December 26th is National Thank You Note Day. That shouldn’t really surprise anyone, should it? I mean, we just got through the biggest gift exchange of the year. Sending out a few thank yous is the logical next step. Most etiquette experts agree that the sooner you write those notes, the better.
My mother was never a stickler for thank you notes, but my grandmother was. I have my own kids write notes for their birthday gifts before they can play with them. That guarantees they’ll get done quickly. Who hasn’t reminded a child to use the “magic” words of please and thank you? Teaching our children to be appreciative of gifts and the thoughtfulness of others is important in a world where so much is taken for granted. The first step in doing this is probably training ourselves to be more thankful.
Send a Handwritten Note
The classic method of saying thank you, of course, is the handwritten note. I am a big fan of snail mail. When most of our communications travel through electronic means, it is so nice to get a card in the mailbox instead of an email in the inbox. A handwritten note should include: a thank you, a mention of what the gift was, and how it will be useful to you. Handwritten notes may seem a bit old-fashioned, and maybe you think only your elderly aunt or long-distance grandparents still merit one from you, but they are still the standard according to etiquette experts.
Buy a box of thank you notes. Yes, they still sell them. I’ve found them at big stores like Target, smaller stationery stores like Papyrus, and online. There’s such a variety that you can find something to fit your own personal tastes and budget. And if you’re a paper goods junkie like me, it will be hard to choose just one box!
But Electronic Methods Are Faster and Easier
The biggest excuse for sending a text or email is that you can let the gift giver know you’ve received the gift immediately. I can see how this is important givrn all the recent news reports about package thefts this time of year. While it’s true that an email or text is quick, they do not take the place of a thank you note according to most experts. So go ahead and let grandma know you got the package via email, but be sure to send a note after you open it. There is an exception to this rule, but you’ll have to read further to find out about it.
How Much Time Do We Have?
According to the Emily Post website, we should send a thank you note for Christmas and birthday gifts within 2 or 3 days of opening them. No wonder December 26th is National Thank You Note Day! Wedding and baby gifts should be noted within three months. In the case of shower gifts, even if the giver was present and you thanked them in person, you should still send a note. But this is not necessarily the case with all gifts.
When A Call Will Do
For those of you who are prone to writer’s cramp, there’s some good news. If the giver is a close friend or relative, you can get away with a phone call. Just make sure you do it in a timely manner (a few days at most). And if you opened the gift in front of them and thanked them in person, you’re completely off the hook. No formal note, email, text, or a phone call is required.
Why Showing Appreciation is Important
While preparing this post, I was reminded of someone I knew who sent out a note every week to thank someone for something. She would notice a good deed and send a note of appreciation. She would send a thank you to someone for an act of service. I’m sure she often sent out more than one note per week, because once you start looking for things to be thankful for, you find them everywhere. I was once the lucky recipient of her note. I cannot recall what I did that garnered her thanks, I just remember the feeling it gave me to get her card.
A short, handwritten note gives much more than it takes. Sure, postage costs keeps rising and it takes a little time, but when someone takes the time to send you a nice gift, shouldn’t you take some time to say thank you? I have decided to send a note of thanks or appreciation every week this coming year. I’ll follow up in a future post to let you know how it goes. I have a feeling it will be of as much benefit to me as anyone else.
Sending notes of thanks is a great way to increase the level of gratitude in your life. If you want to know more about how having an attitude of gratitude is good for your mood, relationships, and even health, check out this post or this one.
Thanks for reading and please share!
