Last week the sad news that IKEA was banning people from playing hide and seek in their stores was announced, but it seems that their efforts to quell people's enthusiasm may have had the opposite effect.
IKEA seem like a great bunch of lads, and last year in Belgium, they thought it would be fun to host a giant game of hide and seek that saw 500 people come up with creative ways to ensconce themselves in nooks and crannies all over the shop, including fridges and storage spaces underneath beds.
Good clean fun was had by all, but after several unsanctioned games were organised across Netherlands recently, the store had to announce that they were banning the practice, as "we need to make sure people are safe in our stores and that's hard to do if we don't even know where they are".
Fair point, well made, but as a result of all the publicity that they got from trying to ban hide and seek, it looks as though they've given plenty of people around the world the idea of setting up their own game, and one is going to take place next week here in the IKEA in Dublin.
The event has been set up on Facebook, and with over 1,800 people already claiming that they're going to attend, hiding space is going to be at a premium. You might want to get there early and think of a way that you can use the toilet without having to leave your spot at the mercy of the other vultures who are waiting to swoop in and steal your place.
