Family Outing to IKEA

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My husband and I woke up one morning with no plans for the day.  We (correction, I) was giddy with the anticipation of doing something new and adventurous.  After throwing out a number of ideas, we decided we’d drive to Ikea, have some breakfast and walk around for a bit.  We figured it was cheap, cool and somewhat kid friendly.

Little did we know that it would be AMAZING!

We arrived right as their restaurant was opening  (9:30 am M-F and 9 am Sat and Sun) and quickly collected our Big Breakfasts.

Side-note :: Before flying through this very important fact I do need to shine a little light on my newly found love/obsession of the Big Breakfast.   For $1.99 you get a large plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, french toast sticks and a cup of coffee. You also can’t beat the fact that there are games/toys/activities for the kids to play with IN the restaurant itself and lots of high chairs to go around.

So let’s review…

Big Breakfast ($1.99) + lots of high chairs + toys in restaurant + coffee =

HAPPY mom

Upon finishing our breakfasts, we loaded the kids up in the stroller and headed to the Kids Ikea area where we let Elsie and Nora run wild (with parental supervision of course).  They were all smiles as they played in the small little kiddie beds, read books, rocked on the rocking horse, slid down the slide, played in the play tent and tested out all of the fun little toys.  For the morning, Ikea became a kids wonderland.

And finally to cap off our family trip to Ikea, Nora spent the last 30 minutes of our shopping adventure riding the Ikea carts.  She thought she hit the jackpot as her daddy pushed her up and down each aisle as if they were riding a ride at Disneyland.

So to recap.  Here’s the recipe for a successful Family Trip to Ikea

  • Enjoy Breakfast at the Restaurant.
  • Let the kids run wild in the Kids area.
  • Don’t forget to let your kids ride the carts on the ground floor level. Trust me – they’ll love it!

And as if I need to convince you more, I thought I’d cap off this post with some of my Top Ikea Mommy Picks (because well, I feel like it’s my mommy duty to do so).

Top Ikea Mommy Picks

  1. POANG Children’s Armchair :: I’m a fan of cute little kid’s chairs.  But I’ve never been a fan of the price tags.  For the most part it seems like the one’s I like are always $100+.  Thankfully I stumbled across this cute little chair from Ikea and it fit our budget perfectly.  $29.99?  Yes please!
  2. KALAS Kids Plates, Bowls and Cups :: What mom doesn’t need some good (but cheap) plastic serving pieces for her child(ren)?  These are by far my favorite option.  At $1.99/pack, what’s not to love about them?  Gotta love Ikea’s prices!  They are probably cheaper than disposable cutlery!
  3. ANTILOP Highchair :: There’s no hiding that I love having people over.  So much so that we often find ourselves in a pinch when it comes to seating for small children. Thankfully this sweet little highchair has come in extremely handy. ($25.99)
  4. MALA Easel and Long Sleeve Art Apron :: At $14.99 (easel) and $3.99 (apron), these two Ikea items are great for any little artist.
  5. DUKTIG Mini-Kitchen :: Nora’s third birthday provided the perfect opportunity to buy her a mini-kitchen.  Thankfully we were even able to purchase it during our most recent trip and Nora had no clue (so much so that she’s sitting right on the boxes for the kitchen in the above picture and had NO idea).  🙂  At $139.99 the Ikea Mini-Kitchen is one of my favorites because of it’s price tag and simplicity.

Am I forgetting anything?  IKEA Pros – please comment below with your picks and/or Ikea Family Outing tips.

 

3 COMMENTS

  1. Steph, I confess I have not been to IKEA since COLLEGE (and it wasn’t in Arizona). I remember it being so BIG and overwhelming. Is that just my imagination? Are there sections for the smaller ticket items (like the plastic bowls etc. you mentioned) and then big furniture elsewhere? Prep me for how it’s organized?!?!?! Thanks for this post! 🙂

  2. Don’t forget to sign-up for an IKEA Family card- its free an you get special perks like extra time for your kiddos in the children’s area, free coffee or tea, and special discounts on various items (the items change throughout the year).

  3. This post couldn’t be more timely; I was just musing last night about using some Ikea slipped sofas in our new houses’ living room. (You can even check out the subsequent inspiration board I created here: https://www.mypeanutbuttercups.com/2012/07/creating-decor-inspiration-board.html) I keep reading about mom’s using them (even the stark white ones) because they’re cheap and the slips are easy to replace. I’m like Sarah, I hadn’t really been to an Ikea since college and I totally haven’t made a family day out of it yet. Can’t wait to make a day of it – thanks for sharing!

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