Easter Bunny Parties Make a Colorful Return

Like marriage, etiquette and the tango, an old Easter custom is making a comeback. More and more parents are dressing up their sons and daughters and taking them to meet the Easter bunny.

For the last decade, a growing number of department stores, including Nordstrom, Robinson’s, Bullock’s, the Broadway and Bullocks Wilshire, have been hosting Easter breakfasts on the three weekends prior to the holiday.

With little girls in frilly dresses, Mary Janes and Easter bonnets and boys in blazers, Bermuda shorts and perky bow ties, the parties include such entertainment as magicians, marionettes and prizes.

Store executives say the events, which cost from $4.50 per person at the Broadway to $10.95 at Bullocks Wilshire, are not money-makers but are a way of making friends and saying thank you to customers.