Hello Print fans. Today I get to talk to you about Thank you cards.  These little notes are still extremely relevant and are an absolute essential for etiquette. Thankfully I don’t have that much that I wanted to go over this week, so for once I thought I would try to be brief. I will give you a list of what the main do and don’t are with some examples, there were a few points that I wanted to cover about the addressing of thank you cards and then, lastly, I thought I would give you some of the funniest thank you card messages I have been able to find.

The DO’s

1) Send you thank you cards as quickly as possible

2) Always make specific reference to the gift that is the subject of the note, such as “thank you so much for the blue sweater. How did you know that it was my favorite colour”

3) Thank you notes may be sent on informal stationery, except for wedding thank you notes which are generally sent on formal stationery.

4) The following situations always require Thank you cards

§ Wedding gifts.

§ For Sympathy letters, flowers or mass cards

§ To the hostess after a party

§ For bridal or baby shower gifts

§ For Gifts that were received by mail

§ After being entertained by your boss

§ Gifts received during a hospital stay

§ After being hosted as a house guest for one or more nights                                             (unless it’s a close relative or very close friend)

§ For notes or gifts of congratulations

5) Thank you notes are not required in the following situations, but would still be a nice gesture:

§ After being a guest at a dinner party.

§ After a job interview (not required, but definitely a smart                                                idea.)

§ For birthday gifts that were received and opened in person, and you already thanked the giver personally.

§ When a friend has helped you out with a special favor such as babysitting, a meal when you were sick, running errands for you when you are incapable.

§ To the sales representative who has entertained you personally as part of a business relationship.

The Don’ts of Thank You Notes

1) Don’t delay in sending most notes. Generally notes should be sent within a week of receipt of the gift or gesture. The only exception to this timing is as follows:

§ Thank you notes for hospital gifts should be sent as soon as the patient is well enough to send them, whenever that is.

§ The current guidelines for wedding gift thank you notes are that the notes should be sent within three months of receipt of gifts. However, given the potential monumental task that would pose to the                                         bride and groom after their honeymoon, it makes sense to send notes out as soon as gifts are received (often wedding gifts are sent prior to the wedding date).

2) I cannot stress enough the importance of personalizing thank you notes. Without a specific thank you for the gift, the giver will never know how much the gift was really enjoyed. This kind of thank you is merely a check note on the party list, and conveys no sense of personal appreciation.

3) Even though most thank you notes can be sent on informal stationery, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to use a piece of paper torn from your shopping list pad.

4) There’s no need to lie if you dislike a gift. If something is not to your taste, you should still show appreciation for the thought that went into selecting it for you. You can always say “Thank you for the thoughtful (fill in the blank). I will always think of you whenever I use it.”

Addressing Thank You Notes:

Thank you notes should be addressed to the individual(s) who signed your gift card. In the case of a gift from a family, the envelope can be addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and the salutation can be “Dear Jane and Jon.” You can make reference to the remaining family members in the body of the note: “Please extend my thanks to Tim and Tom, and let them know how much I am enjoying the book.”

The formality of your salutation should be based upon your relationship with the person whom you’re thanking. For example, in the case of a thank you for a job interview, the salutation should read “Dear Ms. Green” unless Ms. Green gave you permission to address her by her first name. Similarly, a thank you for a wedding gift received from friends of your parents should be addressed to “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Pink” unless you grew up calling them by their first names.

When composing a thank you note for hospitality, you may simply address it to your hostess (assuming she’s the person who did the work), but include a thank you to the husband in the text: “Please let Nick know how much we appreciate your gracious hospitality and his very entertaining anecdotes over dinner.”

I thought I would give you a few different examples of what you could write in a thank you card, as you will see they do not have to be long thesis length notes.

Wedding Thank you notes:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Brown,

Thank you for the lovely candlesticks you gave to us for our wedding. They’ll be sure to keep the romance burning at our table for many years to come.

Best wishes-

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Job Interview Thank you Notes:

Dear [Insert interviewers name (only use their first name if they have given you permission)]

I really enjoyed meeting with you earlier today and learning more about the office manager position at [insert company name].

As we discussed, I believe my 5 years of experience meets the requirements you have for filling this position. Although I’ve enjoyed working at [Insert company name], I’m looking forward to new challenges and greater responsibilities as I continue in my professional career.

I look forward to hearing from you soon and thank you again for meeting with me today.

Sincerely,

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Baby Shower Thank you notes:

Dear Mary-Jane,

I just love the baby sleeper, receiving blanket, and bunny rattle you gave me at the shower. As always, you were too generous. I can’t wait to use them with Baby - I know she’ll look adorable in them.

I hope we can spend a little time together before baby arrives and I’m up to my ears in diapers!

Love,

That just about covers the main points that I wanted to go over so I thought I would give you some examples of some of the funny and sarcastic thank you notes that have been sent.

5) Dear (name of cheap relative),

Thank you so much for the generous monetary gift. And that the bill features Abraham Lincoln — my all-time favorite president! — made it all the more special. I do regret, though, that I was unable to heed your wish of not spending “it all in one place.” But, I swear, it was only in two places — the drugstore for this card and then the post office for a stamp.

Love,

4) Dear (name of spouse),

Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. When I reflect upon the incontrovertible fact that I never — not even once in our lengthy marriage or in the five years prior that we dated — mentioned I had even the smallest hint of interest in whatever it is called that you gave me, I realize you must truly know me better than I know myself! I also am elated that you are mindful of our household budget.

Love,

P.S.: Do you think other husbands and wives mail each other thank-you notes?

3) Dear Mom,

Thank you so much for the beautiful — and colourful — sweater. I had never heard of “lamb’s polyester” before. Anyhow, I will definitely wear the sweater well in the privacy of my home. Wouldn’t want any of the rough elements in the big city to steal it from me!

Also, while I appreciate the fact that you mentioned 34 times that I could return the sweater if I didn’t like it, I also appreciate that the store you bought it from has a no-return policy. 



Love,

2) Dear (name of friend who always gives gag gifts),

Thank you so much for the hilarious gift. If you ask me, too few gifts these days are disposable. In the midst of all the other oh-so-serious, “useful” presents given to me, it was such a pleasure to receive the annual reminder of your sense of irony, whimsical nature and great love of dollar stores.

Your friend,

Lastly my favorite humorous thank you note in the number 1 spot. Let me also add that this was a real thank you note where as the ones above have a fair amount of creative license

1) Dear Grandparents:

It has been many years since you have seen me and I know you still think of me as a 2 year old blond haired scrawny kid with glasses, jabbering like an idiot. This I know as it has been reflected in the physical gifts you have sent me through the years. 
Finally, upon reaching my teenage years you have converted over to sending money (which is my true currency of choice) and for that I am eternally grateful.

Let me tell you a little about me NOW! I am a teenager, 6 feet tall and 250 lbs. I graduated 10th in my class of 400 and had almost perfect College Board scores. My social life, I am so sad to say, has never been stellar as I am socially “retarded” if you will. Guess I get this from your son, my dad. I never know what to say or to whom to say it, but I have managed to attend all homecoming events with a date and all proms since I was a freshman (go figure). 
I have even had myself a girlfriend or 2, but they all asked me out and they broke it off when it was done, as I had no idea what was going on. I was President of ITS and Ruriteen Club and an officer in student government. I thought I wanted to be a lawyer but I just don’t have the stomach for it, so I have opted to major in physics and do great things with my life, perhaps making the world a better place even in your life time, although you must be older than dirt by this time.

I no longer use diapers, but have been wearing big boy pants for, oh I don’t know, 15 years now! 
Imagine that I grew up without your assistance and without your ever knowing me. Although I do appreciate the clown cards and Santa cards, I think I may be old enough for just a check in an envelope or just a note card (FYI you don’t have to spend the extra money on a card.)

I do appreciate your gifts but just wanted you to know that the dollar is not worth near as much as it was when you were my age and my being beholding to you for your gift is never going to happen, much I am sure to your dismay. I do wish you had taken the time to get to know me and watch me grow into who I am today, but hey, we all do our own thing. So, at this point in my life, I think we can again forgo the childish cards and insinuating notes, and grandma, I long outgrew X’s and O’s after your name and dispense with the pretense that we are all one big happy family.

I wish you all very well and hope you are physically well, as I know your mental state is, well, fragile. 
Perhaps you will read about my achievements in your life time but if not know that I carry a piece of your DNA and my dad is sure proud of what I have accomplished and oh yes, he is still married to that “bitch from the North”, my mother and she sends her regards as well.

Signed.

I hope you enjoyed the blog this week and found it helpful. Stay tuned Print fans and I’ll have something new for you next week.

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