EASTER and bunnies go hand in paw, and while it might be tempting to bring home the real thing, experts warn against adopting live rabbits for the wrong reasons.
Luckily, there are lots of no-maintenance rabbits around town to welcome into your warren. Here are just a few.
(By the way, a survey by the National Confectioners Association found that chocolate bunnies – along with jelly beans – are the No. 1 candies for Easter baskets, and that most people munch the ears first.)
* A cuddly bunny is all ears as the centerpiece of a basket filled with a chocolate rabbit, Gummi Bunnies, purple Peeps, robin’s-eggs candies and jelly beans, all wrapped in cellophane bunny wrap. It’s $19.99 at Stew Leonard’s. Call the Yonkers store at (914) 375-4700, or log on to http://www.stew-leonards.com
* Pasta bunnies add hops to Annie’s Homegrown Pasta with cheese, $1.39 for 6 ounces at Whole Foods Market Chelsea, (212) 924-5969.
* Rudi Rabbit is an herbal pillow designed to relieve tension with chamomile, orange and hops (the plant). It’s $17.99 at Whole Foods Market Chelsea, (212) 924-5969.
* This rosy-cheeked bunny is decked out in her Easter Sunday finest as a delicious butter cookie ($8) from Corrado Bread and Pastry in Grand Central Market, (212) 599-4321.
* The Cruisin’ Bunny toting a bow-wrapped egg comes from Lake Champlain Chocolates in Burlington, Vt., via Chelsea’s Whole Foods Market. It’s made of bittersweet and white chocolates and coast $14.99.
* Peek inside a panoramic egg made of sugar to see a cute bunny scene. A 5½-inch edible pastel egg (which will keep for ages) costs $12.50 and can be found at Williams-Sonoma stores around the city.