Xia-Xia™ is Named Hot Holiday Toy - Before It Hits the Shelves!

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Unpredictable, collectible and surprise: These are the key features behind Xia-Xia, the new line of colorful hermit crab toys by Cepia LLC. While surprise is an important component of Xia-Xia, imagine Cepia's surprise to have Xia-Xia named as a hot holiday toy by a key retailer before the toy has even hit store shelves! Toys"R"Us named Xia-Xia in its 2011 Holiday Hot Toy List today.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110920/AQ72294)

Xia-Xia are skitter-scattering, pitter-pattering, loveable, crazy crabs with shells and kooky friends to collect and trade. They combine the silly charm of a real hermit crab with an imaginative, playful twist. Kids find hermit crabs appealing for numerous reasons, including their colorful shells, tropical habitats and silly crawl. Xia-Xia takes these features to the next level by bringing alive a fantasy world of color, magic and collectability for kids of all ages to enjoy. Plus, each shell comes with a silly little friend surprise that adds to Xia-Xia fun.

"We are honored to be included on this list. Just as it was for ZhuZhu Pets® in 2009, we feel this is a very positive sign for Xia-Xia," said James Russell Hornsby, CEO of Cepia, LLC. "We hope this means Xia-Xia will be put on yet another important list – the one kids make this holiday season."

Based on a Carnivale theme, Xia-Xia (pronounced Shah-Shah, rhymes with Cha-Cha) consists of four colorful, collectible hermit crabs that love to dance and play. Kids can start a parade by pressing its claw to watch it do its wacky walk. The Xia-Xia crew features four colorful, loveable, crawling hermit crabs with removable, collectible shells, including:

• Bimini with her pink polka-dotted shell and flirty eyes
• Trinidad with his grey skull-spotted shell and orange body
• Turks with her red shell and girly pink bows
• Tobago with his rough-and-tumble blue exterior and boyish grin

Each Xia-Xia character comes with a little friend inside its shell! Just like real hermit crabs, these critters love to switch and swap their shells. An additional 12 collectible shells come in candy-colors and contain a bonus of two little friends! Three different habitat playsets complete the line and provide fantastic fun for Xia-Xia play! Visit www.xia-xiapets.com to learn more!

Xia-Xia will be available at select major retailers this October. Xia-Xia hermit crabs, playsets and accessories range in price from $5.99-$19.99, ages 4+.

About Cepia LLC

Headquartered in St Louis, Mo., Cepia LLC is a privately held company that manufactures toys and games for children of all ages. The company was founded on the premise that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Ingenuity, creativity, playfulness and passion are the heart of Cepia and everything it creates. Cepia's toy building enterprises include: Glo-E™, ZhuZhu Pets®, Kung Zhu™, ZhuZhu Princess™, ZhuZhu Babies™, ZhuZhu Puppies™ and their newest ventures, DaGeDar™ and Xia-Xia™. ZhuZhu Pets has received top honor Toy of the Year recognition in eight countries, including 2010 "Toy of the Year," "Most Innovative Toy" and "Best Girls Toy" at the 2010 TOTY Awards in the U.S.  All toys from Cepia LLC are sold globally through national chain retail outlets and independent toy stores. For more information, please visit www.cepiallc.com, www.zhuniverse.com, www.dagedar.com, and www.xia-xiapets.com.

SOURCE Cepia LLC