Bunny Money Along with the May flowers, April showers bring a very profitable holiday season.

Whether consumers are celebrating the reaffirmation of faith orsimply the return of spring, Easter is essentially about the dawnof a better day. In light of the somber year they witnessed in2001, retail experts and entrepreneurs alike are looking forward tothis Easter being as popular as ever.

"[Easter] signals a new beginning," says AdrienneSobroza, product manager for Papel Giftware, A Cast Art Company.Deb Ratano, the company's director of marketing, says she seesthat new-beginning theme coming through in more and more familycelebrations each year. And because there's a long buildup tothe actual day, entrepreneurs can take advantage of the strongselling potential for a longer time span with Easter products thanthey can with a one-day event like Valentine's Day. That'sgood news for Papel Giftware. The Monroe Township, New Jersey-basedcompany distributes outdoor decorating and home décor itemssuch as table settings, frames and wind chimes featuringhand-painted pansies; an abundance of chick, bunny and angelfigurines and plush toys; and religious mementos, which all fitnicely into the Easter theme.

As families increasingly get together over the Easter holiday,Ratano expects one trend entrepreneurs will be taking advantage ofis that more people will be buying gifts to give to their hosts."A lot of people are moving away from candy and towardgifts," she says.

The big chocolate bunny in a basket isn't passé justyet, however. Bonnie Thompson, founder of gift basket company AMagic Basket in Upland, California, says her clients (bothcorporate and consumer) still want their goodies. "People wantunique, but traditional," says Thompson, 40, who scoursgourmet food and gift item trade shows across the nation to findthe most inventive confections and plush.

Although Papel Giftware's Easter orders from retailers were"about the same" as last year at press time, BonnieThompson, who typically gets flooded with orders about two weeksbefore the big Sunday, thinks this Easter will be the mostcelebrated in recent memory. Says Thompson, "I think peopleare going to take anything that has to do with family andfriendship a little more to heart this year."

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