An old black & white photo (left) shows the annual White House Easter Egg Roll now in its 136th year. The White House serves as a backdrop to the Easter Egg Roll and other traditions like the National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. Festivities take place on the President's Park lawn which is part of the National Park Service.

Ready for sunshine, chocolate eggs and jellybeans, consumers will welcome the Easter Bunny with open arms this year. According to NRF's Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average American celebrating the holiday will spend an average of $137.46 on apparel, food, candy, gifts and more, slightly less than the $145.13 spent last year. Total spending is expected to reach $15.9 billion.*

On  April 21, 2014, the First Family mingles with more than 30,000 people who applied for tickets to participate and were accepted to "Hop into Healthy, Swing into Shape." Held on the South Lawn the event features live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and Easter egg rolling. The day's activities are designed to encourage children to lead active lives in support of the First Lady's Let's Move! initiative.

According to  a recent national marketing survey, approx. 80% of the American population plans to celebrate Easter (down 3% from 2013) and the majority of money spent (down by $8 on average,) will be used to purchase  food and Easter candy. While shopping for Easter clothes  -- dresses and  hats for  girls & women and new suits for boys & men -- once was a tradition tied to Easter Sunday, Californians typically spend their "clothes money" on more practical items such as summer casuals and swimsuits.

Though fewer Americans will celebrate this year (80.3% vs. 83% last year), families are still looking forward to their traditional Sunday meals. Those who do plan to celebrate will spend the most on a grocery bill for a family dinner or Sunday brunch out; according to the survey, 85.7 percent of those celebrating will spend an average of $43.18 on a holiday meal, totaling $5 billion.
Since the holiday traditionally marks the ceremonial start to spring, 42.9 percent will purchase new spring attire, such as bright clothes for their children, spending an average of $22.71; total spending on apparel is expected to reach $2.6 billion. Additionally, nine in 10 (89.3%) of those celebrating will stock up on Easter candy, spending a total of $2.2 billion on their children's favorite sweet treats. Families will also spend on gifts ($2.4 billion), flowers ($1.1 billion) and decorations ($1.1 billion).
 
The survey also found that many will use smartphones or tablets to check off their Easter shopping list. Of those who own smartphones, nearly one in four (23.4%) will use their device to research products or compare prices. Just 12.2 percent will make an actual purchase with their smartphone. Nearly one in five (19.2%) tablet owners will make a purchase on their device, but most will simply research holiday gifts, apparel and other items (30.2%).