Jo loves socks like nobody I’ve ever seen, so last year on her birthday I came up with a fun idea for a gift. I gave her a “Sock of the Month Club” which meant I would present her with a new pair of socks every month for a year.

Each pair of socks was in a theme that matched the month, and came with a cute little gift bag that I decorated with the same theme. The fun part for me was shopping for socks throughout the year, and keeping an eye out for special holiday-themed socks (like St. Patrick’s Day or Halloween) and purchasing them whenever I found one that I knew she would love. I also had a lot of fun decorating the little gift bags to match!

I gave Jo the first pair of socks on her birthday, which was in November of last year. The theme for that first pair was easy — birthday socks — but I had a heck of a time finding them until I finally stumbled upon some awesome ones online. For the rest of the year, I gave her a new pair of socks (in a cute matching bag) on the first of every month.

Her last pair of socks was delivered on October 1st, so her full year of socks has now come to an end. She is disappointed that she won’t be getting any more socks, but I am happy to finally be able to share this idea with you!

Here they are:

	JANUARY - New Year’s Day For this month, I chose the most fun and wild socks I could find. Why not ring in the new year with some crazy stripes!
	FEBRUARY - Valentine’s Day Love was in the air in February, so I found these cute pink socks with little hearts on them.
	MARCH - St. Patrick’s Day Jo was all set for the big green day with these fun “Kiss me, I’m Irish” socks.
	APRIL - April showers This month I played off the old adage, “April showers bring May flowers” and decorated the bag with raindrops and chose cute floral socks to go with it.
	MAY - The Kentucky Derby Jo is a huge fan of horses and of the Kentucky Derby, so a horse-themed bag and some jockey-patterned socks were an easy choice for May.
	JUNE - Weddings June is the most popular month for weddings (and Jo’s anniversary month) so I selected some elegant white knit socks that looked very bridal.
	JULY - Independence Day The fourth of July means fireworks, and these crazy plush socks reminded me of fireworks with their long strands of silky thread.
	AUGUST - Wildcard There aren’t really any big holidays in August, so I just found a really pretty pair of socks that I knew Jo would love.
	SEPTEMBER - Autumn The cooler weather and changing leaves made for a great theme for September, and these leaf socks were the perfect fit.
	OCTOBER - Halloween Jo really loved the little spider on this month’s bag and felt a little like a witch in these fun striped socks.
	NOVEMBER - Happy Birthday This was the sock that started it all, and Jo is excited about wearing these every year on her birthday.
	DECEMBER - Christmas This was an easy month and I found some fun Christmas socks that really helped Jo get into the spirit of her favorite holiday.

As you can imagine, this “of the Month” idea can be adapted to many other gifts as well. The idea here is to give a small gift each month and give your friend a year’s worth of enjoyment with a fun theme. Here are some other ideas that I thought of:

• Coffee of the Month - Choose a new flavor of coffee each month for your caffeine-addicted friend.
• Ball cap of the Month - Guys who collect hats (like my Dad) might love a monthly addition to their collection, especially when they suit the theme of the season.
• Mug of the Month - Mug collectors will enjoy a new mug every month for their morning drink.
• T-Shirt of the Month - Keep your friend styling in a fun new shirt each month.
• Candy of the Month - Satisfy your friend’s sweet tooth all year long with a bag or box of candy each month. This can easily be matched to monthly themes, too — think candy corn in October, marshmallow Peeps in April/May, and heart-shaped chocolates in February!
• Baked goods of the month- Cookies, different flavored brownies, cupcakes decorated by a monthly theme or even test your cake decorating skills by baking a cake a month.
• Stationery of the Month - You could give fun note cards, greetings cards, post cards, writing paper, memo pads or even fun covered Post-Its for each month.