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A couple of months ago I mentioned that we had been invited to this year’s Digital Kids Show at Event City in Manchester. I did wonder if the show would be a little too ‘old’ for Daisy and Jake but decided that we would give it a go to see what was there for the younger ones.

We had tickets for the first day of the event which was Saturday, we decided to have lunch at home and then head there afterwards. My two don’t do well in queues so I figured we would avoid the initial rush to get in. We parked easily next to Event City, that’s the great thing about this location there are ample amounts of free parking.

Entry to the event was really quick, I did hear that there were large queues on opening but by the time we got there everyone was already in. I did expect to have my bag checked on the way in but this didn’t happen which I did find a little worrying in the current climate.

Once inside Daisy and Jake made a bee-line for the giant Minion. I think Jake fits in perfectly in the Minions lineup.

We decided to have a look around before deciding what to do. A lot of the stands and activities were full and there were a lot of long queues. I know of course that queues are an inevitable part of events like this and that’s why I think it’s better for older kids. Although the event hall is huge I did feel that the layout was a little awkward, some areas seemed squashed together almost.

We didn’t attend any of the meet and greets as the kids weren’t aware who the YouTube stars were so I can’t comment on those. We also didn’t catch any of the shows but I did hear good things about them on social media.

Here are some of the things from the show that we did enjoy.

Siemens had a huge area for the kids to build train tracks. I think Daisy and Jake would have spent the whole day here quite happily.

We found this Moonie’s Moonbase tucked in behind the Manchester City event area. Jake loved constructing the huge foam pipes and Daisy made herself at home in a crater.

Daisy was thrilled to spot a face painting table and went for an Elsa from Frozen crown.

We then found a little area for under 5’s with some soft play, a little sand table and some other activities. Daisy and Jake were happy to spend some time there.

Jake has a couple of HEX Bugs at home and Father Christmas might be bringing him some too. We found a HEX Bug stand and got to play with some of the new products. I was a little disappointed that the products weren’t for sale at the show. Daisy sat and designed her own HEX Bug for a competition they were running.

The kids were delighted when we found the Anki stand, having recently reviewed the Anki Overdrive starter set we are big fans.

The Anki Cozmo robot is top of my own wish list this Christmas, it’s fantastic!

There was definitely lots there for the older kids and those that are heavily into gaming. I don’t think there was enough at the event to keep younger children occupied. I think to get the most out of a show like Digital Kids the best ages to take are ages 7 and upwards.

I don’t think we would visit again until the kids are much older, they did enjoy some of the things but it wouldn’t be worth the ticket price for us a young family.