I am usually pretty good about writing thank you notes, but I have to admit that when Preston turned 1, I didn't send out any thank you notes to the 30 guests that came to celebrate with us.
gasp.
I know it was horribly rude, and you can leave me a nasty comment if you like, but I just felt very overwhelmed. Especially since his birthday is only 6 days after Christmas, that's just a lot of thank you notes at a very busy time of year. But, that's just an excuse. Hopefully people will forgive me! Next year I will need to plan ahead and make all my thank you notes ahead of time so I will be more prepared!
Do you regularly write thank you notes? If you don't how come? Is it the time factor, money maybe you don't know what to say and it feels awkward.
Did you know that there is thank note etiquette and a proper way to write a thank you note?
Here are some guidelines from Leslie Harpold of The Morning News that you can follow to thank people properly.
1. Greet the giver. Example: Dear Amy.
2. Express your gratitude. If you have been give the gift of money, the proper way to show your thanks is to write thank you for your generosity or kindness.
3. Discuss use and don't lie! How have you used (or plan on using) the gift?
4. Mention the past, allude to the future. I take this to mean a little "small talk" think about how the person fits into your life, do you see each other on a regular basis or is it someone you don't see very often. An example. I treasure our friendship and look forward to seeing you in 2 weeks when you come to Spokane for a visit.
5. Grace. You can write, thanks again for your gift. (or generosity/kindness if it is of monetary value)
6. Regards. Love, Your friend. You get the idea.
Our lives can get so busy, which was the case in my thank you note mess up. But we need to remember to show our appreciation, not only for the gift we received but to the giver as well. People like to be appreciated. I do, don't you?
I've heard it's never too late to send thank you notes. Even if they are 4 months late, like in my case-yikes! Well I guess I know how I'm spending the rest of my afternoon *wink*
Ephesians 5:20 Giving thanks always and for everything....
I'm totally with you on the thank you notes -- I believe strongly in them!
ReplyDeleteI started making the kids "write" thank you notes from the time they could hold a crayon. I would write it for them and they would draw a picture (or scribble). When Zach was in K I would write a simple note for him to copy, now he writes his own. There's no arguing about it, it's just one of those things that they'll have to do whether they like it or not. ;o) Zach is beginning to realize it's for the other person's benefit, not his -- the grandparents love it, and that makes him feel good!
Great post, thanks!
i LOVE writing thank you notes...and i think you have a year, no? or maybe that's for wedding thanks you's? haha! :)
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