• Style
  • Home
  • Family
  • Life
  • Culture

A Girl Named PJ

Do you send thank you cards?

December 26, 2012

6537600685_a59b8c8c7d_b

I hope you’ve all been having a happy holiday season! Did Santa leave anything special for you or your children underneath the Christmas tree? Levi was fortunate to receive some additional Chanukah presents from family and friends while we were traveling last week. (Psst…Did you even notice I was gone?)

Now that we’re home and settled, it’s time to go through the mail that accumulated in our absence and thank anyone who sent us or Levi a gift. I’ve always wondered whether it really matters if “thank you” is said over the phone or in a card, so I asked two experts for their opinions.

bunny and dolly | thank you by justlucky

First I turned to Chandra Greer, owner of the Chicago stationery shop, Greer. Since Chandra sells paper and pens (among other things), I had a feeling she would tell me that sending a thank you card is what’s appropriate, but I was curious as to why. She directed me to an interview she did with Dwell, in which she said, “Any gift requires time, thought and resources and should be responded to with something that at least approximates the effort that gift represents.”

William Hanson, an etiquette expert based in the UK (where they know a thing or two about being proper!), agreed that sending thank you cards is an essential post-Christmas activity. He suggests young children sign their name to a sentence written by a parent until they are old enough to write a simple sentence or two, around the age of five. Older children can write longer letters.

And what if they object to writing a thank you card? “As a child I was always told that if I stopped writing letters people would no longer want to send me presents,” said William. “I was a very materialistic child so I made sure I wrote my letters very soon after Christmas!”

bunny and dolly | thank you by edubl31216

Before our trip, I wrote a thank you card on behalf of Levi and mailed it to a friend who bought him a Chanukah gift. She sent us an email while we were away asking if Levi liked his present. Since we knew that Levi’s thank you was due to arrive in her mailbox any day, neither JB nor I responded. Imagine how embarrassed we both felt upon learning last night that she never received the thank you card! We tried to do the proper thing, but the postal service ended up making us look ungrateful. Fail, USPS!

A situation like that makes me wonder if a simple phone call (or even email) to say thanks makes more sense in today’s world of instant gratification…but then I remember how little time I have to chat on the phone. In fact, I took me over a week to find a quiet moment to call my aunt and uncle and thank them for their Chanukah gift. I intended to call in the evening when they would both be home from work, but nights are always hectic in our house and time just got away from me.

When I finally did call, I got their answering machine. And when they called me back the next day, they got mine. Perhaps I should have just written a thank you card!

bunny and dolly | thank you by jon ashcroft

How do you thank family and friends for gifts you receive? Do you say thank you over the phone, in a card, or by email?

{images: 1, 2, 3, 4}

Related Posts

  • Truly Last Minute Thanksgiving DecorationsTruly Last Minute Thanksgiving Decorations
  • Minted holiday cards (and a giveaway!)Minted holiday cards (and a giveaway!)
  • A Hanukkah tradition and some thoughts on the holidaysA Hanukkah tradition and some thoughts on the holidays
  • Pick your favorite new year card!Pick your favorite new year card!

SHARE THIS POST:

Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter


2COMMENTS | Family

« Nursery Inspiration Board: Transit Authority
Cute calendars for kids »

Let’s Discuss

  1. Rebecca

    December 28, 2012 at 3:19 pm

    I am a firm believer in thank you notes. I prefer to mail them, but sometimes if it’s a more casual thing, I’ll email.

    Reply
  2. marienkafer

    January 10, 2013 at 12:02 pm

    Still catching up on blogs.. 🙂

    Most of our Christmas gifts are exchanged in person so we don’t write thank you cards for those. We did receive a few unexpected gifts via mail or delivered with someone else, so I will write thank you cards for those. Although I haven’t yet… thanks for reminding me!

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

PJ Photo (lefty)

CONNECT Social Links (righty)

LET'S
CONNECT

Pages Menu (lefty)

ABOUT PORTFOLIO CONTACT

120×600 AD Banner (righty)

“WORK With Me” Linked Graphic (lefty)

Archives Button Link (lefty)

Subscribe Links (lefty)

SUBSCRIBE

RSS FEEDLY BLOGLOVIN' EMAIL

Search – full width

DIVIDER IMAGE

Featured Series Squares

FEATURED
SERIES



DIVIDER IMAGE

Friends & Sponsors Ads

FREE
DOWNLOAD


DIVIDER IMAGE

RECENT
PINS

Love getting holiday cards from friends but now Im feeling like a  slacker because we havent had professional family photos taken in a couple of years. If I even get around to sending cards this year (doubtful) theyll likely have an iPhone selfie for the imageHappy to have at least one kid willing to stand in front of a random mural and smile for the cameraDiscovered a new-to-me fruit at the @westsidemarket in Cleveland: #Rambutan. They look like the offspring of a strawberry and those spiny brown balls that fall from trees but I have no idea what they taste like. Have you heard of them? Eaten them? Im so curious!Are you still in a food coma from last night or have you moved on to leftovers already?
Follow Me on Pinterest More Pins
I HAVE MORE TO SAY
JOIN MY NEWSLETTER
Exciting updates, bonus content,
exclusive giveaways

LET'S
CONNECT

A LOOK INTO MY LIFE
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

    Copyright © 2019 A Girl Named PJ / All Rights Reserved / Disclosure / Privacy Policy