A West Coast woman celebrated her 28th birthday with a big-box bonanza.
On Aug. 29, travel influencer Jasmine Belle Pak took a bit of a hiatus from posting about far-flung adventures to celebrate her birthday in a way that likely feels like home to many. On both her Instagram and TikTok accounts, Pak posted about her Costco-themed birthday party and is garnering praise on the internet for her creative and budget-friendly festivity.
“Things from my Costco themed birthday party that just makes sense,” reads the text on Pak’s TikTok which has garnered more than 3.5 million views in less than two days, with an additional 1.3 million on Instagram.
In the video, the now-28-year-old shows off an impressively executed affair, including a spread of Costco staples: rotisserie chicken and accompanying rotisserie chicken Caesar salad, hot dogs, chicken bakes, pepperoni pizza, twisted churros and more, all with very authentic-looking price signage.
“It was really fun, honestly — everyone’s doing Barbie this year and I was like, ‘Is it weird that I’m doing Costco?’ but no, I’m very happy,” Jasmine Belle Pak tells TODAY.com.
Pak’s birthday cake, a Costco staple, was topped with a custom Kirkland Signature sign. At the fete’s location, a slide leads party-goers into a pool filled with hot dog, pizza and rotisserie chicken pool floats.
“Ain’t no party like a wholesale party 🤩@costco I love u,” Pak captioned her video.
But the good times didn’t stop at the food, with Pak’s guests really leaning into the theme. In a follow-up video, the influencer highlights the effort her friends put into their outfits. Some guests dressed like Costco employees, while others opted for Kirkland Signature sweatshirts, and many folks donned red aprons and jackets. Meanwhile, she and her fiance wore T-shirts with an image of Costco’s famous $1.50 hot dog and soda combo. People even had authentic-looking name tags, and Pak says that’s no mistake.
“I did everything. I knew immediately that I had to have the red trays, so I went to a wholesale restaurant store and I bought a bunch of them,” Pak says, adding that she also picked up compostable items so that her party would be more eco-friendly.
“For the labels, I looked up Costco sample photos, and I literally went on Photoshop and made every single label by myself,” says Pak. She made up the SKU numbers at the top but looked up prices to make that part accurate. “The only one that’s not correct is the birthday cake. That one is connected to my age. Twenty-eight is how old I was turning and I was born in ’95. So I made the cake $28.95.”
The comments on her videos are overwhelmingly positive, with many folks applauding Pak’s commitment to the wholesale lifestyle.
“Love this idea and totally going to steal it,” commented one Instagram user.
“Okay, but you gotta show your membership before you enter 😆,” joked another user.
“Omg there was even a sample lady! 🤣💕 Y’all stuck to that theme 💯%,” commented one TikTok user.
Costco itself even came through with a compliment, commenting, “This is amazing!” on Instagram. Let’s hope the 28-year-old has a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake on its way to her.
All in all, Pak says that she might have a few other theme parties in the works based on other chains she loves, including Trader Joe’s and Target. She also mentions a Shrek party idea.
“Honestly, it’s insane. I definitely did not expect it to go this viral,” Pak says. “I was literally just trying to throw a party that was themed after something I love. You can’t beat $1.50 hot dogs and you sure as hell can’t beat a good deal, which is what I love. This is what our generation loves.”
Though Pak’s party showed her undying devotion to the wholesale retailer, she isn’t the first person to throw such a shindig. In 2017, a 5-year-old Kimber Walker asked her parents to throw her a Costco-themed birthday party complete with free samples; and in 2019, Josie and Sebastian Gonzalez threw their 1-year-old son a Costco-themed birthday party.
