Hosted at Manchester’s City Centre Home Venue on 15th April, the online retailer’s first ever influencer event was supported by leading toy and licensing companies including Paramount, Moonbug and Hasbro.

BargainMax.co.uk, the online retailer specialising in big-name brands and affordable

toys and games, is celebrating the success of its inaugural pre-school influencer event.

The special invite-only event, held centrally at Home in Manchester from 10-12am (in order to not disrupt nap-time) was attended by 34 families with children of pre-school age from across the Northwest region. The youngest attendee was aged just two months, while the oldest was four-and-a-half.

Upon arrival, the attendees were bestowed with a pair of Peppa Pig ears before being welcomed into the main event space, where sponsors Paramount, Moonbug and Hasbro had laid on a raft of toys to play with. Chase from Paw Patrol made a special guest appearance, and toys and games were also generously supplied by 8th Wonder, VTech, Trends UK, Spin Master, Jumbo Toys and Jazwares.

A face painter was on hand, creating amazing designs on the faces, hands and arms of the pre-schoolers. A soft play area complete with a ball pit and bouncy castle gave the kids somewhere to unleash their excitement, and the room was also decorated with impressive balloon displays in BargainMax.co.uk’s brand colours – blue, pink and orange.

Attendees were treated to snacks and Moonbug provided over an hours’ worth of content that the children could watch while using the arts & crafts section.

All attendees went home with a goodie bag filled with over £100 worth of toys, including a Peppa Pig flip phone, Paw Patrol play sets and a CoComelon doll.

Speaking exclusively to Toy World, BargainMax’s head of Marketing, Claire West, explained that the choice of venue aligns with BargainMax’s desire to provide more support to charitable organisations. A registered charity, the independent cinema, theatre and art gallery in Manchester city centre relies on the generosity of its members, supporters, trusts and foundations to help it bring its work to life.

She added: “When we started planning this event, we knew it was important to host our first one in Manchester, as this is where we are based, with attendees from all over the north-west region. As a business, we want to build relationships with influencers in the north-west, and the nice thing is that those we invited all know each other from the likes of Manchester’s ‘Mum Club’. It was great to see them together in a safe environment in which their children could explore, learn and play.”

Jem.themammacoach poses with her two month old son and Chase from Paw Patrol

It’s hoped the event will be the first of many aimed at turning BargainMax into an online shopping platform of choice among parents of young children. The retailer offers all the big-name brands kids and families look for, drives engagement and brand awareness via strong social media campaigns and is fast building a reputation as a trusted marketplace for affordable toys and games.

The event went down incredibly well with the influencers that attended, with all agreeing that it was a well-run, exciting and fun event.

Influencer Carlajmellor said the event was a “super wonderful space, a place that we both had fun in together. Watching my little one engage and thrive through play is my favourite thing, so thank you BargainMax.co.uk for the memories – and the best time.”

Jem.themammacoach added: “It was so lovely to be invited to the BargainMax.co.uk pre-school event. My son is only two months old, so while a little small for the soft play, he loved the sensory elements – and I got to meet Chase, which I was excited about. It was lovely to see the toys for newborns and also to meet amazing mums from the North West.”

Emilywolfandwilde said her son Wolf had an ‘absolute blast’ at the event, adding: “He enjoyed meeting Chase from Paw Patrol and was buzzing with his face paint. Thanks for inviting us, it was a great morning.”

And Hendersons_world commented: “We had the best day at the event; my little boy loved trying out some toys, especially the ice cream cart, and he loved the little trampolines and the craft table. He was so excited seeing Chase from Paw Patrol and having a little dance with him… it was an amazing day, thank you.”