On Thank You Notes

One of my first etiquette lessons my mom taught me was the importance of writing a good thank you note.  When I was little, my mom told me that I couldn't play with the gift until I wrote a thank you note to the giver.  This taught me that thank yous are time-sensitive and necessary.

A thank you should be sent immediately, but can wait as long as a week.  But no longer than that! Luckily, thank you notes are really quite quick and simple to write.  A good format for a thank you note is:

1. Salutation
2. Thanking the person for the item, favor, experience, etc.
3. Saying something specific about the gift, like how you will use it or how much you enjoyed it
4. Thanking them again
5. Signature

This thank you note format is my go-to and it is so quick to write. This format can be used for just about any type of note of appreciation - birthday presents, wedding presents, follow-up from a dinner at someone's house - anything! 

According to Emily Post, "it is never wrong to send a written thank you" and "people always appreciate getting a 'thanks' in writing." Since we live in a time when there are lots of different ways to communicate, here's some guidance on the mode of communication for your thank you:

• If the giver is a close friend or family member, it's okay to call or email your thanks (this does not apply to wedding gift, which will always require a written note).
• To acknowledge safe arrival of a gift, or if you want to send thanks before the official note, you can call, email, or text.
• An emailed or texted thanks is better than no thanks, but you can do better.  The giver put time and effort into doing something nice for you, so they would likely appreciate the few minutes it would take you to hand write a note and mail it to them. 

If you're a stationery lover like I am, you may like some of my favorite designs (click the images to purchase them):