![]() Since we planned to eat first, we decided to grab all our shopping tools after we had lunch. At the entrance, you can also pick up an IKEA catalog, a store map, and a big yellow shopping bag. You’ll also find the escalator to the upper level (you enter at the ground level), and an elevator tucked in the back. First, right in front of you will be a sales associate ready to direct you around the store and answer your questions. When you first enter the store, you’ll find a few things going on. It will be very hard to push the stroller and pull a cart full of furniture. If you are alone and plan to take home a HEMNES bookcase, rethink the stroller. A stroller works pretty well in this store since they have wide aisles and elevators, but only IF you are shopping with someone else or IF you are not buying big items. Having been there before, I was aware of their many shopping cart options (I’ll go into those further below). We decided to let our boy walk into the store. The family lot is really close to the entrance! The family friendly parking lot is located on the side of the building, right near the entrance, and just below the big IKEA sign. This convenient parking is the just the first of the many perks this store offers families. On a busy shopping day, that could really come in handy so you can avoid walking through the entire parking lot with a child in tow. But I recently discovered on my last trip, there is a family friendly parking lot. When you first pull in, you’ll see they have a huge parking lot! On a day like the one we visited, you could easily find parking close to the store. The perfect kind of day for shopping! It was a Wednesday morning/afternoon so the store was not busy at all, despite being the holiday season. to 9 p.m.Īs you can see, we visited on a dreary, rainy day. The New Haven store is open daily from 10 a.m. IKEA should be easy to get to, it’s right off the highway (you can see it from the highway!) but road construction manages to make it more challenging than you imagine. Getting home though, our GPS took us into downtown New Haven, and even then, we had to follow the signs for the highway (because our GPS was being dumb). We had no issue getting to the store from 91N. With all the construction and road work, you will want to make sure your GPS/phone is up to date with its maps, and even then you will probably be sent around in the weirdest way because there are road blocks or closed ramps or something else that changes the route. I will admit, the drive to IKEA is not bad. When you are traveling that far to go shopping, it needs to be worth the car ride with a child. I think I go down there maybe twice a year. ![]() It’s not something we do every week, heck even monthly. IKEA in New Haven is a destination shopping trip for those of us in Northern Connecticut. The only thing stopping me from going there every weekend is the fact that it takes almost an hour to drive there. And it’s a brilliant marketing ploy on their behalf because it works. So they have made their stores super family friendly. They want you spend a lot of time in their store, because then you’ll spend more money. ![]() IKEA is a major game changer when it comes to shopping with little ones. I can picture the glass vases shattering and the pillows being thrown everywhere. Sure, most kids can tolerate a trip to Target or Big Y but a furniture and housewares store? That sounds terrifying. Most stores are not really “kid-friendly”. If you’re lucky, maybe you can convince your husband into watching the kids while you rush through Target… with your 10 page wishlist and a Starbucks Grande Caramel Macchiato. You get in, get what you need and get out. Sometimes, I break out my phone in case of emergency. I get to spend no more than an hour tops before complete and utter meltdown occurs. And he only lasts that long because I arm myself with drinks, snacks and his trains. Or how I could match those boots to a certain sweater in my closet. Or how I could use that mason jar to create some insane Pinterest craft. I imagine where I might place that lamp in my living room. Shopping! I love shopping! I love spending hours in a store, perusing slowly down the aisles while I look at every single little thing. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |