Xia-Xia Toy Hermit Crabs Shell Easter Party {Xia-Xia Easter Basket Giveaway}

{This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations, LeeAnn!}

For some people, it's not Easter until they've gone to church. For others, it is all about the ham. Others still? It's the Easter Bunny and his basket of chocolate and candy treats.

For many kids, it just wouldn't be Easter without an egg hunt. Is there anything more fun than searching for those brightly colored shells and discovering the surprises inside?

This year we had the pleasure of taking that fun and enjoyment one step further thanks to our Xia-Xia hermit crab and collections shells Easter egg hunt!

Since hitting the shelves for the 2011 holiday season, Xia-Xia has been a hit with kids everywhere and, as evident in our Xia-Xia review, Big Sister E and Little Sister B have loved playing with these colorful, funny creatures.

Pronounced Shah-Shah (rhymes with Cha-Cha), Xia-Xia are colorful, skitter-scattering, pitter-pattering, loveable, crazy hermit crabs with interchangeable shells and kooky friends to collect and trade. Said to come from the faraway land of Xia-topia, these bright crustaceans were designed with the Carnivale theme in mind and are happy to dance and play all day long.

But since last fall, not only are these crazy crustaceans multiplying, but their shells are, too! While each Xia-Xia comes with a candy colored shell in which kids can find a little friend hidden inside, you can now also expand you collection and your Xia-Xia fashion options by collecting additional shells which each contain two little friends.

Knowing how much Big Sister E and Little Sister B have enjoyed playing with these hermit crabs and their wild and wacky shell fashions, silly faces, and humorous wobbly shuffle, we were excited to share the fun and festivities with our friends with a pre-Easter celebration at the park.

We received four Xia-Xia hermit crabs, eight colorful Xia-Xia shells, regular and jumbo plastic eggs, and Hershey's Candy (Jolly Ranchers) as sweet treats to help fill them. After removing each piece from its packaging, it was time to prepare for a unique Easter egg hunt with these fun characters and shells.

Once our eggs were stuffed and ready, I waited for the kids to be happily entertained elsewhere before hiding them (some in plain site for the younger kids and some slightly more tucked away for the older kids) and then called them over to begin.

Let me tell you, you sure don't have to tell kids twice to go have fun hunting for Easter eggs! We let our younger group of kids have a small head start, but soon they were all happily search for the bright colors of the eggs.

{Tip: I've found it always makes for more fun for everyone when kids have a set number of eggs to find. Instead of just collecting as many as possible, which might lead to one or two kids without any, we like to give kids a set number, e.g. "Everyone go find THREE eggs. Once you've found THREE eggs, then bring them back to the table to open them up!"}

While the kids were of course excited to discover Jolly Ranchers inside some of their eggs, the added bonus of the Xia-Xia shells were a big hit. Being able to pull them out, laugh over the fun surprise toys inside, and then attach and remove them from the Xia-Xia crabs was a unique twist to a traditional Easter egg hunt.

As Xia-Xia are already a widely popular toy that have continued to appear on wish lists for kids of all ages, these charming hermit crab toys and shells are a great way to bring some fun, colof, magic and imagination to Easter as well. These collectible creatures combine the loveable charm of a real hermit crab but with a child-appealing twist of creativity and entertainment.

Retailing for $12.99 per crab, $5.99 for each individual shell, and varying prices for their accessories and playsets, Xia-Xia products can be found at Toys 'R Us, Walmart and on Amazon.

Plus, thanks to the generosity of their parent company, Cepia, LLC, one person will get to experience the skittling, scooting entertainment of an electronic crab as well in a post-Easter surprise, because...

One lucky person will win a Xia-Xia Easter Basket*!

*Easter basket will contain a new Xia-Xia hermit crab character, Helena, the lime green and pink cutie, or Tiwi, the pink and purple wacky crab, an additional shell, and delicious candy.

To enter to win: Leave a comment on this post telling me another fun item (not candy or chocolate) that would be fun for kids in an Easter basket.

Extra Entries (available after the mandatory entry above is completed; please leave a separate comment for each entry in order for them to be counted).

1 Extra Entry if you Like Xia-Xia on Facebook.
1 Extra Entry (per giveaway entered) - Enter any (or all) of the giveaways running on Thanks, Mail Carrier for the duration of this giveaway.
1 Extra Entry if you follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway by copying and pasting the tweet below and leaving me the link. Tweet daily for an extra entry every day!

WIN a Xia-Xia Easter Basket for a fun and unique way to bring home this hot trend! http://bit.ly/Ht3EGz @thxmailcarrier #giveaway #win

1 Extra Entry (per follow method) if you follow me with Google Friend Connect, subscribe to my RSS feed, subscribe to Thanks, Mail Carrier by email, become a fan on Facebook or add Thanks, Mail Carrier to your blogroll.
2 Extra Entries if you put my cute button up on your blog. Please leave an address where it can be found.
3 Extra Entries if you blog about this giveaway linking back to this post. Please leave an address where it can be found.

Giveaway will end on April 19th at 11:59pm CST. By entering this sweepstakes, you are agreeing to these official rules. No purchase necessary, void where prohibited by law. Do me the favor of leaving an email address or making absolutely sure it is visible in your profile, I have to have a way to contact the winner. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to contact me or respond to notification or a new winner will be chosen. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and must be 18 years of age or older.

A big thank you to Xia-Xia and MomSelect for providing the aforementioned Xia-Xia products for me to review as well as a Xia-Xia Easter Basket for one lucky giveaway winner. The opinions shared are my own and honest and if you really need to see more, click here to see how I roll.