Dear Mummy, last weekend I enjoyed some daddy daughter time while you headed up to Manchester for BlogOnToys 2018, one of the highlights of your social calendar. BlogOn is created by bloggers, for bloggers and that’s why you love it.

It’s a conference with a difference, not only does it include some fab sessions giving you the chance to learn things, like creating compelling content, brushing up on photography skills and keeping up-to-date on trends. It’s also a great opportunity to network with friendly parenting and lifestyle bloggers, pitch to brands and look at new toys. It has the most amazing goody bag and the best raffle ever, meaning you get to take away some treats for the whole family, a welcome reward for the many hours that go into what we do.

It was held at Hotel Football which had stunning views of Old Trafford in Manchester. You’ve been there a couple of times now and the staff are accommodating and friendly which is always helpful to put newbie attendees at ease. So without further ado here’s what made my mummy smile at BlogOnToys this year.

1) The amazing raffle

My mummy always makes a beeline for tickets and you don’t need to spend a fortune to win big. Unfortunately for my mummy she wasn’t very lucky when it came to the raffle, coming away empty-handed for the second time this year. You see BlogOn also takes place in May as well! However she enjoyed the opportunity to chat away to other bloggers and check out all the new toys in the BlogOn Toy Awards. The awards are made up of 10 categories and a Blogger’s Choice Award which is given to the toy with the most votes overall. The raffle is truly epic with over a hundred toys up for grabs and money goes to charity.

2) Brand Den

My mummy saw some of the newest products on the market and it’s a perfect time to network with toy marketeers. There were some great brands to talk to including Nintendo Labo, Popteenies, Playmobil, Spin Master and many more. It really was a good place to find the next toy craze that we can share with our followers and readers.

Of course BlogOnToys is a great excuse for a party, especially when it’s nearly the Christmas season! My mummy always uses the weekend as a bit of a break and a chance to chill out. She went up the night before opting to spend the day shopping, drinking cocktails and meeting up with Grandma.

She stayed at the Hilton Deansgate and would totally recommend that hotel with its swimming pool, Cloud23, an exclusive cocktail bar, fantastic breakfast and friendly staff. It was a slightly imposing hotel though and commanded views across the whole of Manchester. Check out our InstaStories to see what we mean! With a career, our blog and being my mummy it’s always good to have some time to reflect, relax and learn.

3) Food

Yes, my mummy likes anything that is colourful and this doesn’t stop at the toys! The food was truly yummy at BlogOnToys this year and my mummy loved the Christmas themed sandwiches and prosecco (not sure what that is but Daddy said it’s a drink that makes mummy giggle) kindly served up by Co-op UK.

The cake was a photo-op waiting to happen and sponsored by Party Popteenies and Spin Master. She loved the rainbow detail and colourful sponge. Plus it tasted rather good too!

4) Sessions

We’ve been following Lucy Heath from Capture by Lucy, a photography/lifestyle blog, since we started blogging and my mummy was eager to meet her and pick up some photography tips for flat lays in Instagram. It was a great drop in session and she was super friendly and had time for everyone.

Watch our video to see what we thought of the event.

We loved the Go-Pro Session hosted by Alex Wing the other half of Hannah from What Hannah Did Next. He’s a great visual designer and has his own channel WhatAlexDid. My mummy could learn a lot of tips and tricks from him about using After Effects to embellish our YouTube videos! My mummy is a full-time graphic designer and says that she needs to start pushing herself more when it comes to video editing. I think she’s very clever!

Understanding the toy industry and where you fit in their marketing plans was a fascinating session run by Vicki Marler-Hausen. With 16 years’ experience in the Toy and Licensing Industry my mummy was eager to pick up words of wisdom about a day in the life of toy PR. Seeing her slick presentation and planning calendar was a real eye-opener and it gave mummy greater understanding of how bloggers can offer more support to marketing professionals.

 

5) Goody Bags and thoughts

Laura and the team at BlogOnUK did a fantastic job once again and we’ll be back. Mummy has come away with so many ideas and is bursting with excitement about how we can inspire and share more with our wonderful followers. Maybe next year we might actually make it to the party the night before!

Where you there? What did you think? We’d love to hear in the comments x

Love Bella and her mummy Dawn x