Holy Nativity Thrift Shop

I’ve shopped here for over a decade and I’m sad to say that this little gem seems to be getting a little too big for its britches. The prices have gone up and they are sometimes unreasonable. Standard baby clothes for $ 2/​piece, $ 6 for some cute but worn book ends, $ 2.50 for a rusty paper towel holder… you get the picture.
I have still been donating my stuff here just as a matter of convenience, but I rarely shop now. I love the little old ladies running the place, but it doesn’t seem like they’re setting the prices anymore. I think someone more business-​minded is trying to squeeze more money out of customers (without providing goods of any better quality), and it no longer feels like a cute little neighborhood thrift store. Goodwill Is a better bet and the prices are the same, too. I’ll probably look for another good charity to take my donations to, as well.

Smallish place, super friendly staff, good variety of stuff. Good prices. Yay!

Holy Nativity Thrift Shop is tucked behind the church in the Aina Haina Shopping Center. It’s clean, cool (thank goodness since it was 85 degrees outside), easy to move around in – I didn’t feel like I ran the risk of tripping over things, or knocking things over, even though there were many of us in the store, which is pretty small. I saw some unique items on display such as sake decanters and a someone’s framed collection of coasters from different sites on the Mainland – it looked pretty vintage, and while I have no idea where those places were, it was still neat to look at.
The shop has a range from the usual clothing, all well organized on round racks, kids’ clothes, books, toys, a small range of kitchenware… There was even a microwave for sale.
Don’t forget to check in on Unilocal when you check out this place. There’s a 25% discount on one item!

Went to visit Holy Nativity Thrift Shop for the first time. After hearing what a mess it used to be — stuff piled up all over, I was a little nervous. I was pleasantly surprised to find a well organized store. «Like-​like» goods were grouped together and nicely presented. There was a selection of new items (stuff with price tags still attached) as well as a selection of pretty used items.
The day that I went they were having a «yard sale» (forgot what they called it, but they had goods outside too). I was just about to pick up a small shoe rack for $ 3 when the lady told me someone just bought it and they were inside paying. Nooooo!!! It was such a bargain. I also saw a brand name kids bike but price was a little steep for it being so rusted.
If you’re a bargain hunter, you should definitely check this place out often. I asked and they get new stuff all the time.
If you’d like to donate goods, check their list of items that they don’t accept. Because it’s a small shop, I believe they don’t accept large furniture (and possibly other items).

Despite your opinion of me, I am not above scouring every possible location for a great deal or a rare find. In fact, my automatic response whenever I receive a compliment about my attire is, «Thank you… you know how CHEAP this was?!» I live in an imaginary world where I believe that the clothes doesn’t make the person, the person is what makes the wardrobe look good. Does it also help to say that I loved the movie Shallow Hal probably a little more than your average movie watcher and agree with the message that if the person’s inside is beautiful, they can be wearing rags on the outside and they’ll still look beautiful. But I digress… enough about me, on to the thrift shop!
When I first came here about a year or two ago, this is what ran through my head as I entered the store, «Ewww…what’s that smell? Gosh, look at that pile of stuff! No, I don’t want to touch that. Did something just move?» Needless to say, I’m a little OCD germaphobe that sanitizes my hands at least 5 times a day and I’m not even in patient care. So you’d think that I’d learn my lesson and not return. Well, I had to go to the post office in Aina Haina shopping center and there were a bunch of cars that were parked in front of the thrift shop so it made me curious. (Okay, the truth is, there was no parking in front of the post office so I was happy when I snagged the last open stall in front of the shop.) To lessen my guilt, I walked in and boy was I surprised! It was like a completely different place! No smell, it was very inviting, well organized and even had a cute little accent wall in one of the rooms! I don’t remember there being a check out counter type of area when I went there the first time but maybe that was due to my haste of wanting to leave.
They have everything categorized even within the certain sections so it was easy to find sizes, prices and things. I didn’t notice big things like furniture on sale because it’s a cozy little shop but I don’t typically shop for big things so if I had to choose to browse here over another big name thrift shop, I’d prefer to peruse here.
The shop was busy and one of the sweet workers let me know that they were having a 50% off all clothing today. So let’s see…$ 4 at 50% off… hmm, how much bragging can I do on THAT?! Being the social media junkie that I am, I immediately connected to their Facebook page, where I saw the sale advertised and also thought how convenient would that be for me to do some scouting of goods from the comfort of my own home? It also made me want to go back through my closet and organize it a little more as well and maybe I can help them out by donating some of my gently worn clothes that I no longer wear. Hey, if I’m feeling generous on some days, maybe I’ll even think about donating some of the Hello Kitty things I’ve outgrown. *gasp* *heart palpitations* Okay… maybe not… baby steps, right?
Bravo, Holy Nativity Thrift Shop! You’ve got my attention and a new regular!

So … I had to give this place another shot since I was in the area. They have organized this store since my last visit, and it looks great. The two ladies working the counter were so nice and cheerful which is quite the opposite of my last experience here. Upgrading my rating to reflect current experience … by the way, I found some great deals here!

First Annual Great Pumpkin Festival
A new concept of fundraising for the Holy Nativity School is the Great Pumpkin Festival. A corral of pumpkins sitting in bales and loose hay. Little Mini pumpkins ($ 5) the Mediums ($ 10) and the mediums were at least 5 pounds and the Large ($ 20) with the pre purchased ticket.
Walk through the pumpkin patch and pick your pumpkin! It was fun actually and I don’t want to sound like a country pumpkin (no pun on words) but I saw white pumpkins for the first time! I got myself 2 of them and am going to paint faces and dress them up for my porch on Halloween.
Food Vendors (Bonfire Pizza, All Kine Grindz and many others) surrounded the playfield to feed the many who joined the Holy Nativity School Parents, Students and Faculty. What luck as both Bonfire and All Kine Grindz are a few from my Favorite food truck list.
In the gym sat many craft vendors and the timing was perfect to get ready for my holiday gifts. The school opened their cafeteria and the parents offered many baked goods and amongst it all, I saw Moena Café scones in the mix.
I’ve marked my calendar for next year as I’m sure they will have an encore to a successful 1^st time event.
(by the way, $ 10 for the pumpkins were very reasonable. I bought a couple at a retail supermarket earlier in the week and it was twice the price for a small pumpkin)

Not the best, not the worst. I wound up getting a clearly new candelabra for $ 3.50 on half-​price sale. Um, yes, please. It will soon be meeting a can of spray paint.
Parking: Small
Store: Small
Selection: Mostly stuff that just didn’t do it for me. Kid stuff, older house stuff, clothes I didn’t like. Maybe I came after all of the really awesome stuff was already picked off?
I say you should give this place a try and see if you find a treasure, but I mostly found trash.

I didn’t find any clothing here, but I did find a pretty paisley men’s shirt for $ 1.50 that I’m going to DIY into something soon. The prices are pretty rock-​bottom, especially now (they’re having a holiday sale — half off everything and select items from $ 0.50-$ 1.00). They also had a bunch of housewares, if you’re into that, and a lot of baby/​kids items. The volunteer ladies were nice, if a little spacey.

Cash or checks only. I have to subtract a star simply because they don’t take credit cards and I like to pay for everything by card for the miles.
I didn’t find any treasures here but I do like their prices. Now these are thrift store prices! Women’s tank tops and shirts ranged from $ 1.50 to $ 3, or at least the ones I bought did.
I also found some plates and cups that match the incomplete set I purchased at Goodwill. Weird.
Will definitely return. Hopefully I have better luck next time.

I have so much clutter to get rid of. Someone’s trash could be someone’s treasure, but did you know that Goodwill and Salvation Army have become very picky? They do not accept many items, including strollers, car seats, and desks.
I had a very nice $ 200+ jogging stroller that nobody wanted to accept, until someone told me to try the thrift stores. Over the past week I found 3 thrift stores that gladly accepted EVERY SINGLE item I wanted to get rid of. Holy Nativity was one of them.
They are open Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am-​3pm and Saturdays from 9am-​12noon. You just drop your stuff off on the desks outside and get your receipt from the ladies inside. This past Saturday they were also having a «garage sale» or something, stuff was all over the place outside on the driveways, so if you’re looking for a good deal, I would recommend checking this place out.

The Thrift Shop is open Wednesday, Friday from 9am-​3pm and Saturday morning 9 to noon.

A HUGE mahalo to Kelly G. for recommending this place to me!
One of the best thrift shops I’ve been to on this island! The layout is very well organized, majority of the items are in new to like new condition, prices are cheap & volunteers that staff the place are very hospitable and pleasant to interact with. One of the staff members loves to write these funny-​cute messages on Post It notes that she affixes to certain items in an effort to get people to buy them.
There’s parking in front of the store or you can park at the Aina Haina Shopping Center and walk over (less than 5 minutes). The AC is cold and refreshing (especially on a humid day like when I came)!
More expensive items are kept behind the glass counters where the cashier is located & they have a small dressing room in the back of the register area.
Place has 3 rooms: 1) kitchen wares, dishes, cups, pots, utensils, etc., 2) baby toys, blankets, sheets, toys, bibs, etc., 3) womens (20’s on up), teens & children’s clothes, pillows, picture frames, gift bags, antiques, lamps, glassware/​vases, etc.
The store offers items from well-​known brands since it’s located in the Kahala-​Aina Haina-Hawai’i Kai aka «rich people» area of town. Sifting through the clothes, I saw such brands as Ann Taylor, Style & Co. (Macy’s Brand), Polo, Paris Blues, Fox, Hurley, Ralph Lauren, etc.
I’m definitely visiting this place again!

We come here every week & always find something !!! it is located near the First Hawaiian Bank drive thru location across from the school in the Aina Haina shopping center … they constanly bring in new merchandise and run weekly specials — they have everything from mini refrigerators, board games, clothes, shoes, books, dishes, outdoor furniture, toys, baby gear, electronics, etc. — also do auctions periodically for higher end items. They are open Wed & Fri from 9 – 3 and Sat 9-​noon… very fun place to shop without hurting your pocketbook !!!