Kids Eat Free at Ikea - until 8/14/09

You may not be in the market for cheap Swedish home goods, but if you are, and you have kids, go this week to get your children a free meal! Monday -Friday, kids can choose three kid-sized items such as meatballs, yogurt, mac and cheese, chocolate milk, PB&J, cookies, and more. Better yet, no adult purchase is required.

After their free meal, let the little ones run around Småland while you browse the $.49 dog bowls, $9.99 sheets, and $129 couches!

The next post will not focus on Ikea!

Ikea Småland

Did you know Ikea has a supervised play area for kids? Potty-trained children, heights 36 - 54 inches, can play in a secure play room while you shop. You check them in, and they can play in a ball pit, watch a movie, color pictures, or play with toys. The check in process is impeccably secure: you'll leave with a pager, an arm band, and a filled-out form that you'll need to retrieve your children. My kids love the chance to play, rather than being dragged through a store!

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This arrangement has one unfortunate downfall: the time limit for children in Småland is 45 minutes. And Ikea is a huge place. The policy used to be 90 minutes, but it has recently changed. Unless you know exactly what you want, it's not enough time. I'd recommend either taking your children with you in the store and going to Småland once they are bored, or checking them in immediately and see how far you get. We hid our cart near the checkout line; retrieved the children; and they only had to wait in line with us.

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Ikea does try to make things easier for parents. Most showrooms have little play kiosks, and they have hand wipes throughout the store. The Ikea restaurant has unbelievably inexpensive kids' meals, as well as $.99 breakfasts and $.50 hotdogs. Right after the check-out line you can get a vanilla frozen yogurt cone for $.99, a nice way to end a shopping day.