Neale Godfrey: Return to the Nest
Jill Patir: Hug Your Loved Ones a Little Tighter
It's Christmas thank you time
Filed under: Big Kids
So, has your child written his or her thank you notes for all the Christmas goodies received? Despite my ambitious plans of having that taken care of before the new year, we haven't even started. Ellie's winter break is just about over and I am determined it will get done this weekend.
For Ellie, I think that writing thank-you notes feels a little bit like homework and she balks when it is time to get down to it. If there are lots to be written, I try to break them up into smaller groups that we do over a period of days. We generally use blank cards in which she can write a note and and draw some pictures, but there are other options that might be less tedious for a small child.
There are quite a few sites that allow you to design and print thank you notes from your home computer. They are mostly free and easy to use. These fill-in cards may seem a little impersonal, but they certainly get the job done. Plus, they come in lots of really cute designs. This one even allows you to choose a black and white theme, which is handy when your child has used up all your color ink printing photos of the cast of High School Musical.
However you do it, teaching your kids to write thank you notes is a lesson in etiquette that will serve them well into adulthood. My mother never really made a big deal out of the thank-you notes and to this day I still feel a twinge of guilt for all the unacknowledged gifts I received as a child.
For Ellie, I think that writing thank-you notes feels a little bit like homework and she balks when it is time to get down to it. If there are lots to be written, I try to break them up into smaller groups that we do over a period of days. We generally use blank cards in which she can write a note and and draw some pictures, but there are other options that might be less tedious for a small child.
There are quite a few sites that allow you to design and print thank you notes from your home computer. They are mostly free and easy to use. These fill-in cards may seem a little impersonal, but they certainly get the job done. Plus, they come in lots of really cute designs. This one even allows you to choose a black and white theme, which is handy when your child has used up all your color ink printing photos of the cast of High School Musical.
However you do it, teaching your kids to write thank you notes is a lesson in etiquette that will serve them well into adulthood. My mother never really made a big deal out of the thank-you notes and to this day I still feel a twinge of guilt for all the unacknowledged gifts I received as a child.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
1-04-2008 @ 3:25PM
Emily said...My thoughts on etiquette have always been if you can thank the gift-giver in person or if you call them to thank them, you don't also send a thank-you note. Considering I have always either seen my family members and friends on Christmas or we talk on the phone, I've never worried about thank-you notes.
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1-04-2008 @ 3:31PM
shannon said...I dont think you need to write thank you notes for Christmas gifts. I have never, from anyone received a thank you for a christmas gift. I think a gift on any other occasion deserves a thank you.
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1-04-2008 @ 3:56PM
Karen said...Aaack...you definately need to write thank you notes for Christmas gifts! Why in the world would think they would be an exception?
I do think that if you say thank you in person, that it is not necessary, but otherwise, DEFINATELY a note.
What I do is take a picture of my child opening, wearing or playing with each gift that comes from out of town or friends that did not see them open the gift. Then I upload them to the USPS website (I'm sure there are others) and make post cards out of them. I have the child type (or dictate) a thank you note.
The person who gave the gift gets to see a picture showing either the reaction or enjoying the gift and my child learns that showing gratitude does not have to be hard or feel like homework. They actually enjoy helping pick out the pictures and adding the borders, and type.
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1-04-2008 @ 4:42PM
Eva said...We write thank you notes for every gift we receive at any time. For Christmas, I send the notes out by the end of December. My kid can't write yet, so I do them.
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1-04-2008 @ 4:49PM
Joy said...If it were immediate family and spent Christmas with us, we did the thanking in person and didn’t write notes. But a lot of my family lives in other parts so we always sat down and made thank you notes. For every occasion that we received gifts. Other than the initial opening and checking the gift out, my kids didn’t get to use the gift until the thank you note was done. I just felt if someone went to the trouble of getting something for us, it was only polite to thank them for it.
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1-05-2008 @ 12:29AM
SKL said...I agree that it's overkill to write a thank-you note for a Christmas gift received in person. Not only was a thank-you (hopefully) given on the spot, but most likely a gift was also given in exchange. I have never sent or received a thank you card in that situation, not even when the recipient did not give any gifts himself.
I think the idea of a thank-you card is to acknowledge that someone went out of his way for the recipient AND it would be a one-way transaction if not for the written thank you. In the case of a Christmas gathering including gift exchange, everyone has gone out of their way and everyone is doing something to make the holiday special - whether arranging the gathering, providing food or treats, playing with the neices and nephews, or just contributing some good conversation. Since both the effort and the benefit are essentially mutual, a written thank you card should not be necessary.
If a gift is received by mail or in another situation where the gift is in effect a one-way transaction, the child should produce a thank-you card. It should be explained to her that the giver has gone to a lot of trouble and might be hurt if the gift was not politely acknowledged. Hopefully if the child understands all the effort and thought that went in to the gift, she will not think of her return kindness as tedium.
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