Anyone been to the BABY EXPO?

[bugalug]

hi all

Just wondering if anyone has been to the Baby Expo in the past....the one in Sydney is pretty soon and was thinking about going but just wondering what everyone else thought of it and if its actually worth going to ???

Thanks

[visitor1]

I went to the Melbourne one last year and thpught it was a waste of time and money

[~Kim~]

I've been to a couple, pre and post baby.
If you print off the free ticket then it's not too bad to go and have a look around. Most of the products there are superfluous and unnecesaary (and overpriced for the show so they can ''offer' a great deal).
I found it great to be able to touch and feel cloth nappies before I bought them as there aren't many places in Sydney you can do that.
If you know what you do and don't need and approx prices on everything and won't be sucked into a bad deal, then it's good. There used to be free samples of everything, but now not so many and not so great samples.
lol there are also a LOT of those nasty pram mothers there too - I used to feel like saying "hey we're all here for the same purpose love!"

[didispunk]

I went.. lots of $$ things But so worth all the free giveaways!!!!!! loved it bring a pram!

[feeb]

I have been to the melb one every year for a few years now with friends.
I love going have never paid entry as there are always free entry tickets available whether you print it out or pick one up at pharnacy, hospital, mchn or other place (often sponsered by panadol)

I have always picked up heaps of freebies and bought stuff cheap last year bought a heap of blankets and rattles etc for adding to hampers for friends babies very cheap. A lot of big stuff is expensive thought.

Dorothy the dinosaur or someone is usally there for entertianment for the kids and my frineds kids have always loved it!!!

[meow]

I really enjoyed it. We printed out free tickets and skipped loads of mainstream that wasn't our style but still found enough interesting cloth nappies, toys, clothes, port-a-cots... to look at and interest us.

[*Efjay*]

Print out the free ticket, pay for all day parking & then spend the day going round & round collecting free samples LOL. Thats what I do & its great.

[Schmickers]

We went before the birth of Molly and we loved it. We got a great bargain on a pram that we loved, as well as a few other good deals, and it's pretty exciting exploring all of the new baby stuff.

We're going again this year just to see what childrens' stuff there is, and as someone mentioned - lots of free samples, etc.

[Ozziehoffy]

Can't say that I was impressed nor unimpressed. We had free tickets so that was good. We have some friends who went and said they got HEAPS of freebies etc and were raving, can't say we got many freebies at all! I would say go the first day or two cos maybe that's when there's more freebies? We went on the Sunday and they went on the Saturday. Good for a look at a lot of different products under one roof but that's about it.

[kristy J]

YAY, loved it last year, lots of free stuff.....cann't wait till saturday to go.

and heaps of compatitions to enter to win cool stuff......

[*Efjay*]

Hey Kristy, you should (if you like) send me a msg on Saturday (I will PM you my mobile) and maybe we can meet up while we are both there....

[kristy J]

hey FionaJill thanks for the invite, I'm going with My DH and a friend and her DH so i will have to play it by ear. i'll take your number and see how we go on the day.

thankyou so much, and it is a great idea even if i don't end up meeting this time.....

[*Efjay*]

no worries, I am going to be with all 3 of my kids & am going to wear my BB lenyard thingy, so even if you notice who you might think is me, sms me & see LOL

[Junglemum]

I went to melbourne last year and thought it was great, particulalry to see and feel the cloth nappies IRL.
Yes there is alot of stuff you don't need, but i still had a good day and got some nappies and a great deal on a nappybag and a play mat.
I will say that the food was TERRIBLE and way overpriced!

[Mother Goose]

I think it depends on WHY you are going as to how good it is. We went before DD was born and thought it was great - lots of relevant info for first time parents-to-be and got to see a lot of products in one spot without having to trek to a million stores all over the bloomin' state! There were a couple of Big Brand baby stores with decent stalls so you could buy all the normal things but at a better price (but know your prices before you get there if you know what you want). There are people who try the "Hard Sell" tactic on you and it can be overwhelming so feel free to "take a break" and come back to the stall if you think you want the product.
The second year we went, we were looking for things for the 10 - 12 month age bracket and didn't see much that was a decent price. Although I DID buy a jolly jumper! A lot of the info was also irrelevant. We didn't enjoy it as much and found it a PITA with the pram.

We didn't get many freebies either year and the ones we did see were really aimed at newborns.

If you go, have a great time and schedule in a rest time because you will need to sit and regroup - it can be full on!

MG