I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

With technology being what it is these days (quite amazing if I say so myself), an actual hand written note is slowly becoming a thing of the past. While I love technology and all that it offers, I also love getting mail that isn't junk. It is so awesome to open my mailbox and see a card or a note from someone who cared enough to sit down and hand write something to me. Even as a child, I would get so excited for the mail to arrive. Growing up in the South, I learned early on that writing a note to thank someone for a gift or a kind gesture was a must. Don't you love getting thanked for something and knowing that you made someone's day?

In the recent years, I've had plenty of opportunities to write thank you notes: bridal showers, wedding gifts, Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, baby showers, baby gifts once Baby K arrived, more baby gifts....yep, tons to be thankful for. It means so much to me that so many amazing people in my life have been generous with gifts and it is important for me to tell them.

The first step in writing a great thank you note is having a cute set of cards. One of my new favorite places to order thank you notes from is Tiny Prints. Seriously check out their collection, they have so many awesome choices. 

To write a thank you note, I always follow a few steps/rules: (To me, a card means so much more if you add a little extra touch instead of just saying "Hey, Thanks for the gift, it was rad. XOXO")
-each card must be personalized, I don't copy what I wrote in someone's card and just change the name to send it to someone else
-always thank them for their specific gift
-let the person know how I will use their gift, how much it meant to me (I always like to know when a gift really means something to someone)
-offer up some thoughts on what is happening in my life, especially for the relatives and friends I don't get to talk to often

It doesn't matter how old I get, I will always write thank you notes. Its something that my fabulous mother taught me (she still sends thank you notes to me!) and I hope to pass the art of the written word along to my daughter.

Do you write thank you notes? Have any rules that you always follow? Share them in the comments below.

(Tiny Prints sent me complimentary thank you notes, but the above thoughts and opinions are all my own.)