I've been hosting a vernal equinox party for about 50 guests for the past six years straight. I always send a packet of seeds with a spring poem as part of the invitation. Your ideas sound dead-on. Here are some of the things I've learned and am planning: No matter how much I think I can accomplish it, I cannot be trusted to babysit hot hors d'oeuvres in my oven once my guests arrive (and there's a drink in my hand). Therefore, my hot food choices are limited to the following: a chaffing dish full of falafel, which I make, fry and freeze weeks in advance, and pop into the oven and park in the chaffing dish before guests arrive, a crockpot full of meatballs with some sort of savory sauce, and an assortment of hot dips in a little tri-section warmer I have. (Costco makes a to-die for dip with truffle oil on it.) I also get half of a large smoked salmon (right/left as opposed to front/back). (I used to get a whole one, but it never got eaten). I display it on a cedar plank, near an assortment of crackers. I like the egg/Easter/Eostre connection, which is the heart of the Equinox celebration, so this year I'm making little egg salad toasts with caviar (homemade mayonnaise, shallots, thyme, s&p, chopped egg, with 1/4 tsp of caviar spooned on top) (Cost Plus World Market carries a very affordable Capelin Caviar (tiny black eggs) that worked well for this... I think one 3.5 ounce jar was enough for about 8 eggs worth of salad and a standard baguette). Trader Joe's started stocking these little prune and walnut disks near their nuts and fruit. They are quite tasty, and have the structural stability of a cracker. They come 12 (or 16?) for $1.99. I'm going to cut them in half to make them bite sized, and top with some blue cheese crumbles and a honeyed walnut. Rather than an assortment of spring flowers, I buy about 100 cut daffodils from Trader Joe's and put them out in my crystal vases. But I've learned that guests love to bring cut flowers to a spring party, so I have a couple extra vases on hand, and save some "prime real estate" for the gifted flowers. Because I can't resist showing off my home-cured pancetta, and because I love avocados more than a person should, I like to make Avocado, Feta and Pancetta Bruscchetta. A couple of my helpers also make some dishes that have become favorites: R will help me with everything else, but will also make Vietnamese spring rolls, and E will make her dolmas with very garlicky yoghurt sauce. I have some little chocolate shotglass molds, and make a ton of them weeks in advance. Then I take plain old pudding mix and substitute homemade whipped cream for half of the milk, pipe it into the cups and top with a raspberry or blueberry. They look very elegant, and can be made the morning of. I also serve Costco cream puffs and some of their little bite desserts. I avoid all of their fillo-based hors d'oeuvres like the plague as I've not been impressed. It doesn't...

I can't comment on Sam's. We don't have any in the region. But we do have a Costco Executive membership (with AmEx card) and have found it cost-effective for us. Costco offers different levels of membership. For years we stuck with the basic and cheapest. But when we bought a computer there the salesperson recommended considering executive because the money back on a big-ticket item would more than cover the cost of membership at a higher level. He was right; the rebate also provided a nice reduction in the cost of the computer. Using the AmEx card also extends the warranty by another year, which is nice for electronics particularly. One salesperson told me a number of members charge everything they can on the AmEx (paying off in full each month so there's no interest) and get very big rebates as a result. There's a Costco rebate and a separate AmEx rebate, so the returns can be very large, especially for those buying for a business. However, obviously there's no benefit if you're overbuying just because the rebate is appealing. There is a pyschological effect there you have to watch out for. I like the fact that Costco's salespeople are not on commission. I think it makes a difference in their reponses to questions about electronics and other pricy goods. Since we live 30 miles away in a rural area, our trips to Costco are not frequent and are normally combined with doctor's appointments or other kinds of errands. I try to schedule those trips just after the new coupon book has come out. Beyond basic goods like TP, some of their coupon book specials are hard to beat. My DH wanted a new scales (determined to lose weight in the new year) and I bought a Taylor digital glass-top for $14.99, which was less than half of the cheapest price anywhere else. Costco stores do vary considerably store to store. For us access is critical. One of our older Costco stores has limited handicapped parking, and if DH goes with me, that's a store we avoid. We have one "upscale" Costco in the area which we go to most often. Very best parking and the one Costco near us that carries Seattle's Best coffee, which we prefer to other brands. We keep a grinder and coffee machine busy most of the day, not just for us but for constant traffic in my DH's shop. I figure just the coffee saves us the cost of the membership. I do think Costco can be an impulse-buyer's paradise and if you're not careful unnecessary purchases can easily suck up any savings. I am now cutting back on Costco purchases. With just the two of us, some foods go to waste before we consume them. In some cases I can still buy the larger product so much more cheaply that a degree of waste is "cost-effective" but I'm constitutionally opposed to buying more than we need and then throwing it away. Some of Costco's prices are unbeatable. I can buy their prepared fresh pineapple for much less than whole pineapple at other stores and be assured of the quality. Dairy products are also very reasonable - Darigold cottage cheese comes to mind. I buy excellent cream cheese and butter at Costco for holiday baking. Sometimes the prices don't beat local loss-leaders, but I like the brands Costco offers and the quality. And lastly, as others have mentioned, Costco has an excellent return policy. A couple of years ago when recalls for pistachios were in the news a Costco employee phoned to let me know because their records showed I'd purchased a trail mix they were pulling off the shelves. No other company has ever called to inform me of a recall. I found that very impressive. Carol

heather_on - You will most likely see the Costco muffins you like being sold at small coffee shops etc. I see them in Toronto all the time. We also gave up our Costco membership. The one closest to us is awful and stand-alone - and forget getting parked - and the other is at the other end of Toronto - right near my doctor's office. There is a liquor store in that outdoor mall - and it gets jammed with people post Costco shopping. Canadian Costco stores are not nearly as good as U.S. stores - this according to the snow birds who I met shopping in a Toronto store. No liquor/wine of course; no anti-biotic free meat; 12 chicken breasts are packaged in one pack - according to a snow bird in the U.S. they may come in a 12 pack but are vac packed into 2 portions each which would be very nice. I find that you really have to know your prices and watch the expiry dates here. And there are just the two of us - and the dog - and we buy our dog's food from the groomer.

We don't have BJs around here, just Sam's for a long time and Costco arrived a few years ago. Is BJs virtually the same in price, products, and policies? I never joined the Sam's because is was not convenient, and just not nice inside, kind of gloomy! The Costco is a nice experience to get to and shop in. Leaving is a pain with their checking your receipt, card, and cart, ugh. Just let me go! Re: the Sam's Club, why does the notice on the door say they will reopen the next day? Weird.