THIS month’s commencement exercises are allowing some residents to cash in on the opportunity to earn a little extra by selling leis to the graduates.
The lei comes in many shapes and forms—there’s the candy-lei, a garland made of candies; the money-lei which is made up of 18 pieces of $1 dollar bills tied with ribbons; and the tea-leaf lei which is a string of tea leaves.
Niang Amirez, a retired teacher, is an expert in lei-making. Yesterday, she sold candy leis which are more appealing to elementary school graduates.
She sold each lei for $7 to the graduates of Dandan Elementary School.
Amirez considers lei-making a hobby she can’t do without. Every year, she gets requests from family friends and their referrals to make leis for special occasions like graduation.
This year, however, Amirez decided to try selling them to the public.
“At first we did it for our friends and then we decided to sell them. Most of the time, we take orders,” she said.
During the graduation of Northern Marianas College students last May 25, Amirez received several orders. That further inspired her to sell more leis.
First Floral Shop, a pioneer in the business, is also swamped with orders for leis.
Rita Cruz, First Floral’s owner, said leis are very popular gifts during graduation. And so are balloons, rose bouquets and stuffed toys.
Among her customers’ favorites are money-leis and tea-leaf leis with flowers.
The money-lei costs $33 each because it is made up of 18 pieces of $1 bills neatly folded like small ribbons.
Most parents prefer to buy leis because of their busy schedule at work.
