- It’s hard to spend time alone with my husband between work and our busy kids’ schedules.
- Our weekly trip to Costco is often our only opportunity to sit down for a meal together.
- The Costco food court may not be glamorous, but just being together is what matters most.
When my husband and I first started dating, we loved having meals together at hole-in-the-wall restaurants with a cozy, romantic vibe. Sometimes, we’d even splurge on a nicer spot to celebrate occasions like birthdays.
When our kids were younger, it was hard to go out on dates because babysitters were expensive and tough to find. But we made it a priority to go out to eat at least once a month so we could enjoy a meal without a screaming child in the background.
We figured it would become easier to date as our kids got older. Surprisingly, the opposite happened.
As our kids entered their tween and teen years, they became busier with activities — soccer, basketball, martial arts, and music lessons, to name a few. These days, between working our jobs and shuttling kids to various places, there’s pretty much no time to get away for a romantic meal.
So, a while back, we decided to forgo romance and focus on “us time.” We found that escaping to the superstore, Costco, offered the best opportunity to not just stock our fridge but also grab a quick meal together.
We’re able to buy groceries and get time alone
Shopping at Costco is a huge money-saver for my family. We go through things like bagged chips, milk, eggs, and produce quickly, and loading up on these items in bulk makes our grocery bills cheaper.
While we try to navigate Costco’s aisles quickly and efficiently, my husband and I enjoy stopping to examine the ever-changing inventory. Sometimes, we’ll play a little game we call “How many free samples can we snag today?”
Courtesy of Maurie Backman
I’m self-employed, so often, time spent in the kitchen cooking is time away from my desk. Between that and picky-eating children, I often find myself buying premade meals.
We try to limit what we buy from Costco’s frozen section since some of those meals tend to be sodium-heavy. But on our last trip, we spotted giant ravioli that our kids are very likely to eat without putting up a fight, so that was a great find.
It’s nice making these meal-planning decisions together on the spot. In the aisles of Costco, we become a team.
We then stop at Costco’s food court for the real lunch date
I won’t pretend that Costco’s food court is an optimal date spot. Sometimes, we manage to eat lunch when the food court is less crowded, and that’s a more pleasant experience. But that usually means heading to the store on a weekday when we’re both working from home.
On weekends, Costco food court dates are a no-go. The store is so crowded on Saturdays and Sundays that you can barely see the food court, let alone get your own table.
I won’t pretend that I’m in love with the food court menu as a lunchtime option. As a vegetarian, my choices are ice cream, a giant chocolate chip cookie, a smoothie, or a slice of pizza. But as someone who grew up in New York City, I have pretty high standards for pizza, and Costco’s version is — let’s call it “mediocre.” So often, I’ll get ice cream and call it lunch.
Courtesy of Maurie Backman
My husband almost always gets the hot dog and soda combo. At $1.50, it’s hard to beat the price. He also likes the chicken bake, but I think my New York-style pizza snobbery has rubbed off on him.
We finally get a chance to catch up while eating. We appreciate the opportunity to have uninterrupted conversations, which almost never happen over a meal at home.
It’s become an outing we look forward to
I wish my husband and I had more alone time during the school year. Summers are easier because sports take a break, and our evenings aren’t constantly spoken for. But for most of the year, we’re just so unbelievably busy that it’s hard to make time for each other.
So, even though we could decide to take turns shopping at Costco for our family, we prefer to go together whenever possible.
Adding lunch dates to our Costco trips turns them into fun — and sometimes romantic — outings instead of just a chore.
