My son thinks IKEA is a children's museum

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Donan enjoys tactile exhibits of a children's museum: climbable, interactive, and colourful. Mommy likes to wander aimlessly through labyrinthine aisles of department stores, scouting items she'd buy during sales events. The problem is simple: when we engage in one activity, the other person is completely bored. 

On a slow Sunday, I had difficulty finding a venue that both of them would love to visit. And then it hit me like that flying spanner that punctured the sidewall of one of my tires many years ago: We didn't need to compromise. We're going to IKEA!


 

IKEA as a children's museum

For Donan, each showroom was an interactive exhibit: an invitation to tinker with the toys, such as the plushy Aftonsparv astronaut bear, open drawers and refrigerators, tap on keyboards, and experience a whole range of different textures. He went round and round on a PS Lömsk chair, coccooned like an astronaut in a lunar excursion module after exploring the cozy study areas underneath SmÃ¥stad loft beds and behind the Kura bed tent. He curled up on a Strandmon wing chair while gazing at the different bookcases and shelves.

IKEA as a shopper's paradise

Meanwhile, Mommy was drawing up ideas on what to buy during our visit. IKEA's maze-like layout and the showrooms' contents inspired her to pick up Oftast plates (we did not need another set of plates), an Idealisk colander (we currently have at least two at home), a Hornavan utility cart (I don't know where to station this at home), and an IKEA 365+ pitcher. She was hyped by Donan's excitement! However, as we neared the counter and reality set in, she assessed her picks and settled on just the pitcher.

It was a fun outing: a children's museum met a shopper's paradise. Mission accomplished! 

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