IKEA

[Mrspopper]

When will I learn? Always think it's a good idea to go. It's always on a weekend. Heaving. Massive queues. Toddler refusing to sit in trolley. Argue with DH. Everyone is miserable. Don't buy much but still spend £100. WIBU to say NEVER again, then forget how awful it is in 6 months and go again.

[Needaninsight]

It's not awful, it's a day out.

It's not M&S, or John Lewis, browse at what you want and then head to the till to pay.

Surely you've learnt this by now!

ps. Weekend can be a good time to go. Go Saturday morning at 9am. Trust me, it's dead.

[Shirkingfromhome]

No, YANBU. We get sucked in every now and then although to be fair I think their children's furniture is pretty good. Our last trip ended with ds throwing up at the checkouts. I think he summised how everyone was feeling pretty well

[nancy75]

Ikea - Swedish for lets have an argument

[I8toys]

Awful - they should have lawyers on the exit offering divorce advice.... they would make a killing.

[pigsDOfly]

It must be 15 years since I last visited IKEA. Nothing's changed I see.

[misskatamari]

Yanbu! But we are exactly the same. There has been many a weekend where we just want to rest and then get the silly idea in our heads that going to IKEA will be fun. Get half way round and think what the hell possessed us! But at least there are meatballs and pick n mix.

Next time you forget this and decide to go, I recommend listening to this to really get yourself ready for the trip

[Oysterbabe]

I refuse to go. DH loves it.

[Palomb]

We went today too and it was heaving with fed up looking husbands. It wouldn't we so bad if people didn't dawdle along.. Either stop and look and something or bloody move!

We were in an out in an hour thigh so no too bad.

[Mrspopper]

We were there for 4 hours. I need a vat of wine but am pregnant.

[JimmyGreavesMoustache]

I don't mind it TBH
but I'm only a 15 min drive away, so I can be in, out with what I need, and home within an hour.


this is for the haterz (need to zoom in a bit).

[EssentialHummus]

I only go a) at 9am and b) having written down the "Location number" of the item online and heading straight for it. That way I have a snowball's chance in hell of leaving without 50 tealight candles and a bag of frozen meatballs

[Palomb]

4 hours! I think you deserve a treat even if not wine 🍫

[ouryve]

Best to go as soon as it opens or on weekday evenings. Far more civilised. Though the restaurant always seems to be full before its even opened.

[IfItsGoodEnough4ShirleyBassey]

I love it but I can't drive so I'm only allowed to go every ten years once DH has recovered from his previous visit.

[lampygirl]

I live 5 mins from one. The 'day out' brigade are the pain of my life. If I go in my lunch hour I can be in and out in 30 mins having gone round the whole marketplace bit, went this afternoon and it took over an hour to get 2 cutlery trays and some bowls.

It's a shop. Just like Sainsburys, or M&S or B&Q. None of them are a day out.

[SunnyL]

DD and i treat it as a free playpark on rainy days. We go play in the fake flats and bounce on beds. I can't remember the last time we bought anything

[Sunflower1985]

Ours is an hour and a half away (although there's one soon opening). We went a few weeks ago. Tried so hard not to have an argument, but of course we did. Their online stock was wrong, as was the in store one, so what we wanted wasn't actually there. Then online customer services took a week to reply to our complaint. Still, we got free shipping out of it.
If you have a toddler I suggest clearing your day for the trip and being prepared to just find a clear piece of floor and sitting it out (whilst mnettting of course).

[civilfawlty]

I go with ds (4) on a weekday morning. He likes to browse and measure things (!) and then we have lunch. No queues. No DH to negotiate with on bathmat colours or whatever. Much better.

[CombineBananaFister]

I must go to a different IKEA, not a day out but not stressful - research online first, go get what you want, have a bit of food, job done If it's not like that for you, bin it off - no shop is worth stress.

tbh I don't get IKEA 'browsers' as they only change about eight of their products every season so have pretty much been selling the same shizzle for 10 years. If anyone doesn't know what they need by now, there's something amiss

[OolonColluphid]

I took a picture at Ikea on Wednesday afternoon just before 5pm of my son being the only person in the restaurant, we had a good tinker about and mostly bought 10p Xmas candles 😍

[Merguez]

Haven't been to IKEA for many years for this reason.

And DH says we're too poor to be able to afford cheap stuff :-)

[Aworldofmyown]

I went into labour in IKEA!!!

[UnderTheGreenwoodTree]

I went into labour in IKEA!!!

Did you find your way out in time?

Ikea always starts off well for us, happy kids, sitting on the sofas, playing in the kids bit - then by the time we get to dept we want - say the rugs - probably about an hour later - they're grouching, DH is telling me what the time is ( why does he do that?) - by the checkouts, we're close to giving up on life altogether.

[SwedishEdith]

I like it but have 2 close by and usually only go in the evening or on inset days.

[buddhasbelly]

this always springs to mind