HONOLULU -- The holiday spirit was alive in homes across Hawaii, even among the families who don't have permanent homes.

Shina Gonzalez and her blended family live in tents on the beach in Waianae. But that hasn't stopped the spunky Gonzalez from creating a festive neighborhood full of Christmas cheer.

"It gives the people a little hope that there is Christmas," Gonzalez said. "Make yourself smile. Be happy instead of sad."

Gonzalez created a Christmas lane using donations and a few purchased items. The Christmas lights are turned on at night, using electricity from a generator she purchased.

"I recycled cans, and I saved every penny that I got, and I got a generator that was on sale," she said.

Gonzalez also spearheaded a make-a-wish program for her neighbors.

"To give people a chance to make a wish -- if it was for a tent, some garbage bags, anything. Just make a wish, write it down and give it to me," she said.

She created it all, despite storms that tore through the islands and destroyed their tent city earlier in the month. They lost almost everything. But that's all forgotten as the children revel in their brand new Christmas toys.

The family hopes to be off the beach before the next storm hits. Gonzales has a Christmas wish of her own.

"A little apartment or a little bust-up house that I can fix up and live in and take my dogs with me," she said.