If you’re feeling the holiday spirit and your Costco membership is up to speed, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to score holiday goods, from gifts to house-party foods, at bargain rates at the warehouse club. In particular, many of Costco’s Kirkland Signature store-branded products offer both quality and savings when it comes to holiday entertaining and gift giving.
The difference this year for Costco shoppers? Well, everything’s different in 2020. The ongoing pandemic has, for many, dashed any thoughts of large holiday gatherings. At most, there may be small, socially distanced friends-and-family events. Some of these items will pull double duty for proper everyday cleaning at bargain prices as well as for holiday gift-giving and small celebrations.
After talking to shopping experts and doing our own research, here are 19 great Kirkland Signature products to stock up on for the holidays.
Costco Kirkland Signature Bakery Sheet Cake
We’re all going to be super-cautious about social gatherings this holiday season, but there could be carefully planned and social distancing events you may be attending — especially in warmer climates where you can more comfortably do so outdoors. If so, let Costco’s in-store Kirkland Signature Bakery do the baking for you. You’ll save time, especially if you’re not big on tooling away in the kitchen, and you’ll save money, compared to baked goods you might buy at the supermarket.
If you’re having the family or neighbors over for a holiday gathering, check out the custom-made Kirkland Signature half sheet cakes at Costco. They’re amped with two pounds of chocolate or vanilla filling and baked fresh in-store. You can have one freshly made for you for $19.99.
That’s a bargain compared to ordering a sheet cake from supermarket chain Martin’s, where a frozen-then-thawed half sheet cake starts at $30.
Costco Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Almonds
You can’t have enough chocolate or nuts around for snacking at the holidays, and Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Almonds are a winning two-fer, says Trae Bodge, smart shopping expert at TrueTrae.com.
“Around the holidays, it’s always nice to have some sweet treats around,” says Bodge. “I love these chocolate-covered almonds. They are addictive, so I would suggest only putting out small bowls!”
You’ll go nuts for the price: $13.99 for a three-pound container.
Costco Kirkland Signature Coffee
Coffee complements those two slices of sheet cake you’re having, along with those chocolate-covered almonds as chasers. And if you know beans about coffee, you know Kirkland Signature’s line of coffees, from ground coffee to K-cups, has a legion of fans.
Costco’s Kirkland Signature store brand K-cups for the Keurig line of coffeemakers are a bargain compared to national brands. Boxes of 120 pods of Kirkland Signature Pacific medium roast sell for $36.99, or about 31 cents per cup. Compare that to a box of 100 pods of Newman’s Own organic coffee pods for $42.99, or about 43 cents per pod. Costco has other brands of coffee pods, as well.
Kirkland Signature whole-bean blend of coffee beans off-loads for $9.99 for two pounds.
Starbucks devotees should try Kirkland Signature House Blend whole bean coffee — “custom-roasted Starbucks,” they call it — in 40-ounce bags for $11.99. Nearby, a straight-up bag of Starbucks whole bean coffee was selling for $17.99 for a 40-ounce bag.
Costco Kirkland Signature Spiral-cut Ham
It’s a holiday tradition: Hauling out the store-baked (you just warm it up), spiral-cut ham.
Some companies have done well just focusing on selling spiral hams (and sides), mostly around the holidays. We’re looking at you, Honey Baked Ham Co.
But Kirkland Signature has its own line of spiral-sliced cooked hams as an option for your holiday dining. They sell for $1.89 a pound (40 cents a pound lower than 2019); you’ll fork out about $20 for a good-sized ham that could serve as many as 16 people. A Food Lion store in central Virginia was selling Smithfield spiral-cut hams for $2.79 a pound, nearly $1 more per pound than Costco.
On the Honey Baked Ham website, an 8- to 10-pound spiral ham was priced at $67.12 to $83.82.
Costco Kirkland Signature Maple Syrup
Those fluffy pancakes and hardy waffles on Christmas morning are nothing unless they’re floating in maple syrup. Think Costco Kirkland Signature organic maple syrup.
“This is the only syrup I can eat now, whether it be on pancakes, waffles, or french toast,” says Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst at the deals website DealNews.com. “We also use it to make homemade maple whipped cream to eat with pumpkin cobbler at Thanksgiving. Basically, one of these bottles should get you through the holidays no problem, and add excellent flavor to whatever you add it to.”
A 38.8-ounce jug of Kirkland Signature organic maple syrup was selling for $9.99. Food Lion was selling a 32-ounce jar of Nature’s Promise organic maple syrup for $14.99.
Costco Kirkland Signature Wines and Irish Cream
Costco is the biggest seller of wine in the U.S., with annual wine sales of $1.8 billion. And its Kirkland Signature line has a loyal following. Annette Alvarez-Peters, who heads Costco’s wine-buying team, told Wine Spectator, “The Costco consumer is very loyal to the [Kirkland Signature] brand. They will always give the item a shot.” And for good reason: Wine-rating websites typically give Kirkland Signature wines high scores, in the mid-to-upper 80s out of 100. Not bad for wines that cost $5 to $12 range.
Like white? Take your shot at a bottle of Kirkland Signature Pinot Grigio (from Italy) for $5.99. We also found a Kirkland Signature Sauvignon Blanc (from New Zealand, bottled exclusively for Kirkland Signature) for $6.99 and a bottle of Kirkland Signature Chardonnay (from Sonoma, Calif.) for $11.89. Or how about a nice chianti? The Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva wall set you back $7.99.
Looking for a drinky-poo to toast the holidays? To Kirkland Signature!
Ramhold has her eye on Kirkland Signature Irish Country Cream. “Bailey’s who?” says Ramhold. “This is one of my personal favorites because to me it tastes richer than other Irish creams but also doesn’t have the same burn. That could be a winning or losing point, depending on how you look at it, I guess. For me, it’s a winning one. This is great on its own or for adding to boozy milkshakes for adults. I try to always keep a bottle on hand!”
Not every Costco warehouse club has a Costco liquor store attached, due to various state laws.
Costco Kirkland Signature Gift Sets
You’re that person: You love to give gifts and tips — for the mail carrier, the person who delivers your newspaper, teachers and others on your holiday list.
But that gets expensive and time-consuming, hunting down small gifts for all those who serve you throughout the year. Turn to Kirkland Signature gift sets, though you’ll need to customize. Costco’s Sparkling Ornament 4 Tier Holiday Tower, for example, is a collection of decorative holiday boxes filled with a variety of candies. It sells for $34.99.
“Kirkland always has festive holiday sets, but they do tend to be too big for smaller gifting, like to teachers and your regular mail delivery person,” says Bodge. “You’ll find that you can save money by buying a couple of these big gift sets and breaking them up into smaller gifts.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Nuts
Holiday tradition demands we stock up on nuts, if only to give the nutcracker its once-a-year workout.
Kirkland Signature is nuts for nuts. Costco knows nuts, and its Kirkland Signature Whole Cashews are a prime example. That’s not just this nut speaking.
“Costco’s nuts are always super-fresh and high-quality,” raves food and cooking website TheKitchn.com. “Unless you’re a big-time baker, two- and three-pound packages of nuts might seem like a daunting purchase, but don’t forget that they freeze beautifully.” I can also echo TheKitchn’s love of Costco’s Super Extra-Large Virginia Peanuts.
A 2.5-pound container of Kirkland Signature whole fancy cashews goes for $15.99, or $6.39 per pound, cheaper by far than the going rate for Planters whole cashews on Amazon (excluding shipping).
Others rave about Kirkland Signature’s unsalted mixed nuts. “We go through nuts like water in our house, and this 2.5-pound tub of unsalted mixed nuts is an excellent value,” says Trae Bodge, smart shopping expert at TrueTrae.com. “Also, the nuts are always fresh and perfect for snacking or baking.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Batteries
Here’s one holiday tradition that hasn’t changed much over the years: Making sure you have enough batteries on hand to power all those energy-sucking gadget gifts. Kirkland Signature batteries can keep electronic toys and devices charged up at bargain prices. A 48-pack of Kirkland Signature AA batteries (reportedly made by Duracell) is $15.99, or about 33 cents per battery. To get the Duracell name on your batteries, you’ll pay nine cents more per battery via a 40-pack of Duracell AA batteries for $16.99. (Or wait until Costco puts the real Duracell batteries on sale at prices that rival the Costco Kirkland brand.)
Costco Kirkland Signature Chicken Stock
For home chefs who do a lot of cooking, Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock is a winner in taste and price. Stock has a long shelf life, and the six quart-size boxes of organic chicken stock you’ll get at Costco cost just $10.59, or about $1.796 per quart, a few pennies less than a year ago. At Giant, a single quart-size box of Swanson organic chicken stock was selling for $3.99.
For the holidays, says Ramhold, Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock “is a must for making homemade dressing and/or stuffing, as well as soups. It’s good to keep on hand all year long, honestly.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Olive Oil
Costco’s olive oil rises to the top, notes the University of California, Davis, which conducted a chemical and sensory study of olive oils. Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil was one of only a few imported oils that met international and U.S. standards for extra virgin olive oil. The many brands that fell short in the testing were diluted with cheaper oils and exhibited problems with quality and flavor.
Kirkland’s olive oil — especially the two-liter bottle — is a must for the holidays, says Bodge. “I normally don’t advise buying in bulk because of its limited shelf life, but if you entertain around the holidays, it won’t go to waste. From dipping to cooking, this big bottle will come in handy. It’s such a great price!”
Costco Kirkland Signature Cheese Flights
You never know when safely distanced and masked guests will drop in for the holidays, and guess what? They’ve brought a bottle of wine. Be prepared to have some snacks, well, prepared. Pre-prepared, to be redundant, in this case, as in Kirkland Signature cheese flights.
Says Ramhold, “Add your own nuts, grapes, and crackers, and this party spread is done. The one available at my Costco has provolone, 10-month aged manchego, valencia orange chevre, handmade cheddar, and dill hand-rubbed fontal.”
Ingredients may vary from store to store. At my Costco in central Virginia, the $19.99 cheese flight consisted of individually wrapped hunks of cheddar, Iberico, chevre, Fontal and toscano cheeses.
Costco Kirkland Signature Peanut Butter
When my wife finally weaned me off creamy (and delicious) Jif peanut butter and into the world of peanut butter made without sugar (just peanuts, maybe some salt), my snacking world changed.
Our go-to brand had been Nature’s Promise organic creamy peanut butter from Giant, but after diving into Kirkland Signature Organic Peanut Butter, that, too, has changed. It’s just as good as Nature’s Promise, maybe even better, and there’s no arguing with the price. You can get two 28-ounce jars of Kirkland peanut butter for around $10, or about 18 cents per ounce, while just one 16-ounce jar of Smucker’s organic creamy peanut butter costs $3.49 at Food Lion, or about 22 cents per ounce.
Says Bodge, “This peanut butter is equally as good as the name brand. I like to have two jars on hand because there are always more kids around than usual during the holidays, and it’s great for baking and homemade granola.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Trash Bags
The holidays generate a lot of nifty-gifties, but they also generate a lot of trash. Costco has you covered with Kirkland Signature Flex-Tech scented kitchen bags. A 200-bag box of 13-gallon bags is $14.69, or 7 cents a bag. At Food Lion, a box of 45 tall kitchen bags is $4.99, or 11 cents a bag.
“There are a variety of different trash bags under Kirkland’s line, but we keep our cabinets stocked with the flex-tech bags,” says Ramhold of DealNews.com. “We can cram a ton of trash into them, which is great since we’ve had several deliveries this year and have had a ridiculous amount of boxes to break down. They work just as well for weekly trash as they do for broken-down cardboard boxes.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Big Red Cups
Those legendary big red cups are good for more than pickup beer pong events with your hipster grandparents. They’re also good for socially distanced small holiday gatherings where friends and family aren’t using your dishware and you’re practicing good recycling methods.
And here’s where another major manufacturer has teamed up with Kirkland Signature. Check out Kirkland Signature Chinet the Big Red Cup for packages of KS-stamped 18-ounce plastic cups, red of course. You can get a package of 240 for $8.99. By comparison, Food Lion was selling a package of Hefty red plastic cups for $6.59 for 100.
Costco Kirkland Signature Chocolate Chips
The holidays always feature a lot of baking, and many of us will need our chocolate fix in our sweets.
You can’t go wrong with Kirkland Signature semi-sweet chocolate chips. You can score a giant 72-ounce bag for $8.99, but if you can’t do without a national brand, Costco also sells Nestle’s version of the same product, same size, for $9.79.
Ramhold is partial to Kirkland Signature’s chips.
“These are the only chocolate chips I like to bake with,” Ramhold says. “Whether you’re baking to pass the time in quarantine or just making a mega ton of cookies for the holidays the way you normally do, these are the ones to use for all your chocolate chip needs. I’ve used them in classic cookies, added them to oatmeal bars, melted them to use as a drizzle, and even melted them in almond milk for a quick hot chocolate.”
Costco Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberry Spread
You didn’t see this one coming, did you? But Ramhold and others just absolutely love Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberry Spread, an inexpensive and tasty topper for all sorts of things.
“It smells and tastes like fresh strawberries, and I’ve used it in so many different things,” says Ramhold. “Whether you’re making thumbprint cookies, oatmeal jam bars, or just a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, this is the only spread you need. I also recommend swirling it through a no-bake cheesecake batter for an easy dessert.”
A 16-ounce jar sells for $6.99.
Costco Kirkland Signature Disinfecting Wipes
Holiday guests are messy — and cleaning and disinfecting constantly, well, they’re just some of 2020’s new traditions.
Good luck finding Kirkland Signature Disinfecting Wipes — they’ve been sold out every time I’ve been in a Costco — but if you do find them, grab them.
“They’re awesome to have around,” says Ramhold of DealNews.com. “You’ll receive 304 in the box, split between four soft packs of two types, regular and scrubbing texture, Fresh Air and Lemon scented. These are excellent for keeping around all year, and I try to do just that to make disinfecting easier. It’s definitely made cleaning easier since the start of the pandemic. I can just wipe down my phone, keys, and sunglasses when I get in from the grocery store and not have to worry about it.”
Kirkland Signature Traditional Fruitcake
Who likes fruitcake? No, seriously, who? We know you’re out there, because this is a holiday tradition that keeps on giving. And if you’re not into baking, turn to the in-store bakers at your favorite Costco. They’re churning out Kirkland Signature traditional fruitcakes for $14.99 for a 15-ounce cake.