Best. Valentine's. Day. Ever.

Yes, I know what you’re thinking.

It’s Valentine’s day, let’s go to out to eat.

Let’s try a restaurant of a well-known establishment with outdoor seating…

where only members are allowed.

(Aww man… did that trash can give it away?)

Okay, okay… so all the above is true. This well-known, members-only establishment with outdoor dining is none other than COSTCO.

Let me give you a back-story. When my husband and I were first dating, we’d find ourselves at Costco enjoying a delicious dinner on the cheap which allowed us to spend our money at the real activity we’d go to later. We would joke, “Hey, wouldn’t it be fun(ny) if we set up a nice table here and have a candlelight dinner?”

Forward a few years later after being married with one child…

It was my 30th birthday and lo and behold, I was thrown a surprise party at the Costco food court, complete with linens, candles and table decorations. We had about 20 people come to the “party.” It was hilarious.

Forward to now, having two kids and a small budget made sense for us to recreate that moment and share it with our friends. This was the brainchild of my husband (again). He called up a few friends and told them to bring linens and anything to “fancy-up” the dinner table to Costco. One of our friends called a few more My husband, Thom, and me[/caption]

We filled ourselves with salad, hot dogs, pizza and chicken bakes. All in all, for 13 people, our meals totaled to $54. Now that’s a deal… and a Valentine’s day that we’ll never forget.