Hard to beat this Easter parade

Conor Pope finds appearances are everything when it comes to Easter eggs, in a special expanded PriceWatch.

ADULTS ONLY

Thornton's Continental Easter Egg €19.35 for 430g, €45 per kg

Highs: This is the largest of the eggs tried and, with luscious lines of white and dark chocolate, it looks enticing. The egg is accompanied by 15 chocolates, all of which are excellent, but the Champagne Truffle and the Alpini chocolate log stand out.

Lows: While the manufacturers of all the eggs tested are guilty to some degree of employing a wanton amount of plastic packaging, the Thornton's egg is up there with the worst offenders. Power tools were nearly required to get through the heavy plastic casing to the chocolate. It's quite pricey, too.

Verdict: Certain to impress.

Star rating: ***

Ferrero Rocher €7.29 for 200g, €36.45 per kg

Highs: As anyone who has attended the ambassador's parties will know, the individual chocolates here are pretty good. Each one is individually wrapped so no-one can paw the ones they don't eat. The hard plastic egg does its best to fit in with the festive occasion.

Lows: But at what price? PriceWatch paid €7.29 for these chocolates this week in the Tesco in Dublin's Jervis Centre where it was lined up alongside the other eggs. Elsewhere in the shop, less seasonal plastic rectangles filled with the same number of chocolates were selling for just €4.99 - which means the Easter packaging cost €2.30.

Verdict: Nice, but a bit dull. And dear. Star rating: **

Lir Chocolate Egg €14.95 for 480g, €31.14 per kg

Highs: The chocolate egg on offer here, with its spirals of white and dark chocolate, looks so good that it seems like a shame to break it. The milk chocolate egg is excellent as are the chocolates. The amazingly alcoholic rum chocolate lives long in the memory. This is the best value egg and looks like it costs a whole lot more than it does.

Lows: The array of chocolates on offer are limited to just four so if you're not a fan of Bailey's, wild strawberry, Swiss or rum chocolates, you may be disappointed. The sprinkling of sugar on top of the wild strawberry chocolate made it obscenely sweet and seems unnecessary.

Verdict: Good value, great chocolate.

Star rating: ****

Butler's Easter Basket €20 for 300g, €66.66 per kg

Highs: This wins hands down when it comes to presentation. The egg is bundled in a package which, with its bows, wooden basket and yellow paper nest, screams "notice me". The chocolate is good - as you would expect at this price - and the six foil-wrapped eggs that sit alongside the larger hollow egg, are also pretty tasty.

Lows: The main egg is quite a bit smaller than its direct rivals, although it gets extra points for employing retro, hexagonal lines in its design. What to do with the slightly twee orange basket is bit of a mystery. But if you give it as a gift, then it's not your problem.

Verdict: Looks good. Tastes good.

Star rating: ***

FOR THE KIDS

Cadbury Creme Egg Easter Egg €3.99 for 195g, €20.47 per kg

Highs: Once you overcome the disappointment of realising this is not an outsized creme egg, merely a normal easter egg with two regularly sized creme eggs attached, this is quite a good option. The chocolate is excellent and very good value.

Lows: Cadbury's has put little or no effort into the presentation. Creme eggs can be slightly tricky to eat and are incredibly messy in the hands of small children.

Verdict: Comfortingly familiar and cheap.

Star rating: ****

Yorkie €7.39 for 133g, €55.57 per kg

Highs: The Subbuteo penalty shoot-out game with this egg will delight seven-year- old boys, as will the warning that "it's not for girls". The chocolate is sweet enough to satisfy the most intense sugar craving, and its familiarity will appeal to many.

Lows: The flat-pack Subbuteo figures are a bit of a disappointment, as is the size of the egg which accompanies the merchandising. This double disappointment is not offset by the presence of a full-size Yorkie sitting in a distinctly dull fashion alongside the egg. While the "it's not for girls" might delight young boys, others might find it a little irksome. It's also comparatively pricey.

Verdict: Good game, dull egg.

Star rating: ***

Kinder Maxi Surprise €7.99 for 150g, €53.27 per kg

Highs: Visually this is the most appealing, and the excess of brightly coloured tinfoil and the promise of a "gigantic" toy will hold the attention of even the most demanding of children. This is the only egg to have the treats contained within the egg, as they should be. There is a layer of white and milk chocolate which is nice and creamy.

Lows: This is one of the pricier options, and you are paying for packaging and the surprise (a cool fish-based skittles game - sorry for ruining the surprise).

Verdict: Close to excellent.

Star rating: ****

Kinnerton's Magic Roundabout Easter Egg €1.99 for 125g, €15.92 per kg

Highs: Though cheap there is plenty to keep a young child amused. You get a smallish egg, five packets of nice-tasting marshmallows and a chocolate bar. The chocolate is good and the whole thing looks more expensive than it is.

Lows: The game is terrible. It requires scissors and will not entertain for long.

Verdict: Great value for younger children. Star rating: ****

The price survey returns next week