A Lesson in Creative Slanket Misuse

What do you buy someone who appears to have everything they need and want (within your price range), is always cold (whether winter or summer), and has a tendency to wear coats in the house (even though the ambient temperature is 70)? A Slanket®, of course! Or at least that's what I bought my step-dad for Christmas this year.

And exactly what is a Slanket? Not to be confused with the Snuggie® knock-off, it's basically a fleece blanket with sleeves. The idea is that you can cover up with it and still have your arms free for reading, changing the channel on your television, talking on the phone and more. Sort of a backwards robe without a tie. Here's a picture of my step-dad, Albert, and his Slanket as it's supposed to be used.


But in the right creative hands, the Slanket has another use too. If you can convince someone you know or someone you would like to know to play along, you can have a Slanket for two by simply putting your heads through the sleeves. Now I'm sure the Slanket people never intended for it to be used this way, but when you look at the picture and really think about it, it's a great idea. They could go to a game, slip the Slanket sleeves over their heads, snuggle up together and stay toasty warm from neck to toe. Brilliant! Kudos to Albert! Here he is with my mom.

It's a simple lesson in creativity; take something and put your own twist on it. Just about everyone has done it at one time or another. My mom does it all the time when cooking. A friend does it with songs when singing. Another does it when she decorates her house with flea market treasures. Is there something in your life that you misuse for the good?

Perhaps sadly for me, I've always tended to be a rule follower. If the instructions tell me to use something one way, I am very likely going to use it that one way. If the recipe calls for exactly 1 tsp of something, you can bet solid money that I'm going to put exactly 1 tsp in, no more and no less. I wish I was more of a rule breaker, a rebel with my head in a sleeve, but I'm not. That doesn't mean I'm not creative, or at least I hope it doesn't. It does mean that I probably need to lighten up just a little. I think my goal for the coming week will be to find a creative use for at least one thing in my life. If I can come up with something really good, I'll post it.