Thank you, Thank you, Thank you

Today I finished writing my Christmas thank you notes.  It's a little bit late, but they will all be in the mailbox tomorrow, and it really is never too late to show your appreciation for a gift.

On this topic of thank you notes, since I can remember my mom made me, my brother and my sister sit down right after Christmas and write notes to everyone we received gifts from.  When I was younger this was a daunting process.  During elementary school writing in cursive took me more time than I'd like to admit.  Even as I grew up, knowing what to write was sometimes a challenge, and it wasn't like I was writing a term paper or anything.

Through all the notes I have written, I have developed a bit of a method to writing meaningful thank you notes.  My first piece of advice is definitely to hand write the note!  How often do you get junk and bills in the mail?  How often do you get handwritten notes or cards? My point exactly.  Handwriting, as opposed to typing, shows you care and took time out of your busy schedule to express your appreciation.  No excuses about how bad your writing is; print in block letters if you need to!

My thank you note usually has a few parts:
1) Greet the person who you received the gift from;
2) thank them for the specific gift, "I loved the black blazer";
3) tell them why you love the gift, or how you will use it/have used it, if you receive money tell them something you might spend it on or purchase;
5) tell the person you love them, or your miss them and can't wait to see them again and finally;
6) sign your name with love!

In the Cleveland Plain Dealer this weekend, columnist Regina Brett also highlighted that thank you notes are worth the effort and pretty easy to do.  I loved this article so much I cut it out of the paper!  She writes that saying thanks is "much easier than saying I'm sorry."  Her formula for writing a thank you note is pretty close to mine, and she definitely recommends keeping it simple.

Quick disclaimer, thank you notes are not only for Christmas, so get into the habit of writing and sending a thank you note after every gift!

Do you write thank you notes?  What do you do to make them special?

-Thanks to my mom and dad for always making me write thank you notes, and looking forward to Pumpkin Wednesday!