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.

oh and they don't sell salmon paste anymore in the swedish shop, just the vile 'caviar' paste...

I love IKEA

I have passed this onto my children . One of them just asked for IKEA vouchers for her birthday . Don't tell me it's sad, I already know and I don't care .

LOL, I love IKEA!

Our nearest one is a 45 min drive away so I sometimes go with my best friend and our two 4 year old boys for a day out We leave just after the school run, have a bit of a wander in the furniture part and children's section and then pop the boys in the creche for 45 mins whilst we do the actual shopping (with our lists and location numbers) and pack it into the car. We then have lunch there and end up in the covered outside playpark for about an hour, with some cinnamon buns and a coffee. It's great!

We are taking part in their 'lagom' project at the moment. They gave me £500 to spend in store. It was like Christmas!
We've been assembling some of our stuff today, tomorrow is lighting day

And yes, I still overspend

Overspent *

YABU. IKEA rocks.

If we're going for something specific we know our shortcuts and get in and out only buying what we need.

If we need s general mooch for decorative bits etc we plan to be there over lunch, break up the visit with a trip to the cafe, and get the kids a toy each. It's practically a trip out.

Not as good as Beamish but better than soft play!

Love IKEA. Spent over £500 in there when we moved. The dd's bedroom is mostly IKEA, I love it.

We went just after christmas to get a toy storage unit though, big mistake! They had a sale on and it was manic and stressful, I need to go there again for meatballs.

Best time to go - during an England football match.

Worst time - a weekend just before the start of term when pfb's are going to uni - lots of sulky teens with parents buying wheat they think pfb will need.

I love going to IKEA. I love looking at all the little rooms and pretending that my home is going to look like it (and not messy stuff everywhere).
OH hates it and keeps saying we are not going (he has car and I dont). We will need to go in few months time when we move so he cant put it off forever. We only live about 10min away though.

ours is near so I head over with youngest dc while everyone else work or school. Measure up what I need, pick up smaller bits and note where big stuff is ready to haul dh for heavy lifting at weekend.

I love ikea. Although have to avoid the bargain corner at the end. A few years ago I found an ex display expedit cabinet at an amazingly cheap price.

They do not, once assembled, fit in to a Ford Fiesta.

best bit of idea is watching everyone trying to pack their purchases into too small cars

I went to an IKEA just after Christmas with my toddler. Queued for miles just to get into the car park. The store was absolutely heaving. Half way round toddler wets herself in the middle of the shop floor (just started potty training) Then found out the main item I came for was out of stock, my fault for not checking online first but still Made some other purchases including something that I had to order and pay at the till on the middle of the shop and collect at the end. Finally made it out alive after a massive toddler tantrum at the end, half way home when I realised I hadn't collected paid for item! Rang IKEA and said could they refund me but no, my only option is to go back and get it (it's not local). Needless to say I haven't built up the energy yet and now worried they won't hold it much longer - the phone guy was really unhelpful and wouldn't tell me how long they would keep it for.

We love a trip to IKEA. Ours us a 50 mile drive, so it's a morning out. Get there for breakfast, have a free coffee, buy some picture frames and Klippits and Daim bars and have ice cream on the at out. Lovely.

The funniest time I went was my daughter who has severe learning disabilities. I'd taken her for lunch, so we'd paid for our lunch and the only table left was one of the communal ones. Everyone on the table tried not get eye contact with one another.
My daughter spoke to every single person at the table and if they didn't answer she persisted to talk to them until they did.
I have never seen people look so uncomfortable. It was hilarious :o

When we used to go to IKEA we always had an early brunch/lunch and then shop while everyone else is scrambling for lunch. It's great, the playzone is empty and the queues are short. Then while everyone is shopping the hotdog/icecream/coffee place is almost empty. We don't have IKEAS where I live now (although they have shown interest in branching out here and it would be a big hit). So now I am ashamed to say when we go on holiday in the UK, IKEA is one of our top priority days out.

When I moved into my first flat my ex dp and I drove 60 miles to our nearest IKEA to buy EVERYTHING - we filled a whole transit van and spent about £3000 in a day. We arrived at 9am and left at 4pm - half way back I was looking at the receipt and realised I hadn't picked half the bed we had to turn around and go back to the warehouse and buy it again.

I've never been to IKEA.

Reading this thread makes me feel happy about that.

JuxtapositionRecords - our IKEA do not hold stock for people overnight. So your item is well gone back into stock.

I love IKEA, got our entire fitted kitchen there and then went and interviewed for them the following year. Have been working there almost eight years now and its the best place I have ever worked for.

My daughter spoke to every single person at the table and if they didn't answer she persisted to talk to them until they did. I have never seen people look so uncomfortable. It was hilarious

You need to move to Scotland . Everyone does that here. We do it on purpose to freak out any visiting Londoners

Rubble, I saw a woman fit two wardrobes into her car by taking off the cardboard and slotting and sliding it into every available crevice. She then left the cardboard propped up near the fence and driving off.

Dh wants us to go and get chest of of drawers and bedside tables, I'm dreading it even though he has it planned and just wants to do the touchy feeling thing to make sure he likes what we've seen online, and pick them up. It's just over an hour from us and we'd go right after school drop off.

Rubble, I saw a woman fit two wardrobes into her car by taking off the cardboard and slotting and sliding it into every available crevice.

Slightly off-topic, but I once fitted a W 190cm x D 100m x H 75cm dining table into a VW Golf - folded down every seat except driver's, slid driver's seat forward to the max possible, fit in table through rear, put DP in the flattened back seats under the table lucky bloke , drove home.

Table looks like this.

We bought our bedroom furniture from Ikea but only went into the store to look and then went home to order it and have it delivered. We also got one of Ikea's recommended people to come and put it together. The building part cost 20% of the price but was well worth it - we have a very big wardrobe with mirror doors and there is no way that we would have been able to lift it.

I adore ikea.

In fact me and my two best friends have all booked a day together to go for meatballs and a mooch this week.