Treats, Traditions, and Tricks for Easter with Dylan’s Candy

Today, the air is slightly warmer, the sun is a bit brighter, and the budding flowers are now in full bloom! Spring is here which means Easter! Dylan Lauren, daughter of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren, the founder of New York City’s Dylan’s Candy Bar, and mother of two, spills her tasty tips and tricks for the holiday season this year!

What does your family do for Easter now that you have one of your own? Do you have any traditions for the holiday?

My favorite Easter tradition is the Easter egg hunt. Every year my parents would hide colorful foiled chocolate eggs in the grass, flowerpots, under shoes, etc. It was always a challenging and athletic event for my two older brothers and me! The hardest part was sprinting to find the chocolate eggs before they melted in the sun. I’m proud to say I have remained the champion bunny Easter egg hunter, and I do love rubbing that in every year. Now we do the same thing with our kids and I can’t help but want to participate in the actual hunt and coach my children so they carry on my Easter egg hunting talents!

What are some Easter traditions that your parents celebrated with you and your siblings that you like to continue to celebrate today?

I enjoy sharing my love for animals and particularly rabbits with my own family. Rabbits have been an obsession of mine my whole life, and not just around Easter! This love began when my dad brought me a stuffed Steiff rabbit from Europe, and it quickly became my new favorite toy. A few years later, I had real life rabbits named Chocolate and Vanilla, which are now the official mascots of Dylan’s Candy Bar. Flash forward to today, a giant version of Chocolate greets guests at the Third Avenue Flagship, and I have a personal collection of more than 3,000 rabbit items—from stuffed animals and stationery to plates and towels. Rabbits are always a focal point during my Easter celebrations.

What are your favorite treats to hide in Easter eggs or stuff in your children’s Easter baskets?

I love Easter because of the unique, vibrant colors that the candy comes in. There’s the rainbow spectrum but there’s also every version of those rainbow shades in pastel, which makes this holiday stand out. I typically use the popular traditional Easter candies from my store, which are also my favorites like Cadbury Creme Eggs, colorful foiled chocolate eggs, giant sculpted foiled bunnies, jelly beans, speckled chocolate malted eggs, vibrant hen eggs that are filled with my favorite marshmallow, Peeps in bunny and duck shapes and glossy Jordan almonds. Of course, I also include our Dylan’s Candy Bar Chocolate and Vanilla bunny plush!

What’s your secret to making your Easter memorable? Do you have tips to laying out a food spread or do you like to decorate the table in a certain way or do you plan an activity that gets everyone together to have fun?

I make sure everyone comes dressed in pastel or solid rainbow colors and I provide rabbit ears for extra Easter spirit. I love starting the event with the Easter egg hunt, and then the crescendo is the counting of the eggs to see who won! The winner gets the grand prize: our huge Golden Egg filled with treats. As seen in my book Dylan’s Candy Bar: Unwrap Your Sweet Life, I set the table with a yellow or green tablecloth and then make each place setting like a fun hunt in itself. I put jelly beans in the bottom of glasses, Peeps on the rim of the glass, and our best of this season’s Dylan’s Candy Bar Easter favors on top of the plate (like our candy-filled bunny box and ‘Simply Ear-resistible’ white silk bunny pouch), paired with a customized name tag from our Personalize It department. I make the centerpiece beautiful but also easy to dismantle so I can share it with guests after the lunch. This year it will be our giant edible Chocolate the Bunny who will be standing next to an apothecary jar of layered pastel candies. Everyone enjoys eating the candy decor throughout the meal, which makes cleaning up extra easy.

At the age of 6, Dylan Lauren set her sights on opening the modern-day equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and in 2001, she fulfilled her dream by opening Dylan’s Candy Bar, which grew to be the largest candy emporium in the world. As the daughter of fashion mogul Ralph Lauren, Dylan was born to be an entrepreneur and has maintained her distinct vision for the brand by merging art, fashion and pop culture with candy. Dylan’s Candy Bar houses over 7,000 confections, boasting the largest, unparalleled selection of candies and candy-related gifts from around the world. With a mission to awaken the creative spirit and inner child in everyone, Dylan’s Candy Bar surrounds customers with the most imaginative, state-of-the-art decor and product mix. Dylan continues to lead the candy industry in trendsetting by tapping into pop culture moments and technology, such as the first 3D candy printer in the United States. As a lifelong animal lover, Dylan launched Dylan’s Candy BarN, a granting foundation committed to supporting animal organizations through endeavors such as hosting fundraising events at Dylan’s Candy Bar’s national locations, encouraging adoption, assisting rescue efforts and highlighting the value of formal pet training and proper pet care. Celebrating its Sweet Sixteenth anniversary this year, Dylan’s Candy Bar has more than 20 locations, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, East Hampton, Kuwait, Toronto and the New York City flagship, which has become a popular tourist destination.

The Little Gym of Bay Ridge- Bensonhurst

At The Little Gym of Bay Ridge-Bensonhurt, we specialize in unique, educational classes that revolve around active play. We give children a safe and inspiring space to direct their energy, build confidence, and develop key skills. Explore the range of classes we offer at The Little Gym of Bay Ridge-Bensonhurst to find the one that&rsquo;s just right for your child.&nbsp;

Manhattan Mandarin

Manhattan Mandarin runs the Mandarin after-school programs at over 40 schools nationwide, including St. Bernard's, Chapin, Allen-Stevenson, and Buckley. Whether in schools, students' homes, in the office, online, or on our beloved China trips, our teachers and tutors have helped hundreds of students of all ages master the Mandarin language on their own unique paths to fluency. Our philosophy has always been to make private lessons and classes perfectly tailored for each individual student. We look forward to working with you. - Jamie Keyte, Founder

New York Society of Play Summer Camp and Classes

Summer Game Camp There are many who do not feel safe sending their children back out into the world with summer camp, this year. To serve those parents and keep the children connected and stimulated during this challenging time, we are offering NYSP Digital Summer Camp. The name of the game with NYSP Summer Camp is community. We have made a large effort to make our camp feel like a living space, with features including &ndash; - Role-Playing games familiar and new, led by our master storytellers! - Enriching electives such as Chess, World Building, Character Acting, Crafts, Drawing, and more! - Discussion and media screening rooms during lunch! - A digital campus! - Moderated chat hours! &nbsp; Join us for a summer of games, friends, and more! Mon - Fri 10am - 2:30pm &nbsp; Roleplay Expeditions: Dungeons &amp; Dragons No experience is required to join one of our Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our game masters have pre-made character sheets, so you'll be able to start playing the game right away! We adapt the rules of traditional Dungeons &amp; Dragons to make them more approachable to children of various ages. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop!&nbsp; &nbsp; Public games meet once per week, with different groups every time. Private games meet 1 to 2 times per week with the same group of kids. Since the players and the storyteller in the group are consistent, this enables us to tell epic tales of adventure together! &nbsp; Dungeons &amp; Dragons Junior No experience is required to join one of our drop-in Dungeons &amp; Dragons games. Our Dungeons &amp; Dragons Jr. game provides a D&amp;D storytelling experience without character sheets. Battle in dungeons, search for relics, and make new friends in our one-of-a-kind Dungeons &amp; Dragons workshop! A great way to introduce young children to D&amp;D so they can eventually move onto the main game.