Guide
5 gift ideas for Easter
by Ramon Schneider
What happens to chocolate bunnies that just won’t hop off the shelves?
14.4.2022
Translation: Katherine Martin
Year after year, the same chocolate problem rears its long-eared head. Here, I’ll show you how you can rehome or repurpose your surplus Easter bunnies – and reveal the fate of the ones nobody buys.
One chocolate bunny from the grandparents, one from the godfather and another from the godmother. Another from an aunt, another from an uncle. On top of that, chocolate eggs come from the neighbours, from the playgroup leader and from the football coach. Everybody seems to want to hand your kids a sweet surprise. And now, the chocolates are multiplying on your kitchen counter like ... rabbits.
Easter Monday comes and goes, your bellies are full and you’re stuck with a mountain of chocolate. And there it is, the annual family chocolate problem.
According to estimates by Chocolsuisse, people living in Switzerland eat two to three chocolate bunnies per head every Easter. Sounds reasonable enough. Viewed differently, the numbers are even more impressive. Around 16 million chocolate bunnies are produced in Switzerland annually.
Or, put differently, during the Easter holidays, Switzerland is populated by twice as many chocolate rabbits as people.
Four tips on how to shift your chocolate bunnies
What should you do when you and your family are up to your ears in Easter bunnies? Where are all the leftover chocolate rabbits and eggs supposed to go? Here are some alternatives and ideas of how to make use of Easter sweets.
1. Feed your colleagues
After Easter, bring your bunnies to the office and let them loose in the break room along with a «help yourself» sign. I bet you the entire colony will have disappeared by lunchtime. On that day, you might be eating lunch alone on account of no-one else in the office having an appetite. But at least your chocolate troubles will be off the table.
2. Share them with your neighbours
There are sure to be people in your area who didn’t get a single Easter egg. Singles, childless couples or elderly people might be glad to get their teeth into a piece of your chocolate empire. Paired with a card in the letterbox, you’ll get loads of brownie points from your neighbours – which should stand you in good stead for your next noisy barbecue party.
3. Teach an old bunny new tricks
Easter bunnies are always being swiped up for home baking. They can be used in any recipe that calls for chocolate. Cakes, brownies, butter cream, ice-cream or chocolate mousse are at their best when whipped up using chocolate bunnies or Easter eggs. And it doesn’t stop there: you can find more ways for your bunnies to help out in the kitchen here (linked article in German).
Source: Shutterstock
4. Put them in the freezer
Cinderella teaches us to put the good in the dish, and eat the bad if we wish. Applied to chocolate bunnies, that means: eat the best ones and stick the cheap ones in the freezer. When defrosting them, wrap them in a dish towel so that the chocolate doesn’t turn white. It’s best to thaw them out in the fridge for a bit before exposing them to room temperature so that no water droplets form on the surface.
Melted down and recycled?
Families aren’t the only ones getting stuck with hordes of rabbits. What happens to all the Easter chocolate that doesn’t make it into the shopping trolleys by the time the holidays come around? The urban myth that unsold chocolate bunnies are melted down then returned to the shelves as Santa Clauses has persisted for years. Or is it the opposite way round?
Swiss supermarket chain Migros says the rumour, which kicks up again every year, is actually a misconception. Press Officer Cristina Maurer explains: «Actually, Migros sells almost all of its Easter bunnies every year. That’s because we can plan our order quantities pretty accurately in advance, based on experience.»
Source: Shutterstock
After the holidays, unsold chocolate is then heavily discounted or given to employees. Migros donates the small amount left over to charities committed to fighting food poverty such as «Tischlein deck dich» and «Schweizer Tafel». After all this, there’s no more leftover chocolate to recycle, adds Cristina Maurer.
If you’ve had enough of chocolate bunnies but still need a belated Easter gift: my colleague Ramon Schneider from the editorial team has written an article showcasing five (almost) chocolate-free gift ideas.
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.
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