The only thing more gracious than receiving a thoughtful gift, beautifully wrapped… is receiving a handwritten thank you note.
Etiquette dictates a few formal rules regarding when a thank you note is required…
- Whenever a gift is not opened in the giver’s presence
- For all wedding and shower gifts
- For all holiday, birthday, graduations presents
- The note should be prompt (though it is never too late to write a thank you)
There are also rules about what should be included in the note, such as:
- The letter should be specific
- The note should be personal (no commercial sentiments)
- The note should include how the gift will be used
- Thank yous should not include the dollar amount of a money gift
However, in order to write a gracious thank you note, one must go beyond the formal rules….The secret to saying thank you, is to be thoughtful and personal. You are not just thanking the giver for the gift, but also for the time and thought they put into the gift. You are thanking them for their kindness, their generosity, their time, and most of all…their friendship…
The art of saying thank you is in expressing your gratitude for all of those things…and that will require a gift from you…a little bit of your time.
22 comments
Cheryl
When my sons were younger I always had them write thank you notes to their relatives for gifts received. Their great – grandma and grandma really appreciated them. They told me my boys were the only ones of the kids that took the time to write thank you’s.
To this day I still prefer hand writing a note rather than sending a note via email.
Christine butt
My mother in law always writes very correct thank you notes, so for a present my son gave her some note let’s with his own photos on the front each one different, I don’t mean his own face, but views he thought she would like. I love to see your fmq, what a beautiful blog. Thank you xx
theinboxjaunt
What a lovely gift! I’m so glad you like the posts, and thanks for commenting!
mtetar
I love saying thank you! I’m always searching for creative writing ideas. Thank you for sharing. Mtetar
gwendiequilts
It would be so nice if everyone remembered this. Manners never go out of style.
theinboxjaunt
Thank you! I agree.
Magical Effects of Thinking
What beautiful cards. I love writing thank-you’s and it doesn’t seem like a chore, especially when you use beautiful stationary like that. Which reminds me….
ladybelle
I was just about to send an email thank you and you caused me to reconsider. You’re right. Thank-you. (I mean, thank you for taking the time to write this post 🙂 )
adaisygarden
Great post! You’ve inspired me to write some long-overdue thank you cards! 🙂
theinboxjaunt
It’s never too late to write a thank you…
and thank you for your kind words!
adaisygarden
Ha! Would you like my address? I’d love to receive one of your beautiful cards! (just kidding! LOL) 🙂
Carol
Great post. I love to write notes, especially those of thanks. Just the way my mom taught me. Although I taught my two daughters the same, only one actually does so.
lucindalines
Thank you notes are something our mothers and grandmothers learned to do so well. I am a saver and have a few of the handwritten notes from my mother-in-law. I plan to pass them down to my daughters as a remembrance of their grandmother. I know they will like them.
greenmackenzie
I love this post…your photos are divine and I agree wholeheartedly with your words. I love a nice hand written thank you note 🙂
theinboxjaunt
Thanks so much! I hope electronic communication is never considered proper for thank yous…
greenmackenzie
Oh me too 🙂
My French Heaven
Very nice post! Very nice shots of that pen and seal…
theinboxjaunt
Thanks…my favorite fountain pen…
Sara
Not enough people know how to write thank you notes anymore, or even how to be grateful, for that matter. Nice post.
theinboxjaunt
I’m glad you liked it!
Comments are closed.