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The man is going to make up his mind on a beach in Hawaii, surrounded by his friends and his family. Brilliant.

HONOLULU (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama will decide this week in Hawaii if he'll seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, his sister said Tuesday.

"He's going to make his decision here and announce it to us. Then he's probably going to officially announce his decision once he returns," Maya Soetoro told The Associated Press.

Obama, a 45-year-old freshman senator from Illinois, was born in Hawaii and graduated from Honolulu's private Punahou School in 1979.

He is staying in a hotel on Oahu with his family for the holidays and plans to spend a lot of time with his grandmother, said Soetoro. He'll also play golf and basketball with old friends and enjoy the ocean, she said.

Soetoro, who teaches history and social studies at the University of Hawaii Lab School, said Obama hasn't scheduled any public events or interviews during his trip.

He'll stay on the islands until the first week of January, when he's due back in Washington.

"It's a much needed time for reflection. He's got to figure out what he's going to do," she said. "I think he's trying to reconnect with family and get away from the excessive demands of his schedule."