Just Say No to Snuggie-Wearing While Driving

Mar 05 2009 by Courtney Messenbaugh

I’ve obviously been in an infant-and-toddler-induced fog for the past several months, because I only learned about the Snuggie when my editor asked me to test it out while driving. This blanket with sleeves defies all fashion sense and is one of the latest pop-culture phenomena.

I’ll admit that I had to look up Snuggie on Google. Apparently, I’m the only person who hasn’t heard of the Snuggie because it’s everywhere; more than 4 million Snuggies have been sold. There are more than 400 Snuggie-related groups — both for and against — on Facebook. A search for Snuggie on YouTube brings up more than 800 videos; check out The WTF Blanket Snuggie parody after the kids go to bed.

I waited to try out my Snuggie until early in the morning, so none of my neighbors would see me trying to drive in it. I was embarrassed that I’d fallen prey to this pop-culture sensation. I tried to keep a straight face while keeping the Snuggie from falling off me. This one-size-fits-all contraption is roomy. No, it’s huge. It’s basically a huge robe that you wear backward with no belt to keep it on.

I certainly had some troubles making sure all of the Snuggie was in the car once I was ready to go. It kept falling off my shoulders. Quite frankly, it was a lot more trouble than the infomercial made it seem. Those darn infomercials are filled with Snuggie-wrapped evenings of holding babies, eating popcorn and playing games with the family. If only life were so easy! I held my baby and toddler while wearing the Snuggie, which worked well in that instance. The Snuggie was fine as long as I was sitting down, but I kept tripping over it when I walked around the house. While I didn’t eat popcorn while wearing my Snuggie, I tried to eat my dinner off a plate, but the big bell sleeves kept dipping into my food.

How shall I sum this up? Oh yeah, don’t buy a Snuggie to stay warm while driving. Turn on the heat for goodness sake! I’ll go one step further and tell you to save the $19.95 plus shipping and taxes that it costs for two Snuggies (that’s right, they’re buy one get one and I’m still passing) and put it toward your retirement. Heck, you could take that $19.95 and spend it on a few lattes because they’ll do just as good a job of keeping you warm, and you won’t look as stupid drinking a latte as you would wearing the Snuggie.

You be the judge: I thought I looked like the Statue of Liberty in the Snuggie. I love Lady Liberty, but that’s not a look I want to achieve. My husband described my look as that of a mental patient. He’s probably right, but maybe it’s just me ... I’m a little mental even without the Snuggie.