Anyone who has ever done laundry has had an orphan sock or two.
Orphaned socks are great for nail biters.
Let the little ones decorate with indelible markers. At bedtime, its fun to make up stories with the 'puppets' on their hands and they can take their new friends to bed by keeping them on their hands. Use decorated, orphaned socks to store and WASH marbles or other small, water resilient toys that gather and spread germs. Slip them over little hands to see how much dust gathers on the 'face' of the sock. Decorate orphaned socks with buttons, feathers, ribbon, felt, etc.