Remember those rubber hot water bottles that you might have used for soothing that cramped muscle or to warm up the bed on a cold winter’s night? Maybe you are too young to have that experience. My daughter made a rice filled sock that does a much better job than the old water bottle. She learned it from her friend . The sock can be painted with a Sharpie pen and can be made into a very attractive companion (see above picture).
Look for an old sock and fill it with rice. You can use any old sock that is still in good shape (no holes). It can be any type of sock. This a good opportunity to use up the pile of socks that you have been keeping while you were hoping that its companion would show up some day. : ) Of course you can also use a pair of socks to make a “twin” set of warmers.
Fill the sock with rice to your preferred level. My daughter used brown rice because she made it at her friend’s house. You can use any other rice that is available. Then tie a knot tightly to keep the rice from falling out. You can then decorate the sock with color permanent markers like Sharpie pens.
My daughter drew a cute face on the above sock warmer she named Coffee. Use your imagination! This could be a good project for younger kids for a playdate or a birthday party. This sock warmer can also be used as a decoration when not needed for its intended thermal application.
To warm up the rice filled sock, just heat it up in the microwave. On the microwave we have, my daughter always heated her sock up for 1 minute. One minute will make the warmer quite toasty. I would not recommend warming it up for 1 minute for younger kids. It becomes very hot. Since all microwaves are different, start out with 20 or 30 seconds and add a bit more time to adjust the final desired temperature.
The nice thing is that the warmer can be reheated over and over again. My daughter had hers for many months. Just do not overheat the rice and burn it. There is subtle rice odor coming from the sock. This is normal and maybe provide a kind of additinal soothing sensation when handling the warm bundle.
There could be many applications for the sock. The best was when my daughter warmed Coffee up and put it on my wrist when she found out that I have a sore wrist from typing on the keyboard. The attention, warmth and subtle aroma from the rice was overwheming. The rice hugged the wrist to provide maximum contact that a regular hot water bottle could never do.
After my wrist felt better, she stuck it under her covers to warm up the bed. We both slept well that night from one warmer and a minute of energy for the microwave. I think the energy was very well spent
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