Furniture shopping and An unexpected bargain...

Today the grandparents had our two little ones for a few hours. So how did hubby and I spend our freedom? A nice pub lunch? Some much needed sleep? A bit of other bedroom activity?

No to all of the above. We went to IKEA!

Not exactly the most relaxing or romantic way to spend a few hours without the little ones (and to be honest, most previous trips there have ended in an argument!) However we needed some new (cheap) furniture! After fighting with the no more nails on Ben's chest of drawers for the 5th time last week, the top drawer collapsed AGAIN on Saturday, and I finally managed to convince hubby (after nagging him into submission) that we needed a new display cabinet, to replace the rather rickety shelves we have in the living room at the moment with our 'breakables' on.

So off we went! After a slightly disappointing start in the cafe (we arrived at ten past eleven to realise that the £1.75 breakfast finished at 11am!) we were soon cheered up by the fact that we got 2 cinnamon buns and two coffees for just £1 in total! (to be honest I’d take a cinnamon bun over a cooked breakfast any day!)

When we arrived and saw all the children playing in the outdoor play area I wished we had brought Ben and Missy, However, I was soon very glad we hadn't as it was SO busy! I knew it was a Sunday and had expected some crowds but it was very packed and quite hard to get to look at some things! After managing to get all the way round we chose a lovely white chest of drawers for just £35 for Ben's Room and decided to purchase the offer of the week, the BJURSTA display cabinet that was just £99 (usually £199) for our living room! We did buy a few other things (you can't go to IKEA and just get what you're looking for, can you?!) but I wont bore you with the rest as these two were definitely the bargains of the bunch!

After finishing our shop (without a single argument!!) we popped over to TOYS R US as Ben had been given a gift voucher for his birthday but we don't really have one local to us, so I thought while we were close to a store I may as well see if there was anything he would like. I had also printed out a 20% off voucher I'd been emailed on Friday. I was intending to get a jigsaw or puzzle (he is puzzle mad!) and keep it in till Christmas (as he was given lots of lovely toys for his birthday, some of which he has hardly had time to play with yet!)

However while walking up and down the aisles a particular section grabbed hubby's attention and I watched as his face lit up like a child at Christmas! He had found the Scalextric!! As he was reminiscing about his childhood, my bargain radar kicked in and one particular set caught my eye. The Toy Story Micro Scalextric set was on offer at half price only £29.99! (RRP £59.99) Like many 4 year olds Ben loves Toy story, and is always running around 'flying' like Buzz or being a 'cowboy' like woody! So after looking at the set in more detail and being convinced by hubby that Ben would love it we decided to buy it as his 'main' Christmas present (I say main as we have already bought him quite a few smaller bit and bobs, but this will be the last I think!) I'm not really sure if Ben will get a look in on Christmas Day as I think Daddy really wanted it for himself!

So not only was this half price, but we got another 20% off with our voucher and used Ben's £10 gift card towards it too! So it only cost £13.99! What a bargain! It's now up in the loft waiting for Santa but I'll be sure to share a full review with you after Christmas when Ben (and Daddy) have had a proper play!

 

Quite a successful and 'penny pinching' Shopping trip overall! And Ben is now completely sorted for Christmas! Still need a few ideas for Missy though! Her 1st birthday is only 5 weeks before Christmas so I imagine she'll be getting quite a lot of toys then!