the ikea update

There is nothing like doing a blog post, and completely going against everything I had said. I had to return to Ikea. On a saturday, with two little people. I have no doubt you are feeling what you might think was pain for me as a parent. There was no pain. Only laughter, as I remembered my Ikea steps to success.

We arrived early. The store was experiencing technical difficulties. It opened an hour after we arrived.

We did this to entertain ourselves. One Ikea worker said to me, "you are very relaxed, and not angry." I said to her, "you are going to have enough angry people abusing you all day. It is not your fault." We were happy.

Once we had our gift card for the exchange*, we went through the store backwards. Against the grain, on a saturday. With an hours worth of customers coming the opposite way.

This is how we got around.

This is what we did for fun.

They played with anything.

We spent a good hour cruising, getting in the way, breaking a candle at the checkout, running back to get another, while half way through the self checkout service. (Honestly, I didn't care about the people waiting in line. I cared about the little girl that would of cried all the way home in the car). Sometimes you have to do what is best for you as a parent, and for your little person, and get those other people, without children to suck it up. No one got angry with us. I think there was understanding, while my little girl sat and cried.

So my advice on Ikea. Rock it any day of the week. Do it with little people. And go in there with a relaxed attitude. Enjoy it, like it is a day at the park. Sit in the 'made up' areas, and play house. Jump on the beds. Go against the grain, for shits and giggles. And remember to tell your friends you are going, it is nice to grab the little things they need. This is the Ikea code amongst friends. But be careful going with little people, you end up coming home with more than your list, or your exchange.

* Note: always write the item number down. Do not trust that the item you are looking for will be in the correct isle and location number. Sometimes, customers put things in the wrong spot, and you could pick up a 2 seater sofa cover, instead of a 3 seater sofa cover. Trust me, I pulled that darn cover as tight as I could, it was not going to fit!