We have become an age of technology. Obviously if you are reading this blog you are computer savvy. More than likely you email, text, blog and tweet your way through the day, just like I do. Thank you notes have become a lost art. They take time, they require a trip to an actual post office and you have buy stamps. OMG! Who has a stamp these days? It really shouldn’t matter how you thank someone, as long as you do thank them-right? Wrong.
I promise not to sound like Great Aunt Betty and lecture you on writing a note to everyone for everything. I screw this up too. Sometimes I simply forget to write a note, other times I write it so late that I can barely remember what the gift was. I’m not proud of it, I know better. There are times when an email or a text will do. You and a friend have met for lunch and she picks up the tab as a late birthday treat. You later text, Thnks 4 2day. Had fun. I think that’s okay. If she brings you a present, she should get a thank you note.
If you receive a gift or check from grandma, send a thank you note! It is in your best interest to do so. Believe me, the senior generation already thinks that baby boomers are spoiled and their kids are inconsiderate. Let’s prove them wrong. If you are the grandchild that writes the note, you move to the top of the list. The gifts will keep on coming and your cousins won‘t get your share, besides you love grandma-make her day.
I try to write a note if I’ve gone to a party at someone’s home. I’m not talking about 4 people ordering pizza. I talking about a situation where the hostess has cleaned her house more than ever before, spent a month’s grocery budget on food and is about to drop over from exhaustion when people get there. Think how nice it is for her to get a note a few days later telling her how much you appreciated being included.
I never expect a thank you note from my kids, even though they no longer live at home. My daughter has on occasion surprised me with one anyway. I don’t expect them from my parents, but my mom is really good at note writing. If you live with the person, or they are immediate family, I think an in person thank you or a phone call is more than enough. Actually grandma might rather have a thank you phone call than a thank you note, you can be the judge of that.
Anytime there is gift given, someone has given their time and their money to think of you. Spending a couple minutes to let them know you appreciate it really isn’t too much to ask.
The process is quite simple. Pick up a package a note cards. They don’t have to say thank you on the front. All you need is to follow this format:
Dear Grandma,
Thank you so much for the ear muffs. I have always loved royal blue plush and can’t wait to wear them on one of our chilly days here in Florida. I wish you could have been here for my party. I can’t wait until you come to visit. Thank you again for thinking of me.
Love, (or whatever-I suggest love for grandma)
Your name
15 comments:
thanks for the reminder - I need to round up some addresses for people that came to our Open House last weekend
flit-thanks for coming by. Sometimes we all need that little extra "push" to remember to write a note or two.
You made some good points. I would just note, though, that someone needs to show grandma how to send text messages and open email.
I read this yesterday and told the girls that we had to get a Thank You card for my friend who supplied us with awesome tickets. I know I should do this more often but I forget.
And, yeah, stamps? Who has those anymore?
Madison-I'm all for that! Actually, my parents can both email quite well. They don't text, because they know that their grandchildren would never give them a moment of peace. On the other hand, my in-laws can barely use the remote for the television and have no interest in learning. I text, but don't love it...but I do it all the time. I can't imagine not using a computer and I have no idea how we survived without them.
Sophie-it would be a nice thing to do, and if we don't teach the kids of today, it will simply be one of those nice things that fades away.
While the custom is lovely, I think it's becoming antiquated.
It represents an age when e-mail didn't exist, when acknowledgement couldn't be communicated instantaneously.
I do send thank-you notes, but they're all digital, and everyone I know my age is the same way.
I'm not saying it's good or bad, but that's the way it is.
BB-I agree it is becoming a thing of the past. I think sending any thank you is better than ignoring the person. But, there are cases where "grandma" doesn't have a computer and either a note or a phone call should be worth the few minutes it takes. I have to say that I dread the day when wedding invitations and thank you notes become digital. Everyone likes to get mail sometimes. Thanks for you input, you make a good point.
I agree. Oh, man do I ever. Thank you notes are one of my personal bandstands. (Even when I fall behind) I think they are so important, I do an entire set of lessons with my second graders. And, at Christmas I send home stationary with the specific homework of writing thank you notes.
I have to admit, it's been a while since I've sent a greeting card.
Relyn-I'm glad (and not surprised) that you agree. I taught my 5 & 6 year old etiquette class kids about them, and they loved "making mail". It is all in the training.
Shan-you don't send real birthday cards? I can picture you sending funny cards with dogs on the front! I send friends and family e-cards for "thinking of you" stuff. I still send real birthday cards (sometimes belated).
thank you notes are one of the simplest ways to "get ahead." i try to send them after job interviews ... makes a great impression i think.
Lexie, I think after job interviews it is a perfect way to make yourself stand out from others. I do think you can actual email a post interview thank you, but a hand-written one will be remembered.
I loved this post so much that I'm back. Tell me more about your etiquette class, won't you? I teach a weekly etiquette lesson to my students.
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