This year for Christmas, my brother was a little short on cash and decided to get everyone in the family a Snuggie. Having never wanted one, Diane and I came into possession of 2. I have to admit that my brother did take the extra time and energy to somewhat personalize our Snuggies. I received one patterned with my universities logo and Diane got a lovely zebra print. Fancy, I know. When we got them we were happy because it was a thoughtful gift from my brother and that in itself was enough for us.

After my brother had left I opened mine up and ran around showing it off to family, friends and neighbors. “You look like a wizard” was the most common comment I got and in all honesty, it was true! Needless to say, Diane and I were stumped as to when we’d actually use the darn things as we had perfectly good blankets at home, waiting for us on the couch. Well my friends, I figured out what we use them for and it’s a lot more then I originally thought. Also, did I mention that I figured out why they invented the Snuggie™?

Feel the Snuggie™ Warmth & Snuggle up with your significant other! Blankets are OK but they can slip and slide, plus your hands are trapped inside. The Snuggie™ Blanket keeps you totally warm and gives you the freedom to use your hands!

The above material is taken straight from the Snuggie website and the cheap, corny, made for TV quality oozes out of every word and actor. I know that America is obsessed with these right now but I honestly can’t tell you why. My biggest complaint with the Snuggie is the design. The selling point is that it’s a blanket with sleeves, which is a good idea on paper, but not so much when put to the test.

The basic design is simple, take a blanket and cut two holes on the top side and attached sleeves. You wear the Snuggie facing forward so the opening is in the back. This works perfectly for those who are sitting down as your back is protected by the couch and your body is kept warm by the blanket. The problem is that the backside has no way closing so you’re always exposing your backside. Yes, if you’re sitting down, you’re fine, but who honestly sits down in a Snuggie for hours and never gets up? What if you need a drink of water? Need to go to the bathroom? Answer the door/phone? Granted, if you’re doing the last one you should remove the Snuggie to avoid embarrassment (yes, even with the phone). If you get up, it’s like walking around in a hospital gown which no one enjoys. So how did I go from loathing the Snuggie to love the Snuggie? Simple – my daughter.

You see, a Snuggie is made of a fleece like material which makes is super soft and some what fuzzy. My 5 month old daughter is at the stage were everything goes in her mouth. For some bizarre reason, the taste of Snuggie is amazing and she will literally spend hours munching on it, rubbing her face on the fleece and throwing it around like a toy (and she loves every moment of it). So chalk one up for the Snuggie, it just happens to be made out of the correct material for a 5 month old baby to like, but that isn’t the real selling point.

The real reason why every parent should own a Snuggie is plain and simple: if you are going to ever take a nap with your baby but don’t want to hassle with covering both of you with one blanket, then the Snuggie is a gift from heaven. This is why man created the Snuggie, so that parents could easily take naps with their babies. Let me explain.

When it’s 3 o’ clock in the morning and you’re fumbling around in the dark with your child, you probably only have one thing on your mind. Getting your kid to go back to sleep as quickly as possible so you can go to sleep as well. As any parent will tell you, that isn’t always the easiest thing in the world. If you are Snuggie less, then your night time adventures might go something like this.

• Find food for baby
• Start feeding baby
• Baby falls asleep while eating
• You fall asleep while feeding the baby
• Everyone gets cold because the blanket fell off/you didn’t get a blanket for warmth

My daughter enjoying the Snuggie

Not the most traumatic experience I know, but it’s the little things that count, right? But just stick with me for a moment. See, if you have a Snuggie, you can repeat the same process but instead of falling asleep and freezing, you now have a blanket that is keeping you warm and all you have to do is wrap your arms around your child and then they are warm. As a parent, you’re holding your kid anyway, so why not wrap them in a nice fleece blanket? So for this method of falling asleep, it works. How do I know? I’ve done it before. As of this writing, I’ve fallen asleep with my daughter and a Snuggie at least 4 times (a few weekend naps and a few morning ones). Every time I’m warm and comfy and I don’t have to worry about my baby. She’s going to be just fine as well.

Still not convinced that Snuggies are amazing? Leave your comments below or tell your own glorious Snuggie related story.