How to write a proper thank you note

By: Chelse Melina
Posted In: Opinion

It came just when you needed it.

The cell phone bill was a few days overdue and the fridge was empty. You were tired of living on Ramen Noodles and macaroni and cheese. A long needed trip to Stop & Shop was needed to get the essentials for the apartment: milk, bread, cheese and maybe some ice cream if there was enough money left.

And then, like a gift from God, your great grandmother sent you a check in the mail. There was enough money to pay the cell phone bill, make a trip to Stop & Shop and just enough left over to get a large cheese pizza at Via Via.

In circumstances such as these, in which you are given a gift, it is very important to thank the person who has gifted you.

By writing a genuine thank you note, you will be acting in a polite manner and you will be helping yourself to ensure future gifts. Thank you notes often improve the frequency and quality of gifts you receive.

The process of writing a thank you note begins the minute you receive a gift.

When sending a thank you note, you need to give thought to how much time has gone by since you received the gift.
* Typically, you should write a thank you note approximately five days after receiving a gift.
* However, if five days have past and you still haven’t written a thank you note, don’t just assume it is too late to express your gratitude.

In an article entitled “Note Worthy,” Peter Post, the great grandson of etiquette maven, Emily Post, encouraged people to write thank you notes even if a while has passed since receiving the gift. He believes that it’s better to write a thank you note late than to never write one.

Before even sitting down to start your thank you note, there are a few items you need to have on hand. By having all the necessary items ready, you will save time and energy.

First, you will need quality stationary.
* Leslie Harpold, a columnists for The Morning News, advises staying away from the prescribed “Thank You!” cards in loopy script, which often look unprofessional.
* Harpold also suggests sticking to plain stationary that is about the size of a note card instead of using a full 8×11 piece of paper. She explains that thank you notes should be short and sweet; your short message

would look silly on a large sheet of paper.
* Personally, I enjoy Cranes stationary and Kate Spade stationary. Although name brand stationary can tend to be expensive, the quality is exceptional and the names are very well respected.

Lastly, gather a quality pen. Stick to using ink opposed to pencil, as ink as easier to read and looks more professional.

You are now ready to sit down and begin the writing process.

To begin the thank you note, greet the giver with a uniform greeting, such as Dear Grandma.

Next, you will immediately express you gratitude for the gift given.
* When thanking the giver for the gift, be sure to discuss how you are using the gift. For example, if you have received a sweater from a relative, you might write, “Winters in Newport are very cold, so the hand knitted sweater you sent me is greatly appreciated.”
* If the gift given was a gift of money, do not mention the amount, but rather mention how you will use the money.
* According to Scottie Vickery, a writer for The Birmingham News, you should never tell the giver that you don’t like the gift that they gave you or that you already had the gift they gave you.

Once you have expressed your thanks and explained how the gift is being used, make sure to mention the past and allude to the future, by referring to the last time you saw the giver or the

next time you hope to see the giver.

After the body of the note is written, thank the giver once again for the gift. Remember, the point of the note is to express your gratitude, so it is not redundant to say thank you twice.

Wrap the thank you note up with a thoughtful closing, such as Love, Yours Truly or Always, followed by your legible signature.

Writing a thank you note is rather easy. In fact, the most difficult part of the process is probably mustering up the energy to sit down and write the note. Remember, the note itself should be short and to the point, with one simple objective: thanking someone for his or her kindness.

So, next time you are blessed with a check in the mail, a piece of jewelry from that special someone or a pair of tickets to a sports event, be sure to pick up a note card and pen and write an old-fashioned thank you note. Although trends may come and go, politeness never goes out of style.