For any parents with wee ones or grandparents with wee ones on here, I have found a fantastic place to take your kids where they can have hours of fun and all for free and the places are all up and down the country….Ikea.

I kid you not. I went to our nearest one in Batley near Leeds and it was heaving with families and all the kids were loving it. Climbing and jumping on beds and sofas, twiddling with knobs on appliances running up and down the corridors playing chase, having a great old time and then being treated to a plate of meatballs….what’s not to like?!

Anyhow seriously I went to get the stainless steel saute pan and frying pan which were £25 and £22 respectively… Hoozah!

But wait! it gets better. When I got there and went to the kitchen paraphernalia section, they did not have the saute pan on the shelves and when I went on their computer, it said ‘computer says no’ not sold in this store… damn! Except when we went in, one of the very first displays had the saute pan sitting on the side. So, I went over and asked an assistant who after seeing my pained and hurt expression and wobbly bottom lip (drama was my favourite lesson at school) said, if you go and get the display one and you are happy with it, I will give you a note to take to the reduced section and they will knock a bit off for you. But, DO NOT tell anyone it was a display one as I am not really allowed to do that.

It was in perfect condition and instead of paying £25 I got it for £17….Result!

Great service, a good product at a rediculous price and as I said, somewhere to take the kids.

    The meatballs are fantastic too. Unfortunately there isn’t an Ikea near where I live.

    Depending on the weather tomorrow, I might test the theory out.

    Pompeyexile Great service, a good product at a rediculous price and as I said, somewhere to take the kids.

    Shopping at a department store type retailer can be frustrating. Service is definitely an issue these days, as is quality control. I tend to buy kitchen and cooking equipment at specialized retailers who focus on only that; you pay abit more but (if you’re dealing with the right retailer) you benefit from their buying expertise and in-store service. As they say, you get what you pay for. This being said, IKEA does have some cool products and they often offer a good quality to price ratio.

    As for families, well: a) it’s costly to hire a babysitter every time you have to go shopping, b) IKEA markets itself as a family friendly place, including providing kids play areas and decent family food. My kids are now adults and I am a grandfather. I have not yet been shopping with a 2 year old, but I remember the challenges. And we struggled to find outings that fit within our budgets; irrespective of your means, you actually do constantly need to find new places to go and things to do. IKEA (though its family friendly approach) is one such place.

    Grandchildren make me feel young and alive; it’s wonderful to experience things through children’s eyes. They are the next generation that will have to put up with all of the problems that we have created for them. So lets be patient with them (and their parents and grandparents) while they jump on IKEA’s couches. PS It actually is fun.

      Although I have no kids I have no problem with them just being kids and playing, even in Ikea…it’s when they scream blue murder when they do not get what they want I am glad I didn’t have any.