BJ’s Warehouse Shopping for the holidays & giveaway

It always amazes me when I go shopping at a warehouse store like BJ’s Wholesale Club. The mix of people seems almost impossible. I’ve parked between pick-up trucks and Bentley’s. Their owners seem to find EXACTLY what they need at this shopping mecca, or I wouldn’t see cars like this in the lot time after time.

Personally, I’ve been shopping at BJ’s Wholesale Club since the late 1980’s. It was an institution in Massachusetts and then Rhode Island, being the only New England born club of it’s kind. Now, a Floridian, I was excited to find a BJ’s nearby.

A few days before Thanksgiving I once again visited my local BJ’s (this one’s in Jensen Beach – if you’re looking to run into me). Armed with my shopping list and a stack of coupons I was off to shop.

COUPONS? But I though BJ’s was a wholesale club. Clubs don’t accept coupons.

One of the things that I LOVE about BJ’s Wholesale Club is that they accept coupons. In fact not only do they accept manufacturers coupons, but they also have their own coupons that they send out regularly as well as displayed on a rack as you walk into the club. So, not only am I getting the BEST wholesale pricing on the food, clothes, electronics, etc. that I want – but I can save EVEN MORE by being coupon savvy.

Did I mention to you that I never stepped out of my house on Black Friday to shop? YUP – I did it all online and one of the places that I shopped was BJ’s online. They let me use the coupons in their circular to buy the camera, etc. that was on my list (check out my whrrl on #BFdeals)

Don’t think that you’ll only find their own house brands here (although their house brands like Berkley & Jensen and Lanesboro ROCK), but you’ll find the items that you love like Pillsbury “Big Deluxe” Chocolate Chip Tub, Nature Valley Nut Clusters and MORE.

Of course you need to be a MEMBER of BJ’s in order to shop there, but they are offering a FREE 60-day trial membership right now (perfect to finish up all of your holiday shopping for gifts and FOOD). Just print the pass and bring it to the member service desk at your nearest BJ’s Wholesale Club (they’ll make you a plastic one with your picture to keep in your wallet).

I have a VERY special reason for LOVING BJ’s. As I mentioned above, they are still a New England based company and I live far from “home” now. I’m able to find brands that I could ONLY find in RI and MA like Hoodsie’s Ice Cream Cups and Poland Springs water. It’s like a touch of “home” each time I go shopping. As a matter of fact, when I went to by shrimp for my Thanksgiving appetizer, my eyes IMMEDIATELY darted over to the ring of shrimp along with cocktail sauce from Legal Seafoods. Since I used to eat in their Chestnut Hill and Warwick locations regularly, I KNEW that I could trust them to be cooked JUST THE WAY I LIKE (by the way, I was right & Mr. S wants me to go back for more).

Have you EVER heard of a wholesale club that has a FRESH DELI? Well, BJ’s has. For this SMALL family, it means not having to buy those HUGE pre-packaged deli packs, only to throw half of them away because they went bad. I can even buy 1/4 of a lb. of whatever I want, and the price per lb. is less that HALF of what I would pay at my local supermarket.

If you’ve got a BJ’s nearby and you haven’t tried it yet, feel free to print up that trial membership, so that you can experience what I do.

Thank you to My Blog Spark & BJ’s Warehouse Club for offering this trial membership (which I didn’t need, as I’m already a member) as well as a $25 gift certificate to help with my holiday shopping as well as this giveaway.

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