This $11 Costco Snack Is the Only One All 5 of My Kids Can Agree On (It’s SO Good!)
Back-to-school season comes with a roller coaster of emotions. I struggle with the fact that time refuses to slow down, but my heart also bursts with pride at how big my kids have grown. I mourn the end of our languid schedules, yet by the time August rolls around, I crave the predictability of a routine.
No matter what feelings I’m entertaining, though, I love to harness the fresh-start energy of back-to-school. Reinstating weekly meal planning is one of the ways I start the season strong. With five kids and intense afternoon activity schedules, if we don’t have a meal plan, it’s too easy to fall back on eating out, which gets expensive fast. Not only that, but having our meals and snacks planned out is crucial for lightening my mental load and reducing decision fatigue.
While I’ve always been pretty consistent in planning our dinners, this year I decided to also plot out our breakfasts and the kids’ school lunches. (My Skylight Calendar makes it easy for the kids to see what’s on the menu, which also means I’m not constantly fielding the “What’s for dinner?” question.)
As part of my renewed commitment to meal planning, I decided to be more deliberate about the snacks I buy for the kids’ lunches. Usually I just buy whatever is on sale, or what the kids like without thinking much about how much we actually need. But I know that being more deliberate will save our family money and save storage space!
So this week, I did the math: Two lunch snacks a day for five kids is 50 snacks a week, which adds up to roughly 200 snacks per month. With this in mind, I set out to buy a month’s worth of snacks at Costco — all for just under $60. Here’s what I bought.
1. Frito Lay Classic Mix, $14.99 for 54 bags
These snack-size bags are a classic — and not just because it’s written right on the box. While I don’t always get boxes of chips for the kids, I picked this particular mix because there’s something each of my kids really likes. Between two of arguably the best Doritos flavors, three different kinds of potato chips, plus Fritos and Crunchy Cheetos, there’s really no bad option. Plus it was on sale!
I also chose this box because of the 54 count. (I aimed to get snacks that came in packs of at least 50.) Still, they each only get one chip bag a day or they’ll blast through the entire box way too fast.
2. Welch’s Fruit Snacks, $9.99 for 90 pouches
Again, I don’t always buy fruit snacks, but I couldn’t resist the sale or getting the kids another special back-to-school snack. These snacks are also easy to toss into a bag for an on-the-go option that doesn’t take up much space and won’t get squished like, say, a bag of chips or crackers.
I also appreciate the number of pouches is way over the 50-pack minimum I casually set for myself. With any luck, the fruit snacks will last more than a month. But even if they eat a few extras, it won’t throw off the count.
3. Kirkland Soft & Chewy Granola Bars, $10.89 64 bars
This is the only granola bar all five kids like, so I buy a box almost every time I need to replenish snacks — sale or not. I like that each bar is individually wrapped and on the smaller side, so they’re great with lunch or as a during-the-day snack. Again, with an over-50 count package, I know I can grab a granola bar here and there for a car snack on the way to soccer, for example, without worrying about eating into our school-lunch snack quota.
4. Pepperidge Farms Goldfish, $11.79 for 66 ounces
I don’t mind paying a bit extra for pre-portioned snacks because they’re so convenient to toss into lunch bags or grab for activities. But my daughter specifically requests Goldfish “not in the small bags,” so she can pack herself enough to snack on throughout the day. I definitely don’t mind the cost savings from this bulk buy. It’s also just as easy to put these Goldfish in my younger kids’ PlanetBox lunchboxes (or any other tried-and-tested lunchbox container).
5. Kinder Bueno Crispy Creamy Chocolate Bar, $11.99 for 20 packs
This was a splurge, and to be honest, I’m not sure if I bought this for the kids or “for the kids” (meaning, me). I like having a pick-me-up treat to bring the kids when they’ve had a long day, to put in their lunches on special days, or to make an ordinary day a little more special with a just-because chocolate bar! It didn’t hit my 50-count threshold and certainly wasn’t a necessity, but I’m glad I got it.
What school snacks are you buying at Costco? Tell us about it in the comments below.