Do You Write Thank-you Notes?

Yes-to all of it. It's old school, but something I want my kids to know is a big deal. It miffs me when I don't get a TY for a shower gift, etc.

I write notes for all birthday gifts. I don't do Christmas gifts.

My daughter will absolutely be writeing thank yous when she is old enough. In fact, she will be signing hers this year!

I do write thank you notes for gifts and for great dinners or great visits with family and friends. I get thank you notes from my side and my friends. My husband's family does not write thank yous. My children can't write yet, but I write a thank you and let them scribble on it a little or have my older son decorate a card with scribbles and stickers, then I write the note inside.

Not only do I write thank you notes for gifts, but I frequently write thank you's just because... even for simple things like a nice, long talk on the phone with someone I haven't had the luxury of speaking too in a while. I feel like with all the technology out there now, and social networking sites, the power of a hand written note has been forgotten. I love sending/receiving handwritten cards and letters!! And yes, my kids write thank you's as well. They need to grow up learning to be polite and proper like that. I think this is something that isn't outdated, but has been forgotten... and I'm trying to bring it back :)

I'm fairly obsessive about it. I will write them out as quickly as possible for all of the above.

YES I DO!!! There is NO excuse.

People took the time to either get money, a gift, etc. they deserve to be thanked.

I make my children write thank you notes as well. Before they could write, I wrote it and let them "chicken scratch" it - but bottom line - there is NO excuse for not giving thank you notes!!

Our society today has become such a "cold" society. It's all about me. Do for me. Give to me. What happened to manners?! Please? Thank you? Looking at someone when you shake their hand? Or even when you say hello?! Do you ask someone how they are in the hall and not bother to listen to their reply?! Too many are guilty of it!!

Girls getting pregnant in their teens and being made famous (thanks Discovery channel and People magazine!! and thanks people for letting them do this instead of complaining and boycotting!!), parents pointing the finger at someone else instead of accepting the responsibility of raising their child(ren). Seriously - wouldn't you want a thank you note?!

Yes to all! Very critical social skill to have in life.

I write thank you for birthdays but not Christmas. I write them for my kids and have them sign them since they are too young.

Me: ALWAYS. My children will as long as they live with me. When too young to write, I too take a photo of them with the toy or in the outfit and send it with a folded over piece of contruction paper folded like a card....the child colors on it, I write a short note, and then I use his hand to "help" him "sign". My oldest (4) signs his own name now, and wrote his first thank you note last month for a football he received when meeting his great great aunt for the first time, with my assistance (we spelled and he wrote a 2 line note). We were very proud, it was a big deal!
As for receiving thank you notes: well, that's a different story. But the children in my previous neighborhood gave us a thank you card every single birthday (they are the same age as mine). But mom, dad, or other new friends from J's preschool or soccer: no. I haven't received a thank you. But I won't let their lack of knowledge be an excuse for me to be lazy or not train my children correctly.

I write thank you notes for all gifts I receive from outside parties - meaning those not living with me. But, I don't get gifts from my parents and cannot remember the last time I did, so I am referring to in-laws, friends, etc.

And yes, our children write thank-you's almost each time they receive something. I think having them send one is teaching them manners.

I hate thank you notes! I think they are nothing but a show and are a waste of paper. I feel that if someone is truly thankful they will take the time to say it personally. We either call or web cam and let the kids to a proper thank you.

This is an old art that is being lost more and more!!

I believe in TY notes - the handwritten and snail mailed kind.

My mom tried to force me and my siblings to write them and although I never followed through as a child, as an adult, I see and understand the value of them. As such, I am trying to teach my kids (with an approach different from my Moms) that this is an important social skill. I currently have my 3YO color inside each TY card that is "from" her and I make sure to read what has been written inside to her so that she can understand what it says and what we are doing. I also feel it is important to do what I am preaching so I try to be good about sending out cards for myself and I nag Hubby to do his own. I admit, we may not always be efficient, but we try really hard to get them done.

~C.

Yes, thank you notes take up away too much of my time actually, even though I'm so grateful to everyone who sends the kids stuff. But I have like 20 (all 4 sets of parents, grandparents, step grandparents, some friends who have sort become adopted grandparents...) to send after every holiday and birthday for 3 kids. I had to simplify them instead of doing the photos with kids with gifts in them and personalizing I was doing, because they just took too long. Most of the people doing the sending are from the generations where it was unheard of to not send a REAL note, and since they shopped and mailed a REAL gift, I couldn't possibly skip it.
The kids will write their own when they're old enough, and my 5 year old does sign hers a draw pictures on them.To be honest, I don't send out many gifts to people, but if I do, I often don't get a note, but I don't mind as long as they email to say they got it (people my age often do that). However for showers and parties or some gifts, I have gotten real thank you notes which is super classy of course.

You better believe it! I was taught to write thank you notes as a child and nagged by my mom to do it and do it well. My husband's family doesn't do them and almost feels insulted if you do one to them, but I still do it. My son is only 2, but I write them for him and I help him write his name on the salutation.

I should, and I want to, and I mean to, and I buy tons of Thank you cards....but I am truly extremely unorganized due to having moved about 33 times in my life...that I find it very difficult to get all the pieces together....sorry...perhaps if I spent less time on Mamapedia I could write those darn Thank you's....

Yes thank you notes to family if they are not present when the gifts are opened, like when grandmom send gifts in the mail. But not if the gifts are shared at family events and the giver is there.

Around here most kids birthday parties are at birthday factories--an activity, then pizza and cake in a side room, then go. My kids were so sad the first few times the gifts got scooped up and taken home, not opened at the party. They know they're disappointed when they don't get to see the friend open the gift they picked out, or know if the recipient liked it or even cares. So mine are fine with writing thank you notes to save other kids from feeling the same way.

Yes and no.

I write Thank You's for birthday and Christmas presents for myself and my kids to all the people who send presents. If we see you in person, I TRY to get a Thank You, but do sometimes slip on that one.

I have been working with my Kindergarten aged son to write his Thank You's for his March 24 birthday... 3 down - 8 to go. Getting children to do it is not fun, not easy, but very very important IMO.

J.

You have recieved a lot of responses! I think the art of note writing is DEAD! BUT I almost always write thank you notes and my daughters been coloirng thank you pages since 18 months, granparents love scribbles! I would write thanks in bubble letters and have them color it and now the 6 year old can sort of write thanks. People love feeling appreciated and its awesome to get a thank you note in the mail and not a bill!
pammy

I write them for my son (he's almost 3) after birthdays and Christmas. I usually order a notecard with his pic from either Christmas or his birthday through shutterfly.com, the write a personalized thank you stating exactly what the person gave (ex: Aunt Jean and Uncle Mike, Thank you for the new books. Mommy reads them to me before bed every night.) and then I give him a crayon and let him "sign" it.

There is only one other child in our family (my niece) and my SIL/BIL have never sent a thank you card for anything. My in-laws think its "weird" but I think its an important and traditional way of showing your appreciation for what someone has done.

Yes. Thanks for reminding me to write someone a thank you note. LOL, I'm serious. I bought the card and have been too busy to sit down and write something.

We write thank you notes for everything (besides thanking in person and on the phone) and yes, my six year old does her own.

On the flip side, no one ever sends us a thank you note for anything. :(

Thank you notes are very important. We all do them, even my children. When they couldn't write, they would dictate it to me and then would sign their name (I helped them) as well as draw a picture. Three of my children are now old enough to do that on their own.

It's important that the giver of the gift know you are appreciative of the time they spent in buying/making the item and that you enjoy it (even if you really don't). It's just rude to NOT send a note, even if it's a small one although, it seems our society is getting away from them. Even if you have only received money, it's still important for a thank you note to be sent. For instance, my husbands grandparents were well into their late 80's & 90's. They weren't up to shopping so they sent us money every year. Our note looked something along the lines of "Dear Grandma, thank you for your very generous gift (even if it were only $5 the kids received for their bday!). I bought some yarn & needles to knit a sweater as well a lovely calendar." Etc. It's so simple and really only takes about 5 min so I'm not sure why people don't do it anymore.

Yes, I write thank yous to everyone for gifts. My parents also send us "thank yous" for gifts. My son is still very young, so I will typically take a picture of him playing with/wearing the gift and have him draw a picture as a thank you and mail it to the sender (with a little note from me)!

I send thank you notes to everyone for b-day gifts- I also did for wedding shower & baby shower...I send them to EVERYONE, parents included. As soon as my kids have been able to write their own names, I have them write their own thank you's. Now that two of them can write more than their names, they write the whole note. For the two that can't write, I write them. My mom always taught me to write them and I feel it is very important to teach them proper manners while they are young. I have been to a couple of weddings and showers where I didn't get a thank you note and I was very offended. If I go to the trouble of coming to an event, and buying a present, the least the recipient can do is take a few minutes to write a short note (especially for weddings since my presents are always around $75 or more!)
That being said, I don't write thank you notes for Christmas. If my kids and/or I receive a gift from someone that is out of town, then I definitely call them so the kids can say thank you. I guess my reasoning is that almost everyone that buy me/us a present is someone that I have also gotten a present for. I also do not expect thank you's for Christmas gifts.

I don't send thank yous to my parents. I thanked them in person. I will send notes to people who mailed something. I also send notes for my kids.

M.

We always write thank-you notes. It was installed in me from a young age, although my parents do not give them to us - Funny!

I am bad about family that lives close...however, I always write thank yous (or make my kids do it) for all gifts from friends or family that do not live around us. I ususally write the note and the kids sign it, for the younger ones.

Yes I do. I buy a nice card to put the note in and send it out to parents and grandparents. My daughter is too young to do this yet so I do it for her. But when she learns to do so then we will be having her do it on her own.

Yes we write thank you notes anytime a gift is received. Birthday, Christmas, whatever the reason.

It is just good manners and so many people don't write notes anymore. it was programmed into my brain growing up and I have done the same with my daughter. Thank you's are completed within 24 hrs of receiving a gift.

No excuse for not sending a thank you note when someone is nice enough to send something or do something for you.

Yes, we do receive thank you's from grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. It is just what you do if you have good manners.

Thank you notes are still a hallmark of great manners! I write them and my son writes them. My husband (raised by wolves)...not so much.

I have to admit, I do not write thank you notes to my parents and they don't to us BUT I write thank you notes when I get a gift from someone (not just birthday and Christmas, but anytime a gift is received) and I am teaching my children the same etiquette. I like getting thank you notes as well, because it (1) give me the assurance the gift was received and (2) lets me know they appreciated what I gave them.

When my children could not write yet, I created a thank you note on the computer and wrote words like it was from the child and let my child scribble with crayon at the bottom, as if it were a signature....and I would put their name in parenthesis.

I personally do not write thank you notes unless it was for something very inportant. But I do make my 3 yr old write them. Anytime that she gets a gift she sends a thank you. I have her "sign" it herself too. Ppl love to get them from her. It's good practice for kids to learn so that is shows that they appreciate what a person did or gave.

I write thank-you notes to people who aren't there when I open gifts, or if a gift is especially sentimental. I have my children write thank-you notes to out of town gifters, or anyone who isn't present when a gift is opened as well. For example, my in-laws live in a different state, so we always send thank-yous to them.

I write thank you notes.
For last Christmas my son received a lot of gifts, from many different people. He was only a year old so for his thank you notes I took a picture of him on his new rocking horse (it was really cute) in front of the Christmas tree and designed it into a postcard on one of those websites. On the back I wrote out a note "from" him thanking each person specifically and telling them what he planned to do with his new gift.

LOL I have never written one for birthday or Christmas. I have never received one for any of those things either! I did write them for my baby shower. I didn't write them for my wedding, not because I wasn't thankful but because someone put all of the cards in one bag and I had no idea who got me what! I had planned on just doing a general thank you for the gift, but was informed it would be more rude to do that than not send one at all. I still don't know if that was good advice or not, but it's too late now

Yes, I always write thank you notes. My son is 6 and I found thank you notes where he can fill in the blanks. It's silly and a little tacky but this way it is not overwhelming for him. I am hoping he is learning a good skill and will keep it up as an adult. Sometimes I write it for him and he signs it. Sometimes we also send a photo of him with the item or even a video of him using it and saying thank you.

I ALWAYS write a thank you note as does my family. I see it this way, if a person can take the time to buy you a gift or do something special for you, then my family and I can take the time to write them a thank you note..
I think it's courtesy.. polite and the thing to do.. however, we have many family members who do not write them and have never taught their kids to write them. Also, I don't agree with sending a thank you note via email..... that is the easy way out.. again, someone took the time to recognize you.. send a card.... It's especially important to teach kids, the attitude of gratitude.. since my son was little, if he couldn't write, he'd draw a picture... just something to show, look we really appreciate your thinking of us..

gosh maybe I have it all wrong. I have NEVER wrote a thank you note for a Christmas gift or bday gift and I have never recevied one for either as well. I dont plan on having my kid write a thank you note. I have her get on the phone and call them to say thank you.
Only thing I wrote thank you notes for was my graduation, my wedding and my baby shower.

I ALWAYS write one when I receive a gift in the mail and do not open it in front of the person who sent it. They should know I got it and liked it, right? I appreciate when people send me notes in that situation as well. Sometimes I don't send notes, like if I opened a gift in front of the gift giver. Then again, sometimes I do. I guess I'm not very consistent. The only time I get annoyed about not *receiving* a thank you note is if I send a gift to another state or whatever. One time I sent a wedding gift to a not so close friend. I didn't make it to the wedding. I never received a thank you and I will forever wonder if she even got what I sent!

I write them. Now that I have a young child I write them on her behalf (shes 2). I personally get mildly offended when someone doesn't take the time to write ME a thank you note for something I gave them (especially if its substantial). I bought an OLD friend a rather expensive baby item and didn't get anything but a facebook comment when I inquired about it. If you do webcam or video thank you, thats awesome too, but ppl need to feel appreciated, I think. And it's just plain courteous. In addition people really enjoy GIVING when they are appreciated.

Yes. Writing thank-you's is always one of the things we tackle during winter break after Christmas. My kids and I always write thank you's for birthday gifts as well.

My husband thinks it is weird, he says that since everyone is exchanging gifts at Christmas, there is no need to to write thank you notes. I want my kids to show appreciation for gifts they receive. It is just a nice thing to do and costs very little. Most people I know must not agree though, because I have never received a thank you note for anything other than shower gifts.