This month is just full of Christmas fun and festivities!
We started our week off with our 2nd annual Punzal Vision Secret Santa! Each day for a week, we have a different theme / gift guideline.
Day 1- something of their favorite color
Day 2- something that represents their spirit animal
Day 3- an accessory for them to wear during Christmas Caroling
Day 4- a homemade item / the final gift.
It’s always fun trying to guess who our Secret Santa is especially being that we keep the suspense going for more than the traditional “one day secret santa.”
Every year, we make it a top priority to spread the joy and holiday spirit by doing one of the oldest Christmas traditions in history- Christmas Caroling! Each year, we go to other offices to sing a few classic Christmas songs. We don’t just sound the part, but we look the part! Of course, we’re in our sweater dresses along with other holiday accessories. It’s always fun for us to see what kind of reaction we’ll get from the offices that we visit. Some are surprised and caught off guard, but everyone is mostly amused and enjoys the songs that we sing. Our favorite of all time would have to be, “Mele Kalikimaka” because everyone knows the lyrics and it makes it easy to sing along.
This past Friday was also our Punzal Vision Christmas Party. Every year, Dr. Punzal and Brity keep the majority of the theme, activities, and location a surprise. On our Black Friday Event, they gave us a hint which only revealed that we needed to plan for three separate outfits.
1) Lumberjack Costume.
2) Swim wear.
3) Prom attire.
Just by those things alone, we were all excited and couldn’t figure out what they had in store for us. Of course, we all attempted to guess and get more information out of them, but they wouldn’t budge! We were told to meet at Punzal Vision that morning at 4:30am- rise & shine! When we arrived, Dr. Punzal and Brity were nowhere to be found, but instead, on the phone giving us instructions on what to do. The first was to take her car keys (hidden in the office) and to pack all of our belongings into her vehicle because we’re going for a ride. We kept her on the phone as our GPS and she navigated us to many different locations none of which were our true destination. After about 20 minutes of driving, we find ourselves parked in Lihue Airport parking lot with the news that we’re on the next flight to O’ahu! We have no idea what’s in store but we are all so excited and can’t believe that a trip to our neighbor island is how we’re starting off this Christmas Party!
When we land, we find Dr. Punzal and Brity in baggage claim waiting for us.
We were all eager to see what’s next. As we exit the airport, we are picked up by a Party Limousine with a lovely driver named Kim. Inside, there are fluorescent lights, lots of room, and just the perfect party music. She brings us to Ala Moana Hotel where we get breakfast and go upstairs to our room. Just when we’re coming off of our high from the surprise flight, Brity hits us with another HUGE gift. She each gives us $1,000 dollars to spend at Ala Moana Mall! But there’s a catch, we have three hours only and whatever is left on the card goes back to her. Of course, we accept the challenge because who wouldn’t find it easy to spend all that money in a mall with stores that we don’t have access to on Kaua’i?!
So we get started- from 9:30am to 12:30pm we shop til’ we drop! Like I said, we thought it would be easy, but when it came close to 12:30, we found ourselves flustered and rushing to spend what’s remaining left on the card. For the most part, everyone pretty much spent it all! We shopped for ourselves and loved ones and had a blast doing so! Shortly after, Kim picks us up again and brings us to China Town. If some of you don’t know, Roberta Oaks is Dr. Punzal’s favorite brand for Aloha Wear and her store is located in ChinaTown, so we can already guess what’s about to happen. Sure enough, we pull up right in front of a store with a sign that says “Roberta Oaks” and we rush to the front door to see her beautiful clothing in person. Brity then tells us that we each get to choose one item ON HER! As if the shopping spree wasn’t enough, we get yet another gift! We all had so much fun trying on all the different Aloha wear. Roberta was actually on vacation for her Birthday but that didn’t stop her from being amazing! Her worker told us that she left behind gifts for each and every one of us- Roberta Oaks T-shirts! Mahalo Roberta, we love you!
We head back to the hotel to take a couple hours to rest, pack, and get ready for the next event coming. All we know is that we have to dress to impress and need to be downstairs by 5:45pm. This time, Kim was not picking us up but instead we were told we could walk to our next destination. We were all a little caught off guard and confused as to where we could possibly go dressed like this that’s walking distance.
The Vintage Cave Club is an underground 4 star French-Japanese & Sushi Restaurant that none of us has ever been to before. As soon as we enter, we knew we were in for a once in a lifetime experience. The atmosphere was BEYOND fancy and nothing like we’ve ever done before. We truly felt like we were in another country and no where near Ala Moana. We were escorted into a private room where we were taken care of by multiple people who were experts in cuisine, wine, and more. We had a 12 course meal with lots of wine and tastes of the most expensive Vodka- Clix. The seafood was fresh from the ocean locally and from Japan. You could taste the quality of the food and it absolutely trumps any other seafood restaurant we’ve ever been to. At the end of our meal, we received a tour of the entire venue. Just when we felt the night coming to an end, we wanted to keep the party going! A few of us retired to the room, while the rest of us went out and enjoyed ourselves at Mai Tai’s and Haus- two bars/clubs that we could dance the night away with what energy we had left.
We reached the hotel at around 2:00am knowing well enough that we had to leave again at 4:00am to catch the first flight back to Kaua’i. We were so tired but it was well worth it. This truly has never been heard of before.
Dr. Punzal and Brity- each employee would like to say thank you for an unforgettable 24 hours filled with suspense, fun, and excitement. We appreciate the generosity and lengths you went to to ensure that we had this amazing Christmas party.
