The Lost Art of Saying Thank You
My mother was meticulous about Thank You notes when I was a child. My sister and I would sit down after each birthday or Christmas and write out thoughtful, police, meaningful notes to thank each person for each gift we received. That continued through my high school and college graduations.
My mother had a lot of tips she passed along to my sister and I:
1. Personalize each Thank You note. Mention the gift and the giver and why you loved the gift in question.
2. Send the Thank You note within a week of receiving the gift.
3. Even if the given is local, mail the note. People love to get letters in the mail. This especially holds true in a day and age where e-mail is the norm.
4. Be as sincere as possible.
Somehow, I lost it by the time my wedding rolled around. I made it though a dozen or so Thank You cards and then just never finished. I sometimes wondered if that was a harbinger of the bad things to come in my marriage. Who knows?
I have not been good at all in teaching my own daughter about think you notes. Of course, she cannot write very well yet, but I could still be sitting down with her and writing them out in dictation form so she can sign them. It’s one of those lessons that only a mother can really teach and I will admit that up until now I have been sorely lacking in that department. It is something I vow to change by Christmas.
My goal is to have Thank You notes on hand and ready to personalize. In fact, I can even order them with the return address pre-printed to save time. Cards Direct even has the option to have the cards printed with a personalized line inside. I could have them printed with our names and then Gigi and I could simply add a personal note about the gift.
No comments yet.