Costco Mom Hour :: A Holiday Shopping Event in Vermont

The BurlingtonVT Moms Blog team is THRILLED to bring Costco Mom Hour to Vermont. This will be one of the biggest and most awesome shopping events of the year!

{Disclaimer: We have partnered with Costco to bring you the following post and event. However, all opinions are our own, and we really do love Costco!}

My family LOVES Costco, like seriously. We have been known to center all of our weekend plans to go to Costco together to browse, shop, try samples and eat lunch. Because we have Costco Mom Hour coming up on  November 4th, it makes sense to explain what makes Costco so special, just in case you don’t know… although, you probably do!

Here are my top 12 favorite things to buy at Costco (in no particular order):

*Snacks :: Think applesauce pouches, granola bars, fruit snacks, animal crackers, trail mix… Easy snacks to grab on the go and they are all Kirkland Signature products and so MUCH cheaper than at the grocery store. My 2.5 year old lives on Kirkland Signature organic applesauce pouches… thank goodness they sell them at a good price, or we wouldn’t be able to afford our mortgage!

*Rotisserie Chicken :: I can count on one hand the amount of times that I have left Costco without buying one of their rotisserie chickens… it wasn’t by choice either! These chickens are 3 lbs (!) and cost$4.99. Thy have no preservatives, MSG free, gluten free, and USDA grade.

*Clothes :: Clothes for the kids, for my husband, me, my brothers… everyone! Every fall I buy my daughter her winter jacket and mittens from Costco. I also stock up anytime they have Carter’s fleece footie pajamas because they are $8… you only can find those prices at other stores on clearance. Recently I was able to get a two set of organic cotton pajamas for my daughter for $12… $12!

*Toys, Books & DVDs :: We read a lot in this house. One of my favorite places to peruse at Costco is their book, dvd and toy area in the center of the store. The prices are comparable to some online retailers, usually better, and you don’t have to wait for them to deliver. This section is dangerous though. I don’t normally need anything from here, but always want things…

*Produce :: We don’t even bother going to the grocery store anymore without first checking to see what Costco has for produce. Seriously, the price difference and quality is unbelievable and usually I can get it all organic as well.

*Cleaning Products :: You can’t go into one room in my house without finding a cleaning product from Costco. Either the Kirkland version (we love their dish soap) or some of my most trusted friends: Cascade, Clorox, Scrubbing Bubbles…

*Laundry Detergent :: With two adults, two children and cloth diapering we go through a lot of laundry detergent. You couldn’t pay me to get it anywhere but Costco. The Kirkland Signature brands are awesome, but I also always get my Tide and Bounce there when I need to stock up.

*Paper Products & Wipes :: At home or for our office we get all of our paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, paper plates, etc from Costco. Depending on the manufacturer’s coupons we will either get Kirkland brand or Bounty and Charmin. 

*Seasonal Items :: Costco is my favorite place to get things for the holidays: Halloween costumes, decorations and candy, Christmas wrapping paper (every year people ask me where I get it!) and more. I Black Friday shop only because I love to people watch. But between shopping at Costco and shopping at local Vermont stores the last two years I have been able to get every gift I need for Christmas, adults and kids alike.

*Toiletries and Personal Care Products :: hand soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, Aveeno face cream (you get two for the price of one at other stores!)… we get it all at Costco.

*Photo Center :: We have had our Christmas Cards, Birthday/party invitations, several canvas prints of our children and metal prints of family photos made through Costco’s Photo Center. The quality is always amazing and it almost always takes less time than quoted.

*Wine :: If I could only buy one item at Costco for the rest of my life it would be their wine. I love that I can get higher end wines and often local wines for a discounted price. However, our favorite is all of the Kirkland Signature wines. Seriously, if you haven’t tried them you should. They have wines that range from less than $10 to about $25 and they are fantastic. Our wine fridge is full of Kirkland Signature wine.

I could go on, but I won’t. I have bought almost everything you can imagine at Costco. You literally cannot go into one room in my house without finding something from Costco. While sitting here in my kitchen, besides food, I can see drinking glass, glass storage containers, hand towels, cutting boards, dish soap, dishwasher pods, clorox wipes and the Magic Bullet. All bought at Costco. 

Just some other fun facts:

-Kirkland Signature products are rated higher than most leading brands.

-They have free demos and samples on a daily basis.

-Costco is leading the nation in organic sales.

-Costco offers many services in and outside of the warehouse: Auto Buying, Check Printing, Travel and Car Rentals, Insurance, Mortgage Financing, Water Delivery, Leaf Guard, Flooring and Windows, Identity Protection, Pharmacy, Hearing Aid, Optical, and Photo Lab.

-Through Costco you can get discounts to restaurants, movies, spas, and many more.

-They offer a 100-percent member satisfaction guarantee and will refund your membership if at any time you are not satisfied.

-They offer pet meds for your fur babies.

-Costco’s meat department is USDA Choice grade or better.

What are your favorite products to shop for at Costco?

If you’ve been considering joining Costco – now is the time to check it out! On Friday November 4th our Costco in Colchester will be opening their doors one hour early for BurlingtonVT Moms Blog readers and their friends!

Not only will they be letting us in at 9 am on that Friday but they are offering an exclusive membership special for new members. (A previous membership must have been expired for 18 months or longer to qualify as a new member.) Starting on October 14th you can register to become a member (a $55 fee) and receive a $20 Costco Cash Card and $43 worth of coupons (and these are good ones! Like free pizza, $3 off berries, etc). You will get an additional $20 cash card for an Executive upgrade. To take advantage of this deal sign up online (between October 14th – Nov 4th) and bring in your membership certificate into the warehouse to redeem for a new membership (we suggest doing this before Nov 4th so that you don’t waste time during the event). Costco will then give you your $20 cash card. The coupons will be mailed to you. Best part is, if you can’t make it to the event on November 4th you can still take advantage of the deal!

Already a member? Refer a friend who takes advantage of the above deal and you will receive a $10 Costco Gift Card. The only caveat is you need to be present on November 4th during the event when your friend redeems their membership certificate in the warehouse. If your friend redeems ahead of time you will not get the referral. Limit to 10 referrals per person.

Besides the new member deal, the first 100 moms who show up on Nov 4th will receive a swag bag from Costco, full of some of their most popular Kirkland Signature brand items for YOU to try! There will also be a little something-something from BurlingtonVT Moms Blog. There will be special samples specifically chosen for moms and their kids, along with a continental breakfast (coffee, juice, water, muffins, danishes, fruit, etc!) AND they will be doing THREE giveaways! There will be TWO $100 Costco Cash Cards and a year supply of Tide Pods up for grabs!

You do not need to be a member to attend (you do need to be a member to make purchases!) although once you are there and see what they have to offer, chances are you will want to take advantage of their membership special!

Please use the link below to register so we know how many to expect! Don’t let the long list scare you. If you are reading this post, shop at the Colchester Costco, will shop once you become a member at the Colchester Costco, or plan on attending on Nov 4th, then choose the BurlingtonVT Moms Blog event and you will be prompted to register and/or sign up for the membership deal!

You can also stay in the know by following our Facebook event page!