Xia Xia Hermit Crab Toy Review & Giveaway #XiaXia - CLOSED

"Xia-Xia™ (pronounced shah-shah) are skitter-scattering, pitter-pattering, 
loveable, crazy crabs with colorful shells to collect and trade." 
Characters: Bimini and Tobago (Trinidad and Turks not pictured)

"Xia-Xia here. Let's go play. It's like a party every day." This is the chant I can't get out of my head– thanks to Kaden and his cousins Mariah and Isaiah. What should have been a night of ghostly hollers, screeching screams, and creep crawlers on Halloween, quickly turned into a playful production of Xia-Xia chatter.

They wouldn't. Stop. Singing.

The Xia-Xia Background
From a far away land where the Carnivale runs all day, Xia-Xia are crazy crustaceans, who love to dance and play. Costumed in wild and wacky shell fashions, Xia-Xia love to change their shells for their festivities. Press their claw and the parade begins: Xia-Xia have a wacky Xia-Xia shuffle that is tons of fun to watch.

I'll admit, the song is kind of catchy. I guess having the advertisement pop-up during every commercial break of the children's shows doesn't help either. I've even caught singing the Xia-Xia Samba Song a few times. I would call that a marketing success. Music is an universal language. Here are the lyrics to the jingle...in case you want to join in:

Xia-Xia Samba Song
Xia-Xia here. Let's go play. It's like a party every day
Cute little crabs with a crazy groove, Xia-Xia always on the move!
Backward then forward it's out of sight. Xia-Xia movin' in their shells do bright.
It's like a Carnivale parade. Xia-Xia shells you can collect and trade.
Hidden inside is a little surprise, They're so cute you won't believe your eyes!
Xia-Xia here. Let's go play. It's like a party every day.
Houses that you can connect. Xia-Xia that you can collect!

After a sports-filled weekend, the girls and I decided to wind down and have some fun with the Xia-Xia pets. I wish you could have seen the looks on their face when I pulled out all the boxes. Thanks to MomSelect, we were sent 4 Xia-Xia, 4 Xia-Xia Shells, and 3 Xia-Xia Playsets. It was like an early Christmas present!

The Xia-Xia  playsets require some assembly. I'm not a huge fan of this. Luckily, there were not a lot of small pieces and difficult instructions on how to put the playsets together. I was able to snap together the items in little to no time. That is a plus to a parent with little time and less-than-patient children.

Xia-Xia Rio de Trio Village Playset

Xia-Xia Confetti Cottage

Xia-Xia Copacabana Playset

Xia-Xia hermit crabs and their playsets are recommended for ages 4 years and up by the manufacturer. There are a few tiny pieces that come in the shell. In my opinion, proper adult supervision would allow a younger child to play with the toy. Iyana is only two and did a pretty good job of handling the pieces.

   

One of the best parts about Xia-Xia pets is the the packaging. The boxes are colorful and resemble a take-out carton from a Chinese restaurant. They have strings on them so that each package is easy to carry and is very portable. I did have a bit of a time opening them to release the hermit crabs and shells from the box, but overall I loved the concept.

Although the toys were sent for the girls, any child can get in on the fun. I'm not sure if the boys were taunting us or were just jealous of all the fun we were having. They could not resist joining in on the fun...and singing the Xia-Xia Samba Song over and over again.

I like the trading and collecting element of Xia-Xia hermit crabs. Each pet comes with a shell that is interchangeable. Inside of the shells are little "surprises" that can stay inside the shell, or be placed on a peg outside the shell for display. It's like having the ability to change fashions again and again.

Want to see our fun-filled day with the Xia-Xia?

Pros:

• Colorful, bright
• Cool packaging
• Cute characters
• Interchangeable
• Appropriate for multiple ages, boys and girls
• Lots of room for imagination
• Fun

Cons:

• Tiny pieces
• Special battery (included)
• Do not move as easily as the commercial shows

Want to purchase your own Xia-Xia and additional items? Shop Toys 'R Us and Walmart.
Like the Xia-Xia Facebook page.

{prize}
Your own Xia-Xia hermit crab and Xia-Xia shell.

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Xia-Xia Hermit Crabs are one of the hottest holiday toys. Win your own Xia-Xia & Xia-Xia shell http://bit.ly/M2KXiaXia Ends 11/10.#XiaXia

{additional entries} +1 each
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{giveaway rules}
Contest will end 11/10/2011 at 11:59 PM EST. Giveaway open to US residents only. You must be 18+. A winner will be chosen using Random.org. Please leave an email address or other valid form of contact in your entry. You will have 48 hours to respond before another winner is chosen. Your mailing address cannot be a P.O. Box.

Disclosure Information
Product was provided to facilitate this review thanks to MomSelect and Cepia, LLC. All opinions and views are my own.