Heigh Ho Heigh Ho, to Ikea I go. What Ikea stuff do you have and love?

[Primafacie]

OK, it looks like we are going to move house pretty soon so I will need to go to Ikea to get a ton of stuff, from high chair to toys to kitchen stuff. It's a bit of a trek from where I live (we don't drive) and we'll have to have our stuff delivered anyway, so I want to maximise the effectiveness of my shopping spree. It will be the first time I go in nearly 5 years . We are not really looking at big items of furniture, it's more the storage ideas, kitchen gadgetry and kids' stuff I am after.

What Ikea products do you swear by and couldn't be without?

Swedish meatballs, here I come...

Did you know that they do breakfast for £1.99

[http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/eating/16260/ FOOD!]]

Apologies OP - got a bit too involved there!

and I meant FOOD!

You can get the Ikea catalogue on an iPad/iPhone so you can look at it sneaking without DH realising how long your list is.

We're going to have a wall of Expedit in our new house with the desks added. And I have a dining table and chairs picked out. And I want the tunnel and cube for my daughter and that cool round chair with the canopy that comes down. And the giant arc lamp to light my dining table.

On phone so no links - I shall endeavour to do some later.

And Ikea fans should definitely check out the ikea hackers blog. It's amazing what people do on there.

Primafacie - Croydon store doesn't open for shopping until 10am during the week (but you can come and scoff the rather lush breakfast from 9am) Also - be aware that the home delivery service only delivers big items, furniture and such like, not textiles and lamps and market hall bits.

I know Dmitri, but they have a minicab service that will deliver me AND my stuff. :o

can you stagger across to the tram stop and get home from there?

get an ikea family card while you are there - you get free tea and coffee during the week so you can leave your trolley full of stuff and at the trolley park bit and go and refresh yourself at regular intervals.

(you can also feed a family of 5 a pretty good tea with deserts for under 15 quid which I find astounding)

x post - minicab sounds better!

Ahhhh mini-cab is a good idea

I like knowing MNers come to the store - it means my idle game of Spot The MNer isn't completely pointless.

We go probably once a month or so - sometimes just to have tea and get the car cleaned

How would you identify me?

Gingerbread house is a must, as is an industrial sized bag of Diam bars! When I actually get as far as the furniture, I cannot live without my Billy bookcases, but they aren't really what you're after! Tbh our house is full of IKEA stuff, and none of it has ever not done its job apart from the sodding shoe rack. If you want to avoid spending hundreds of pounds, stay away from the christmas section - I managed to spend 30 quid last year on scandinavian print wrapping paper

We are leaving behind 10 billy bookcases (wall fitted) which we'll need to replace but I would like something different if I manage to find it.

Wrapping paper, aargh, how can I resist the temptation now I know it is there?

My house is full of Billy with a little Expedit and Bonde in the living areas. Pax wardrobes and Galant office furniture upstairs. And as many mini Daims as I can stuff mysef with. I love the hot dogs as well.

WARNING - to all those who, like me, cannot leave an Ikea trip without their own body weight in mini Daim bars, they've stopped doing them :(
Instead they do what they told me were their own brand version in brown wrappers which are chocolate with butterscotch pieces in - its just not the same :(

Apart from that all the kids clothes are in expedit shelving, they all sleep in kura beds with the tunnel/tent thing, I want the malm bed with the bed head unit with shelves that pull out, the duktig kids kitchen is brill.... Oh dear, just realised what an addict I sound

Yorky your place sounds fab!

I tell you, if our house move does not happen I will be so disappointed at having missed my Ikea shopping trip I will have to get massively trollied.