Sockaholic

With Father’s Day - the ultimate sock-gifting day just around the corner - results from a survey by Peter Jones confessed that they like receiving socks as a gift – shattering the sock’s reputation as a traditionally boring and un-inspirational gift.

The results from the survey, carried out by Peter Jones, the Sloane Square branch of John Lewis, were revealing:

• 69% of British dads enjoy receiving socks as a gift
• 67% of men never buy socks for themselves
• 76% said that the quality, colour and expense of socks given as a present far exceed their own standard when buying socks for themselves
• 80% of dads also admitted that it was a treat since socks are not something they buy for themselves
• The average British dad owns 22 pairs of socks and receives an average of 9 pairs as gifts annually
• When asked what they look for in a good pair of socks, 50% chose quality, mainly thickness, 36% said colour and 20% thought price was most important –
• The average spend is £5
• Only 34% of men colour co-ordinate their socks to their outfit with ‘black for work, white with trainers and anything at the weekend’ being the overriding rule of thumb

Christmas gifts

So Christmas is really nearly, almost, here. It's the 11th today so in just two weeks we'll all be sitting around with our families, opening gifts, drinking and watching TV. Sounds nice! But of course there will be the inevitable clothing gift disaster's that so often occur on the day. The obligatory pair of socks (that are actually quite useful), the terrible jumper (as modeled by Colin Firth), and possibly some other poor choices such as pyjamas, shirts, or, shock-horror, underwear.

So come on readers, what's your worst ever Christmas clothing gift you've received, and what would you most like to receive this year, clothing or otherwise?