PARENTS are racing to a popular high street store to get their hands on Squishmallows for half-price in time for Christmas – here’s how to get yours.
The spongy products popularity skyrockets with more than £100million of the colourful creatures snapped up worldwide with sales rising by 11 per cent in the UK.
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The cuddly soft toys are now selling for half-price and can be bought online at Claire’s website and their stores.
The half-price deal was shared on the Facebook group Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK, where members frequently post about great bargains.
Prices for the popular discounted Squishmallows range between £4 and £8.
These toys are the perfect Christmas gifts with several shoppers tagging their friends so they can snap up the half-priced items.
One user wrote: “Thank you so much for sharing this!
“My LO is obsessed with the mooshake collection and already has them on her Xmas list.”
However, this shopper explained that the discounted toys are only available at Claire’s bigger stores.
“Went into Ipswich one, and she said bigger stores,” they added.
The Squishmallows are also available from other major retailers, but they cost more than the prices at Claire’s.
Smyths has also halved the toys’ price, but shoppers still need to pay £12.50, which is £6 more than the highest discounted Squishmallow at Claire’s.
Similarly, fans of the product can buy the toys from Amazon, which are still about £2 more than the prices at the boutique store.
The sought-after Squishmallows are bound to be a popular Christmas gift this year, with A-list celebrities also getting in on the trend.
Lady Gaga and Kim Kardashian are fans of the range, which includes mythical creatures such as Ace The Unicorn, vegetables and branded editions, including Harry Potter, Star Wars and CoComelon.
They adorn kids’ bedrooms across the country and, in extreme cases, are taking over homes.
Alpna Smith’s 12-year-old daughter Skye has a collection worth more than £2,500.
The online content marketer from Coventry says: “Skye has more than 120 Squishmallows.
“They don’t all fit in her room, so we have them in cupboards downstairs and on the sofa.
“I find them in the car, on the kitchen worktops. Sometimes I think the entire house is a Squishy zone.”
More deals on at Claire’s
- The high street retailer is also offering a Buy Three Get Three Free deal – an in-store exclusive.
- If you’re shopping online, the brand has a huge 50 per cent off Hair, Jewellery and Beauty offer.
- There’s also a scheme allowing FREE earrings for a year when you get your ears pierced at a branch – Exclusions apply.
- Meanwhile, customers can bag free shipping on orders more than £20 – but you must be a Claire’s Club member.
- Their Season Steals sale also boasts 60 per cent off hundreds of styles.
Alpna, who also lives with husband Andy, 44, a business manager, and son Leo, five, once shelled out £150 at an online auction for a rare Patty The Cow toy — three times what it cost at retail.
She says: “If a new one is coming out, Skye gets obsessed and asks me to set reminders on my phone so she doesn’t miss out.”
Despite that sounding like a canny investment, leading toyologist Peter Jenkinson warns that toys do not always increase in value.
“Everyone thought that Beanie Babies would be worth a fortune,” he says of the Nineties soft toys.
“But actually, when people sell them now, they are only worth around half of the original price.
“Squishmallows may be worth a little more at some point, but there are a lot of them out there. And there are lots of copycat versions.”
Squishmallows were created by Sunny Cho, who worked for Kelly Toys, and launched in 2017.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
The first ones included Cam the Cat, Wendy the Frog and Hans the Hedgehog.
There are around 3,000 designs, each with its own name and biography.
How to bag a bargain
SUN Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to find a cut-price item and bag a bargain…
Sign up to loyalty schemes of the brands that you regularly shop with.
Big names regularly offer discounts or special lower prices for members, among other perks.
Sales are when you can pick up a real steal.
Retailers usually have periodic promotions that tie into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends, so keep a lookout and shop when these deals are on.
Sign up to mailing lists and you’ll also be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too.
When buying online, always do a search for money off codes or vouchers that you can use vouchercodes.co.uk and myvouchercodes.co.uk are just two sites that round up promotions by retailer.
Scanner apps are useful to have on your phone. Trolley.co.uk app has a scanner that you can use to compare prices on branded items when out shopping.
Bargain hunters can also use B&M’s scanner in the app to find discounts in-store before staff have marked them out.
And always check if you can get cashback before paying which in effect means you’ll get some of your money back or a discount on the item.
