Christmas at Costco is a whole event in itself. The festivities actually kick off every July, when Costco starts selling their holiday items online. But if you’re going to partake in the festivities this year, you should know a few things about Costco Christmas deals.
For one, their prices for artificial Christmas trees are not the cheapest (though they are high-quality). But their toy prices are tough to beat, at least during Black Friday sales. Costco Travel deals are also worth shopping every December.
But Costco can’t really be bothered with after-Christmas sales, and you’re not going to find anything on clearance. They also don’t offer free turkey incentives, and none of their stores will be open on Thanksgiving Day.
If you feel like you need a navigator to optimize your Costco Christmas shopping trip, you know we’re here for it. Before we show you the road map, be sure to download the KCL app to keep on top of all the smart holiday shopping tips!
1. Costco Christmas decorations started popping up in late July.
This year, we first started seeing Costco Christmas decorations getting set up way back on July 25. That’s when our store first started selling some holiday bows and ribbons in 50-yard packs for as low as $7.99 to get us in the mood.
Now that we’re into September, lots of additional holiday items are popping up in stores.
2. Expect the 13-piece Costco Disney Christmas Village to sell out FAST.
While shoppers and TikTokkers went crazy over the Costco Disney Christmas House last year, we haven’t seen the same exact item come back in stock for 2023. However, we’re seeing a 13-piece Holiday Village this year that lets you adjust the pieces to create your own display.
We predict you’ll see the same demand for the new Disney 13-Piece Holiday Village ($129.99 in-store, or $139.99 online) this year as we saw for the Victorian Christmas House last year.
This holiday set plays eight different holiday songs and is complete with a functioning clock tower (and lots of cameos from your favorite Disney characters). It has one more piece than the Costco Halloween Village.
Look for these Costco Disney holiday items available now:
3. Holiday lights and decor started arriving in stores in September.
We just got through “Augtober,” so now that September is here, prepare yourself for an onslaught of decor on your next trip to the warehouse. Here’s what we’re finding in Costco stores as of Sept. 1:
4. You can shop for Christmas items on Costco.com — but know that you may pay up to 20% more.
Costco fully believes in celebrating Christmas in July. Because that’s the month when they start selling their new Christmas inventory on Costco.com.
You may have already started seeing small trickles of holiday decor arriving in your store, but regardless of the current local status, expect it to start trickling in heavier and heavier between July and September.
If you choose to shop online, just know that you’ll often be paying 7% – 20% more than in-store prices. For example, the Disney Animated Village is $129.99 in-store but $139.99 online (about an 8% markup). And The Grinch figurine is $49.99 in-store, but $59.99 online (a 20% markup).
TIP: You don’t have to be a member to shop on Costco.com, but you will pay a 5% markup (above the regular Costco.com markup we mentioned) when you shop as a non-member.
5. Costco Black Friday deals launch at the end of October.
Yeah, Black Friday is creeping up earlier and earlier every year. Costco starts rolling out their Early Black Friday sales in late October — and they’re not even the earliest retailer to launch their deals!
You’ll save the most at Costco if you wait to shop until Thanksgiving and Black Friday. But the deals in between Halloween and turkey day are worth keeping your eye on, as they may not repeat.
6. Toys are the star of Costco’s Black Friday sale.
Costco’s toy prices during the holiday season are the lowest of low. They even beat out competitors like Amazon and Walmart — no joke!
If you see a deal you love, you’re gonna want to snatch it up. Popular items tend to sell out fast, and Costco is not in the habit of restocking. Any American Girl items in particular sell like hotcakes as Christmas approaches. And Costco American Girl dolls are already popping up in stores as of Aug. 30.
Related: Use these surprising tricks to save during Costco Black Friday 2023.
7. There’s not really a Costco after-Christmas sale.
Because Costco isn’t big into restocking, they don’t have a lot in the way of post-holiday sales. That means they’re not too big on things like Easter clearance, Halloween clearance, or after-Christmas clearance. If you’re waiting for a ridiculous discount on Boxing Day (Dec. 26), you’re gonna wanna shop at other stores.
Related: While Costco doesn’t do Christmas clearance, you can expect 90% markdowns during Target Christmas Clearance sales.
8. The holidays are the best time to get Costco discounted gift cards.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year — to get discounted Costco gift cards at Costco! Costco is famous for these deals. For example, right now you can get $50 off a $500 Southwest Airlines gift card when you purchase them in store.
The offers get more abundant during the holiday shopping season. Last year, we saw a $20 off $100 Landry’s gift card, which could be used at any of the following restaurants:
- Aquarium Restaurant
- Brickhouse Tavern
- Bubba Gump Shrimp
- Cadillac Bar
- Chart House
- Del Frisco Grill
- Joe’s Crab Shack
- Landry’s Seafood House
- Rainforest Cafe
You’ll also wanna keep an eye out for Disney gift card deals leading up to Christmas.
TIP: Here’s where you can find discounted gift cards year round.
9. Costco Christmas trees aren’t the cheapest, but they’re quality for the price.
If you’re looking for a cheap Christmas tree, Costco isn’t it. Target and Michaels have much lower starting prices.
Another reason you might not want to buy your Christmas tree at Costco is their lack of after-Christmas sales. While other stores slash prices to clear their remaining off-season merchandise, Costco is likely already sold out of everything — including artificial trees.
That said, if you do decide to shell out for a Christmas tree at Costco, you’re getting your money’s worth. There are just more lights per square inch on their pre-lit trees, and the overall quality is better.
10. Book your vacation during Costco’s 12 Days of Travel sale in December.
Arguably one of the best Costco Travel sales of the year, 12 Days of Travel happens every December. There’s one sale per day, and the packages often include a discount of hundreds of dollars on your hotel room, on-resort bonus savings on things like food or activities, and inclusive airfare.
Destinations for last year’s sale included:
- Bora Bora
- Hawaii
- Disney World
- All kinds of destinations for Royal Caribbean cruises
There were more, too! We don’t yet know what the destinations will be in 2023, but we can’t wait to find out.
11. Get a Costco Shop Card when you book a Christmas cruise.
Anyone else wanna drink white wine in the sun this Christmas? You’ll frequently see deals from Costco Travel for Carnival Christmas Cruises. Spend Dec. 25 on a cruise booked through Costco Travel, and you’ll also get rewarded with a Costco Shop Card (which is just a fancy name for a Costco gift card).
This deal doesn’t run 24/7/365, but we see it pop up often enough that it’s worth keeping tabs on.
12. Costco doesn’t do the free holiday turkey thing.
Whether we’re talking Christmas or Thanksgiving (but especially Thanksgiving), there are retailers and grocery stores who will literally give you a whole turkey for free over the holidays. Free turkey participants include:
But you know who’s not on the list? Costco. Neither is their primary competitor, Sam’s Club. While these wholesalers will sometimes give their employees free turkeys or hams for the holidays, it’s not typically an offer we see them extend to customers.
13. Costco won’t be open on Christmas Day.
Or Thanksgiving Day, for that matter. You can still shop online, though!
Costco does open back up again on the morning of Black Friday, usually at 9 a.m. To be real, though, you can access most of their Thanksgiving and Black Friday deals online, so there’s not a huge need to shop in-person that particular day.
If you need to do last-minute Christmas Eve shopping, the wholesale club does try to give customers that opportunity. They tend to operate on shortened hours, with most locations closing by 5 p.m. Some stores will open a half-hour (or a whole hour) earlier to make up for it, but it’s best to contact your location to find out your club’s specific plans.
TIP: Costco is also closed on New Year’s Day.
14. Is it worth getting a Costco membership just for Christmas shopping?
That all depends. If you think you’ll save $60+ on your “Nice” list by shopping at Costco, then yup! That Costco membership fee will have paid for itself with your savings.
Let’s say you just want the Costco membership to get a $20 gift card deal, though. A Costco membership might still be worth it. If you opt for the higher level of membership (the Costco Executive Membership), you’ll pay $120/year instead of the standard $60 membership fee. But it gives you 2% back in rewards on every purchase. So if you’re a family purchasing your monthly groceries at Costco, you’ll have likely earned back your membership fee after just 6 months — and that’s before any extra Christmas savings!
Related: See more of the math to figure out if the Costco Executive Membership is worth it.
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