A Day In The Life Of A Cat

Thank-You-Notes 101

A year ago this month Greg and I went to a wedding. We never got a thank you note from the bride & groom for the gift we gave them. No one else in our cirlce of friends got one either. I'm sorry, but this is just plain BAD! Writing thank-you notes is part of getting married....you have to do it.

I send thank you notes to people so they know I appreciate whatever it is they've done or helped me with. I even sent my OB/GYN a thank you note once for being so kind to me. Sometimes I'll send a less formal thank you in email, but most of the time I get out the paper and ink.

With all this in mind, I'm giving a thank-you note 101 class.

1. Pen & paper. Unless it's an an especially big thank you, calling or sending email to friends and family is fine. For anyone else, write them a note. It conveys a true sense of "thank you". And, you don't need to send a card...no one says it has to be fancy. Writing a thank-you note out on paper is just fine. However, don't use the back of a grocery receipt....use a fresh clean piece of paper :)

2. What to say and how to say it. The first thing written should be the thank you. If you know the person personally, add a little more about how you are doing or wish them well. This really adds that personal warmth people like. Follow up with a "thanks again for..." and send it on it's way.

3. Fake it. Even if it's not your style or you simply don't like whatever it is, say "Thank you so much for the thoughtful gift. I appreciate you thinking of me". Don't add that you never intend on using or wearing it. The plan to leave it in the lunch room at work with a "free to good home" sign on it isn't something the gift-giver needs to read about.

4. Time matters. Allow yourself 1 month to send the thank you note. This is especially important when an actual gift has been given....like a wedding gift. People will start talking if it goes more than a month...."Did you get a thank-you note from...? We haven't...". This is exactly what happend with the people I spoke of who got married. The group of us that went to the wedding started talking about it...and none of us will buy them anything again!

There you go. Four simple rules to follow.

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