Costco newbie…what do I need?

[GiraffeGlee]

I’m heading to Costco for the first time tomorrow! Any tips from the pros? What are the must haves I should look out for? Also can I do a good chunk of my Christmas shopping there—both food and presents? 🎄

Wrapping paper. I only just had to buy another set, and the first set I bought over 8 years ago.

Dustbin sacks - massive roll, but they're sturdy

The tins of spiced thin biscuits (but careful, they disappear fast!)

Then it's dependent on what you need - we often get the sushi or one of the pre-made meals for dinner that day (it's a bit of a trek for us)

I buy my washing liquid/vitamin tablets, and when the kids were little their nappies and wipes.

The dried mango in the white packet with pink writing is amazing.

Ketchup, Hotchocolate, pink salt, sacks of breadflour

I get crocs in summer and sheepskin boots in winter, the halloween costumes are normally great

Basically.. you probably won't be disappointed by anything you buy. It's often cheaper, and it's uniformly of good quality.

I’ve started going once a month to specifically buy the box of 28 Belgian waffles, the 10% fat Greek yoghurt and a boneless leg of lamb.

Toilet rolls.
Lurpak
Bananas
Berries
Booze
Tinned tomatoes
Laundry liquid
Soap
Anything you use but won't get eaten up straight away if theres loads of it, eg if I buy a box of crisps theyll disappear but things like pasta, coffee beans etc will last.
They've got a selection of Christmas toys, books etc in atm, depends what you're looking for. I used to get the Christmas wrapping paper but stopped as I don't think it's recyclable

Christmas wrapping paper.
The cling film and foil will last years.
Toilet paper and tissues
Anything Kirkland - the dishwasher tabs, the washing powder, fabric conditioner.
Kirkland slippers.
Kirkland batteries.
The brownie mix.
Tinned tomatoes/coconut milk/chickpeas
The big Kirkland spice mixes.
Gourmia air fryer

I'd walk around with a list of price per kg of everything you usually buy and get whatever is cheaper, remembering to use the VAT price on the sticker.

Their kitchen roll is epic, big sheets and really sturdy.
Toilet roll.
Own brand blue fabric softener.
Spiced/ginger thin biscuits in a round red tin.
Skippy peanut butter.
A tray of enchiladas from the chilled section for dinner!
The above are our regular purchases, it’s so easy to go for the basics and spend £200+ though.
Also, fuel - diesel at Costco is cheaper for premium than our local garages are for standard, so we try and time it to fill up whichever car we go in (our Costco is an hour away, so unfortunately can’t use the fuel station all the time).

I second most of the things suggested on this thread but I'd also add Kirkland Maple syrup and their Agave syrup

Thank you so much for the suggestions! I’m putting together a list from all your ideas. It’s just under 2hrs from our house so it’s too far for us to pop to regularly so I need to make the most of it 🤣

Peanut butter Pretzels.
The square chocolate chip shortcake cookies.
Lemon drizzle cake.
Jarred crabmeat.
Pork shoulder steaks.
Lamb leg steaks.
Avocado oil.
Wasabi Japanese rice crackers.

My son picks me up toilet rolls and a box of washing powder - both last forever!. On the one occasion he took me, I ended up with huge boxes of cookies "to share" (no they weren't shared), some tinfoil, baking parchment and a big pack of chicken breasts but I then someone told me none of their meat is verified as from kindly farmed sources so I didn't want any more! No idea if this is true

Muffins (in the bakery section)! They freeze well too - I defrost the night before and heat up in the oven.

Besides the above the prawn fried rice and the Wonton soup from the freezer section are both staples in our house.

The clothes are usually good quality. My favourite dresses (with deep pockets) came from Costco. I got my dad a cashmere scarf when he was diagnosed with cancer which he wore all the time. The gloves and thermals are also great.

At Christmas we like the mini panettone which comes in a long stack of flavours (great for splitting into stockings), the wrapping paper (reversible) and the ribbon.

Dc1's current bike, our playhouse, dc2's massive kidcraft dolls house and my 2 ft Frankenstein's monster were all from Costco. In fact we've bought a lot of gifts over the years. Never regretted membership! (Dh may though)

I totally agree with the red tin of spiced biscuits. They make nice Christmas presents.

I get our cling film, baking paper and tin foil from there. They genuinely last years and years.

They do really good quality thick paper plates if you are hosting buffets/parties.

My two favourite blankets are both from Costco. One I've had around 12 years, it's been washed and tumble dried countless times and it's still perfect.

Food wise they do a pack of 10 or so flatbreads in the bakery section. They are listed as naans from memory but they are amazing and so versatile. I do use them with curries but also as bases for homemade pizzas, or as flatbread wraps for a kebab style dinner. They're lovely.

Peanut butter pretzel bites are amazing, as are the duck bao buns and chilli cheese bites in the freezer section.

If you're hosting any parties get one of the massive bags of pink himalayan salt crinkle cut crisps.

If you like spiced rum and they have a bottle of Bumbu rum then grab it!

Fresh food to take home for dinner we like the beef stew with dumplings and the loaded "dirty" potato wedges, or one of the giant pepperoni pizzas.

Get a hotdog and a drink from the café at the end for £1.50.

Christmas wrapping paper
Bottles water
Chicken nuggets
Shrimp fried rice from the freezer section
Cereal
Big tins of Galaxy hot chocolate

There's are our regular buys 😁

I just got back from my first ever Costco trip!
I got chocolate chips (they have semi sweet and we bake a lot)
loads of fun snacks
maple syrup
giant jars of olives (way cheaper and we can eat plenty!)
giant marshmallows for bonfire night
cinnamon rolls
some Christmas sweets to put away
ditto Halloween
and some other bits and pieces

for me it’s particularly exciting as I’m an American immigrant so some of the brands are what I grew up with. And the plethora of peanut butter themed snacks are great

Off the top of my head, this is what I bought last week

Greek yogurt
toilet roll
kitchen roll
bin bags
pip and nuts peanut butter
minced beef
pork shoulder
Bonne maman jam
Cheddar cheese
fresh flowers that last for weeks, (nice treat)
Christmas wrapping paper-double sided so great if you have two kids to wrap for -easy to know which present is which
flaxseeds
bleach
chia seeds
tuna
kidney beans
pesto
naan breads
ugg type sheepskin slippers in at the moment
chocolate truffles (no palm oil) two red tins that come in a box

Thank you so much, there’s lots of brilliant suggestions that I will be on the lookout for tomorrow

I echo lots of the above (and some new inspo for me too!)
winners for me are;
maple syrup
bagels (and freeze)
bin bags
dishwasher tabs
toofoo tofu
almond butter
kids smoothies
frozen stir fry mix
ramonas jalepeno homous
wonton soups
avocado oil