Thank You Card Etiquette
Ahhh… the age-old question. To send a thank you card or not to send a thank you card? And if you do, what should you include in it? Writing the same old thing over and over and over can get monotonous and quickly takes away the originality and thankfulness you first were going for! So… when is it necessary to write a thank-you card and when is a simple in-person thank you sufficient? If you face this problem over and over again and if it drives you as crazy as it does the rest of us, read all about Thank You Card Etiquette to make sure you’re expressing your gratitude in the proper way.
- Make sure you don’t take too long to send out that thank you card after the event. Generally, with weddings, the rule of thumb is to get a thank you out to all of your guests within three months of your wedding date. For small events, though, like birthday parties, it’s generally advisable to get those thank you’s out much sooner, within 2-3 weeks.
- Make sure you send a thank you to everyone who brought a gift. You don’t want to have guests chatting and realize that one person got a thank you while another didn’t!
- Assign someone to write down who gave you what as you are opening presents for a shower, birthday event or wedding celebration. You want to make sure nobody is forgotten and you remember every single present that was received!
- If you’re hosting the party at a friend’s house or a location besides a public place, make sure you include them on your thank-you list! They more than likely went out of their way to make your event extra special!
- Running out of ideas on what to say after about thank you #5? Make sure to thank your guests for traveling to your event or just being able to celebrate with you. Try to keep each one personalized to the recipient!
- Work on incorporating how you will specifically use each gift when writing out your thank you cards. It will help your guest feel that their contribution is going to be helpful and also makes them feel extra appreciated!
- When receiving a cash gift from a guest, however, never refer to the exact amount when writing your thank you card.
- Make sure you’re writing out thank you cards and not simply sending a blanket “thank you email” to everyone who was involved for more formal events. People love to receive good old-fashioned mail and like to feel appreciated for taking time out of their busy schedules to make it to your event. Make sure to return the favor by sending everyone a personalized thank you card!
- Remember… thank you cards aren’t just for events! Maybe you were ill and you had friends and family pick up the slack with house chores, meal planning, etc. Those things deserve some much appreciated thank you cards, too!
Keeping it simple will help you tackle those seemingly endless thank you cards that are stacked up on your desk, so here is a great “template” that you can use to help you out!
Dear (Insert Name Here),
Thank you for the _______! (name of gift or service here. Make sure you use the bullet points above and be descriptive about what it was!)
Share how you plan to use the gift and why it was thoughtful. Explain why you’re so thankful for it. Or, if someone helped you out in your home or with another service-oriented task (made your family a meal, for example), rather than through a specific gift, make sure you let them know how appreciated it was.
Close the note by thanking them again with a personal note or forward-looking message. (how you’re looking forward to seeing them at an upcoming event, how you should catch up soon, etc.)
Sincerely,
Your Name
And just like that you have an outline of how you can structure those thank you notes that are just taunting you on your desk! Sending out those thank-you cards can be just as important as sending out the invitations. The goal is to always make your guests or people who have helped you out feel as special as they made you feel by contributing, in whatever capacity, to the event at hand. Good luck and make sure you try to sound fresh, thankful, humble, and sincere in every thank you card that heads out your door!
Do you have etiquette tips when it comes to thank you cards for various events? Please feel free to share. We would LOVE to hear them!
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