The perfect family outing?

So if your baby or toddler can't do restaurants or malls (ok, let's be realistic here, can't go out in public), then Ikea is the perfect place. I haven't gone there in awhile, so maybe some of you will think this post is old news. But I figure if I didn't know the latest Ikea info, then there has to be someone who doesn't know either!

Two things babies and tots love are food and toys. The two departments (in the Etobicoke location) are beside each other, so transitioning between the two places is effortless. My daughter — who is now 21 months old — loved exploring the mock bedrooms, little furniture and toy displays. And when she got her hands on a night light, I was fine with this because it was completely kid-friendly.  Now if I wasn't on a strict budget, I probably would've picked out a toy or two for her (or maybe more so for me?!). For toys, the prices are pretty decent. For instance, a cloth 14-piece vegetable set is $9.99. It's safe for the washer and dryer, so I would definitely dish out $10 if I can wash it that easily!

Restaurants for my daughter are VERY problematic — she can only do Pizza Hut and Asian buffets because she loves to walk (or should I say run) around. However, we have added Ikea to our list! There's enough room for a tot to roam around and high chairs and booster seats are readily available. And because the atmosphere is so family-friendly (P.S. lots of natural bright light!), I wasn't embarrassed when my daughter stood tall on her booster seat or pushed her stroller down an aisle. (Or maybe I didn't care because there were teenagers dancing beside my table anyway!)

Now when you go to Ikea, you MUST have their Swedish meatballs. Great prices here, too —10-piece meatball dinner, salad and drink is $5.99. Kid meals are $1.99. If your baby is on purees, you can get free baby food with an adult meal. For the hell of it, we got some baby food and surprisingly, it was an organic Heinz mixed veggies jar! So for a freebie, that's not bad at all.

When we finally ventured to other departments that were not kid related, we felt no pressure to leave due to annoyed customers and employees. Families are all over the place with newborns or babies in strollers, slings, etc. and shockingly, my daughter wasn't pulling us away when we were looking at closet displays for 30 minutes.

Can you recommend any other family-friendly stores or restaurants? Feel free to share with myself and other readers!