It’s time for a very important post-Christmas question. Just where does your family stand on thank you letters?
I’ll tell you now, this family is pro thank you letter. Whatever present the children receive, they send a thank you letter.
In Izzy’s case, as she’s only four, the letters are often written by me but she has now learned to write her nickname so she will willingly sign each and every one.
At this age it’s still a novelty. I suspect next year when Izzy’s at school the fun element of writing her own name will have worn off and it won’t be quite so easy.
As with pretty much everything this family does, however, we aren’t perfect. It is often a month after the event before the letters are posted, but written and posted they are.
Well, the kids write their letters within a month. Us adults can take a bit longer. As I say, nobody’s perfect, right?
There are a couple of exceptions with particularly close relatives who are happy with a phone call. I stress, ‘though, that they are the exception and not the rule.
There’s also the one cheeky relative, one of my brothers. After a recent birthday celebration, I couldn’t remember if Helen had sent him a thank you letter.
“Yes she did,” he said.
“And even if she hadn’t, I’d still say she had because I remember how boring it was when mum made us sit down and write them,” he added.
Maybe I’m just a bit old fashioned, but to me a thank you letter should be written. It shouldn’t be an email or a phone call.
It needn’t be very long, a couple of sentences is all it takes. It’s just one of those occasions when only the written word will suffice.
I know as a kid I used to dislike writing thank you letters. I clearly recall my mother sitting next to me, dictating letter after letter, the exasperation in her voice as she read out the same sentence about the weather, the aim clearly being to fill space on the page.
To be honest, I think the younger generation get the concept of thank you letters. It’s the adults that surprise me with their lack of etiquette.
A couple of times over the past few years we’ve received text messages of thanks from people for wedding presents. Since when did that become the done thing?
In this post-Christmas phase, I wish you luck writing your own thank you letters. For those of you that insist your kids write thank you letters….best of luck making it happen!
6 thoughts on “Anyone writing thank you letters?”
I always have the intention of writing and sending thank you cards but they never get done. I still have last year’s thank you cards I didn’t post!
Well maybe 2017 is the year it will happen! I know what you mean though, in the 21st century it’s such a faff going out and buying envelopes, stamps etc. On a few occasions I have forgotten to send thank you cards for that very reason.
I remember being sat down to write thank you letters. I have to admit that I say every year we are going to get the kids to do it. So far it’s not happened.
This year I’m determined to do it though.
Habit you have to get into when young I think Alan. Good luck persuading the kids they should write them.
I think it is so expensive to send letters these days. I don’t mind handing them out, but to send and no one keeps it seems silly. I remember being forced to write them and hated it. I did thank you cards for each of the new born baby gifts for each of the kids and wedding ones, but I’ve never made the kids do it. I think if they were forced it’d come across that way. It is nice though. Maybe I should get them to do it They can lump in their birthday thank yous too.
Ah, interesting one this. When Izzy was born we went straight from her birth into Christmas and completely lost track as to who we had written to and who we hadn’t! I do get cards can be expensive and it involves a trip into that most antiquated of places: the Post Office. I’m afraid ‘though, that I’m a bit of a fan.