Perfect Snacks to Get Your Kids Through Vacation

In Asia, there is no more iconic character than beloved Hello Kitty (“Kitty Chan”), Sanrio’s iconic cutie pie who has been collected, shared and celebrated since the 1970s. The buttery, chocolatey Hello Kitty Chocolate Cookies, produced by Taiwan’s Red Sakura are simply made of a few ingredients and the crispy cookie is a perfect mid-afternoon pick me up. The cute tin includes five individually wrapped cookies and then can be reused as a storage box to stash board game pieces or other spring break treasures.

For a fluffier treat, the Marshmallow Hello Kitty Chocolate treat, produced by EIWA, comes with a pillow-marshmallow exterior, filled with a soft chocolate creme filling. This treat is perfect for kids who prefer soft treats over crispy ones. They would also be the perfect insert for an evening of making smores, with the creamy interior adding an extra chocolate blast to the popular campfire treat.

While Hello Kitty is an iconic character known the world over, she is certainly not the only kid-friendly mascot to appear on popular chocolate treats. Hello Panda, for example, was also created in the 1970s. The difference between the two is that Hello Kitty’s character only graces the candy packaging, while Hello Panda is an actual candy brand. Produced by Meiji, the original Hello Panda consists of a crunchy, hollow wafer exterior filled with sweet chocolate creme. The cute little Hello Pand-in various poses–is stamped right on the cookie exterior.

Korea’s answer to Hello Panda is the Lotte-branded Koala’s March crispy chocolate treats. Similar to Hello Panda, Koala’s March features a crispy exterior, filled with rich chocolate creme. The cookies also feature stamped images of the Koala in a variety of poses, including one with a momma and baby koala. Yami staffers differ on which is better, but all agree that both will be popular with your kids.

Meiji’s extensive chocolate catalog also consists of the uber-popular Mushroom Chocolate Cookie, which goes by multiple identities. In Japan, they are also known as Kinoko no Yama and in the U.S. they also go by Chocorooms according to Meiji. The treats which look just like a forest mushroom, feature a solid chocolate mushroom top and a stem made out of biscuits. Also according to Meiji, the chocolatey caps taste so perfect because the flavor was only released after five years of manufacturing trials.

If your children are still young enough to be hosting teddy bear tea parties, the Mini Every Burger should absolutely make an appearance. With the buns made from wheat crackers and the “hamburger” made from chocolate layers, this is a perfect teddy bear-sized snack, with a few extras left over for the adults. For extra authenticity, the crispy “buns” have sesame seeds sprinkled on top and the “hamburger” is layered with a thin glaze of white chocolate to resemble the cheese.