How To Write a Thank-You Note
January 8, 2013 § 37 Comments
It’s that time of year: thank-you note season.
If you were lucky enough to receive some gifts or be invited to a holiday celebration or two, the task now lies before you to write out your gratitude. (Unless you’ve finished all your thank-you notes already – in which case, bite me.)
In teaching my kids to write thank-you notes, I’ve given them a loose formula to follow. There are a few basic elements I have them include in each note — I’ll share them here in case it helps you get your notes done:
- Some kind of friendly opener that’s NOT about the gift – a seasonal greeting, a question about how the other person is doing, or something along the lines of, “What fun to see you last week at the roller derby!” (I don’t like to start off with “Thank you for…” because it just screams, “I’m writing this because I have to.” I’d rather a note give a sense of, “I just love talking to you, and this time I wanted to do it with a pen and paper.”)
- An expression of thanks for the gift, noting specifically what you like about it or how it made you feel to receive it.
- Some conversational stuff, perhaps a note of excitement about something coming up in the other person’s life, like, “I can’t wait to hear how your Disney Reptile Cruise goes.”
- A friendly closing.
Now, it’s easy to write a thank-you note when someone you like gives you something you love. (“Dear Mike, I love your new beard. Thank you for the pony. It’s exactly what I always dreamed of! Keep me posted on your summer plans. Love, Me”) Other times, it’s a little more challenging. Here are some samples you can use for those tricky situations:
* * *
When you’re unsure what the gift is –
When you realize you just got the gift of germs –
When you’ve been a disappointment your whole life –
When you need to thank the hostess of a party where you acted like a jackass –
When you know it really was the thought that counts –
When you’ve busted someone for re-gifting –
Happy note-writing! And remember, if you get stuck, just string together “Wow!” and “Well, aren’t you amazing?” and “What can I say?” in any order.
Very practical tips… Etiquette after the Apocalypse
OMG! I KNEW that was you at Roller Derby last week!
That just made me spit coffee laughing. Thank you for that!
That regifting one was perfect! Great post!
Thanks!
I will take all of your advice into account when I get around to helping my wife write thank-you notes … for the new baby gifts we received last November. She was so kind as to address and stamp several of them for me, only leaving the note writing up to me. And there they sit on the kitchen table, six weeks later. Please, dear sage, what’s your advice on absolutely delinquent tardiness in thank-you note writing?
Yours truly,
Bad Husband X
Dearest BHX,
You find yourself in a common conundrum. We’ve all been there.
Why, after I got married, I dilly-dallied around for so long — writing a note here, two notes there, then nothing for a few weeks — that by the time I realized how behind I was, I also realized that I couldn’t remember to whom I’d written already and to whom I hadn’t. Clueless as to whether I might accidentally be sending a second note to some people, I started making all notes read something like, “I gotta tell you, we are STILL really enjoying that rice steamer.”
The great news for you is that you have a trump card: the baby. No one can hold your tardiness against you for even a moment if you enclose a photo of the little bugger. Instead of thinking, “Aw, dammit, this note is late,” they’ll just be thinking, “Awwwwww.”
Hope that helps.
Fondly,
Me
PS: Tell your lovely bride and babymama I think her strategy is brilliant.
Love this. And LOVE that you have taught your kiddos the lost art of thank you notes! Bravo. Oh, and you freaking crack me up.
Thanks! Now if I could just teach them to do their own laundry…
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Really enjoyed your post and I am now ready to attack the last of my Christmas Thank you notes! Thanks for making me smile!
Thank YOU!
Love this post, thanks for making me laugh. I don’t write thank you notes for Christmas presents so I guess that means I’m an ungrateful and bad person- but at least I have a sense of humor.
Ha! I’m sure it doesn’t mean that at all…
Thanks for reading!
Are you kidding me with this hilarious post? It’s sublime. I love these letters. I laughed aloud. LA. (laugh aloud).
Thank you!
If you laugh aloud three times, it’s LA LA LA.
This is hilarious! Love it
Thank you!
Like Handy Hints from Frikkin’ Heloise!
My parents actually almost named me Frikkin Heloise.
Absolutely Hilarious!!!
Thank you for reading!
Dang ass funny!
I’m dang ass glad you liked it.
“What in the name of the devil’s assfeathers is it?” Ok, that got me, I spit coffee everywhere. This whole post was awesome (and a much needed educational tutorial in thank you note writing as well, if I may say).
Sorry about the coffee. But thanks!
Reblogged this on Whimsy Dreams.
Love the re-gifting one.
btw- We’re supposed to write Christmas thank you notes? Sh!t.
If you have the kind of family and friends where you can get away without writing them, GO for it. We seem to stand on ceremony around here. Thanks for reading!
I’m still working on my wedding thank you’s from last May :\ And by “working on”, I mean, I wrote two (to Abramova and Ahlquist) and then moved and now I can’t find the cards.
First time commenter, New Subscriber!
Linked from Design Indulgence on blogspot.
Looking forward to reading backward through your posts
Cheers!
Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. Hope you stay awhile!
I just blew my coffee out my nose I was laughing so hard!
Oh, ouch. Sorry!
And here I’ve been doing it wrong all these years! Where were you when I was learning how to express gratitude for those collectible Life Savers my grandpa always got me all those years?
Collectible Life Savers. Holy crap. Yes. I remember those.
Reblogged this on Parrots, Prose, and Peanuts and commented:
Funny!