ASG Parent and Child Show - any good?

Just wondering what people have thought of the previous auckland parent and child shows. Are there genuine bargins there? is it worth going?

I have been to the Wellington one the past 4 years and it is a not to be missed. I have only brought a few things at them and they were good deals. With the amount of freebies handed to you it is well worth the entry fee. I am working out at the moment how to convince my DH that I can go up to the AK one this year.

I have to say that I agree with Nikki. Both my husband and I thought it was a huge waste of time and money. Sure you get handed out some free nappies and the odd other thing but lots of it is just brochures and things you just end up throwing away when you get home.
Lots of people love it but I personally didn't.

We went in 2006 when I was about 12wks pg and thought it was great. We bought a few things and thought that the deals were good. I originally just went se we could compare everything 'under on roof'. It was crowded though so when we go this year we will leave Jack with my parents

I wanted to go last year.. Keziah was due on the 18th so I thought hmmm I can do this... pop her out then meet up with a couple of other mums and head to the P&C show...WRONG I was in labour and had been for almost 48 hours Little minx LOL

Am definitely going this year though, try and get some bits and pieces for Miss Keziah

I've been every year since '03, even in '06 when the gremlins were 10 days old (they were great freebie-magnets ).
I personally love it, but then I am a total consumer. Highlights for me have been stocking up on the gremlins formula cheap last year, getting all 3 of them My Blanket personalised blankets cheap, cheap MCN's, cheap Simply Colors stuff...
Yep, total consumer. Last year we went twice

nikkiwhyte wrote: I just wanted to clarify a bit why I think it's crap: I hate being marketed to in such an extreme way. I don't like canned baby food. Didn't use disposables (when I went along). Got frustrated at all the products that were designed for 'sensitive skin' which had so much bloody fragrance and chemicals in it that hannah's eczema would have flared up immediately. Wasn't very impressed with all the plasticy toys that were for offer. I guess if I was in the market for baby stuff then it might have been cool... but if you aren't I'd say save your time and money. Liked seeing cloth nappy stands though (such a hyprocrite I am . I hijacked a pregnant couple and managed to blurt out my whole cloth nappy spiel before they could run away. (Sorry if it was any of you ladies )

The Auckland one last year was everything the Wellington one wasn't by the sounds of it
There were just as many MCN stalls there as sposies stalls and I loved that there were the "normal" toys as well as the quality kiwi-made wooden stuff (but soooo expensive ) and I didn't find any of the stall holders pushy. We liked it so much Emma and I returned for more freebies the next day
Not sure if I'd go again this year as the show is more aimed at pregnant couples and those with young babies.

nikkiwhyte wrote: I think they are full of crap. But that is just my opinion

And my opinion too. Yeah, we got about 10 free nappies but that'd nowhere near cover the cost of 2 adult tickets. I don't like having to pay for entering what essentially is a shopping mall. JMO.

I received so much stuff at the first one, 52 disposable nappies, several balls and other bits and pieces. It definitely covered the entrance fee. I was around 29 weeks pregnant at the time so the ideal target.

Last year it didn't seem quite as big and I didn't get as many goodies, but there were still some great specials.

This time around I'll be around 37 weeks pregnant and I'm definitely planning to go. I'll be looking for discounts on either boosters or convertible carseats, and hoping for lots of freebies to be thrown at me again.

I'm hoping to be able to score a free ticket somehow though. The first time we had two free tickets, but there were three of us, so we still had to pay a wee bit, but we were all able to collect the freebies. The second time I was helping out on a stand so I got free tickets that way. This time around there is no way I'd help out on a stand at 37 weeks unless it was just an hour or two at a time.

Actually Sunday's were majorly quieter than Friday's also. I think a lot of mum's go on Friday assuming it'll be the quieter day and that's not the way it works. I got a lot more freebies on Sunday also.