Giving Thanks
December 10, 2009 by:
The art of the well written note…such a task for those must send thank you letters. Words are free and yet so many of us convey the language of love all wrong. I’ve read the etiquette books. I understand how to address the gift giver with Dear so and so, . Next I am told to specify with purpose how I we “plan to use the gift received”. Blah, blah, blah.
Okay, so I just received one of these “guided” thank you notes and I must share that while it did arrive ever so promptly it was completely void of thought or genuine appreciation. In fact it kind of made me annoyed and thus I threw it in the garbage immediately. Ouch right?
Well I was annoyed because I take pride in my gift giving and selection is done with great care. Even if I am choosing a present from a registry I try to pick the best of what is in my price point and often like to throw in a little extra something that coincides with the gift (such as holiday napkins or scented bath soaps, something for an added surprise). For me, it was a slap to have devoted heartfelt effort simply to be ‘thanked’ with such a generic response. Receiving a note reading, “Thank you for the _____, Love ____” now honestly, what is the point in even spending the money on the card and stamp?
Now it should be shared that I am not the timeliest of people. My friends will attest that I am a solid 5-15 minutes late for just about everything so punctuality is not one of my best attributes. The fact that I waited two months to send my first thank you note is probably not a surprise to anyone. However I am a firm believer that quality is better than quantity so although my notes may not have gone out quite as quickly as the rest, the words inside did have a sincere expression of gratitude and I think that says a lot.
My thought process was this, if guests have a year to send a gift, I think the couple should have half as long to send out a thank you note. I am sure Emily post and crew are totally frowning on me right about now but I do think they will support my cause: be not in a hurry to check another thing off the list. Rather, write a kind note filled with thanks of sentiment, say something with substance! It need not be the length of a short novel, but certainly something the receiver will be likely to smile at.
After all, their love and support is priceless.
XOXO,
Kyra
