A snowstorm in Denmark led to a massive impromptu sleepover at an IKEA after customers and staff couldn’t get home.
With Wednesday’s blizzard leading to twelve inches of snow blanketing the city of Aalborg in northern Denmark, 31 people had no choice but to sit out the storm at the Swedish furniture retailer.
The slumber party was made up of two dozen IKEA employees, six customers, and several staff members from a neighbouring toy store.
Store manager Peter Elmose told Insider that it was a “once in a lifetime experience”.
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The group watched telly, played card games, snacked on food from the staff cafeteria, and bedded down on the showroom displays. Christmas films and Liverpool’s clash with Everton were amongst the displays enjoyed by the stranded Danes on a large projector.
Toy shop worker Michelle Barrett told DR: “It’s much better than sleeping in one’s car. It has been nice and warm and we are just happy that they would let us in.
She added: “We just laughed at the situation because we will probably not experience it again.”
Another one of the stranded few was interviewed as he slumbered on one of the plush display beds.
The remarkably comfortable-looking man said: “I took the one that looked the best and I have no idea what bed it is. I just took the one that looked really good.”
In the morning they enjoyed a breakfast of coffee and cinnamon buns. As a parting gift, Elmose gave them all a pillow as a memento.
By 10 o’clock, the store was back open and staff were ready to greet customers.
Ægtepar måtte overnatte i Ikea: - Der var helt frit valg mellem alle sengene https://t.co/MuSDOo3nrb pic.twitter.com/gRAYtDO3Q1
— TV2 Nord (@TV2Nord) December 2, 2021
A similar lock-in happened in Yorkshire at the end of November when 61 people were trapped in the Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales for three nights as a result of heavy snowfall during Storm Arwen.
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