lau, a senior communications consultant and board member of The Friends of Honolulu City Lights, has been spearheading Hawaiian Electric’s holiday float and other decorations for the annual Electric Light Parade since she started working at our company.

“I have memories of seeing the Honolulu City Lights with my family growing up. It was always a stop with friends during the holidays when everyone was back from college. Now, I’m taking pictures of my daughter in front of the big tree at the Hale. That’s pretty special,” said Michelle. “At Hawaiian Electric, co-workers from many different departments come together to build our parade float each year. It’s a lot of work but seeing the kids having fun and being excited about being in the parade — it’s totally worth it.”

Hawaiian Electric is a proud sponsor of their year’s Honolulu City Lights festivities, alongside Diamond Bakery! To get into the holiday spirit, Diamond Bakery offered a tour of their factory and Michelle gave our social media team the opportunity to participate. At the tour, we had a brief presentation about the history of the company and bounced around some ideas for Shaka Santa cookies and other holiday events. Additionally, we sampled their Royal Crèmes and ube shortbread cookies while they were still hot and enjoyed the delicious scent of fresh cookies while walking through the factory to see the different machinery and workers, from mixing the batter to packaging all the cookies by hand.

The first time I attended the Honolulu City Lights Electric Light Parade was last year, in 2024, helping to livestream the parade on Hawaiian Electric’s Facebook and Instagram accounts. As parade participants marched through Chinatown and downtown Honolulu, I distinctly remember the Diamond Bakery float, handing out their iconic cookies from a Waikiki Trolley, and being accompanied by an inflatable reindeer. The reindeer made me chuckle, as my fellow colleague, Emily Miyashiro, ended up being dressed as an inflatable light bulb for our float in the parade.

“The holidays are all about giving back and bringing people together. Participating in the parade made me realize how even the smallest actions — like saying yes to wearing a gigantic light bulb costume — can have a positive impact and bring joy to the community!” said Emily as she reflected on her experience in the Honolulu City Lights Electric Light Parade last year.

Mahalo to The Friends of Honolulu City Lights team for your hard work in planning the many festivities that bring happiness to our Oahu community during the holiday season! And thank you to Diamond Bakery for inviting the team for an inside look at the bakery, along with bouncing around ideas for this year’s Honolulu City Lights events.

Be sure to save the date for this year’s parade which will be on Saturday, November 29, 2025!

Join us as we kick-off the holidays at the Honolulu City Lights Electric Light Parade on November 29, 2025, which will be live streamed on our Facebook and Instagram. Follow @friendshonolulucitylights and @diamondbakery on social media for additional event updates, and upcoming holiday promotions to secure your sweet treats for family and friends!