thoughtful pinch

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Socks

For so many years, I have kept the tradition of listening to Christmas music non-stop starting the day after Thanksgiving until Christmas night. In recent years, I have added another “Day After Thanksgiving” tradition. I pull out all of our Nutcracker items to mark the beginning of the celebration (more like fear) of my daughter’s upcoming dance schedule. Prior to COVID, the weeks leading up to Christmas were ONLY about Loyce Houlton’s Nutcracker Fantasy at the State Theater. The mugs, sweatshirts, decorations and the coveted fuzzy sock/slippers which have Nutcrackers printed all over them come out of hibernation to help me get in the mood. I’m giving credit to the socks for keeping me grounded during the whirlwind of a season.

Socks make fun thoughtful pinches. My family gives them to teachers all the time. In fact, every school year we give them a pair of socks as a holiday gift and this year is no exception. Especially because National Sock Day will be celebrated on December 4th. Oh yes, I’m going to cover two holidays with one gift! We want the teachers to receive their socks by Friday so they can wear them to celebrate National Sock Day but the kids are learning remotely so I will mail them.

We gave fuzzy socks to the teachers for the 2018 Winter Holidays. Old Navy.

We added Kind Lips lip balm, hot chocolate and an Amazon gift card in the form of a book marker along with a pair of socks. The note attached said:

Here’s your “Chill Kit”.  

After you shop online…cuddle up with some cocoa, wear some soft socks and read a good book. May your holidays be filled with all sorts of kind words. 

See you in 2019!!

Love,

The Patons 

These are the socks we are giving to the female teachers for our 2020 holiday gifts. Kitschy!

We are including this note (to be addressed and signed by each kid) along with an Amazon gift card.

This is what I dug up from Nationaldaycalendar.com when I was researching the origins of National Sock Day: Pair of Thieves founded National Sock Day on December 4th to warm our toes with the commemoration of two toe-tapping historical events that happened on this day. 

In 1954, the final curtain fell on the first revival of the Broadway musical On Your Toes. The Rogers and Hammerstein production first made its debut in 1936. It was unique in that it incorporated ballet with a traditional musical genre. The popular musical was revived in 1984. 

The second historical event occurred in 1991. On the stage of the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee the Judds took the stage for their final concert. For years, the mother-daughter duo had kept country music lovers two-stepping. Following the concert, daughter Wynonna continued a solo career. From time to time, as Wynonna’s career resumed successfully, mother Naomi would join her on stage. However, the Murphy Center concert is still considered the Judd’s final show.

In October of 2016, the Registrar at National Day Calendar® declared the celebration to be observed annually.”

These socks were a past Valentine’s Day pinch that we gave to our male teachers. What I love about this gift is that the proceeds from Toe Up supported Viking’s player, Chad Greenway’s cause. Win-win!

Dollar Tree Valentine’s Day socks for the female teachers and more Toe Up socks for the male teachers.

Great gift for a Star Wars fan for Valentine’s Day. Sock it to Me. 

Target had these socks on sale the day after Halloween one year. I scooped up as many as I could and we gave out socks to everyone the following Halloween. 

Fun pair of socks for Halloween.

Dollar Tree socks for St. Patty’s Day. My traditional gift has always been and will always be - a lottery ticket. But these socks were for extra special pinches that year.

Now some of you living in warmer parts of the country are probably thinking: We cannot or will not wear socks like these because we prefer to wear shoes that don’t require socks.  Well I have an idea that relates to socks that isn’t another pair of socks.  For someone who wears socks when they wear tennis shoes to work out,  the Sock Dock or these sock clips are a perfect accessory or gadget to celebrate National Sock Day.

Thanks to my friend Megan for telling me about the Sock Dock. Here it is in action as she shares her clean laundry with us.

My hub attaches his workout clothes to this belt and his socks are locked into place with the black clamps.

Sometimes when I make goodie bags, I include a pair of socks. Socks can be: 1. the main gift, 2. the supporting role or 3. the bridge to tie the whole theme together.  If the price is right, socks can take goodie bags to the next level without breaking the bank. 

When I took my daughter and some of her friends to see the Frozen play performed by Youth Performance Company last year I made the event extra fun with these Frozen themed goodie bags. 

For a tennis tournament this summer I included these socks that say Unicardio along with some childish and some not so childish items inside a unicorn piñata instead of a goodie bag.

This pair of socks were a pinch for National Beer Day.

I got this pair of socks for my hub for Christmas one year but I wore them for National College Colors Day in August 2017.

At the beginning of the football season, I included a pair of Viking socks for this family gift.

Speaking of Vikings, this cute pair of socks were a gift to me from my friend Allison.

Yaaaassss! These socks were also a gift from Allison - they say, “Be there in a Prosecco.” I keep this pair in my purse at all times in case I’m not wearing socks but I go somewhere and I have to take off my shoes to walk around.

Workout socks count as socks y’all! These were a gift from my cousin Jay-Jay. Love her note!

The Christmas following the death of our dog Bruin, my cousin Jay-Jay gave me this pair of socks to cheer me up. With everyone getting pandemic puppies, socks like these will be a very popular gift.

National Sock Day can be the one day that you wear your silliest, most coveted, super sentimental or comfiest pair of socks that you own. If you’re wearing a pair of socks that someone gave you, by all means, let them know. One of the best things to hear after giving a pair of socks as a thoughtful pinch to someone is, “Every time I wear my socks, I think of you.”  See how thoughtfulness and socks make the perfect pair?

Pinches,

Barb