Thank you notes are one of my pet peeves, or should I say the lack of them is. They are not on there way to extinc­tion, con­trary to grow­ing belief. Most peo­ple intend to send thank you notes, but then for­get, and feel like too much time has passed. While you should try to send thank you notes within a week or two, “bet­ter late than never” cer­tainly applies. If you’re a month or more late, still send your note, but make it extra thought­ful. There’s no need to waste space with excuses because there are none — just apol­o­gize and carry on. Your recip­i­ent will be just as delighted to get your note.

Anatomy of a thank you card:

First, write your thank you note as soon as pos­si­ble after receiv­ing the gift or ser­vice. Mail­ing them within a week is ideal, but not writ­ten in stone.

Sec­ond, your thank you notes should be per­sonal and sin­cere. They do not need to sound for­mal, write as if you’re speak­ing to them in person.

Third, hand write your notes for that spe­cial touch. If your writ­ing is as illeg­i­ble as mine, use your com­puter to cre­ate your mes­sage and print it out with a fun font. If you do this, be sure to sign your name at the end.

Be like princess Diana:

Princess Diana is said to have writ­ten her thank you notes each evening before bed. While you prob­a­bly don’t need a daily rou­tine, some dis­ci­pline is help­ful. Hav­ing sta­tion­ary you enjoy using, a com­fort­able pen, and a store of stamps can help, along with a des­ig­nated writ­ing desk and good light. Soon you will find your­self writ­ing notes for no rea­son at all. She was per­haps one of the most punc­tual thank you note writ­ers ever. She was known for send­ing thank you notes for the small­est of deeds and doing it nearly imme­di­ately. Diana instilled this in her chil­dren too.

Tips

Be sure to stock­pile thank you cards & note cards. If you have them on hand you are much like­lier to send one. If you like mak­ing them on your com­puter, be sure you have a pro­gram, print­able blank cards and extra ink for your printer.

–Have an up to date e-address book or an old fash­ion address book so find­ing an address won’t delay your delivery.

–Always have stamps avail­able. Cus­tom photo stamps def­i­nitely add a spe­cial touch.

–Send your thank you know mat­ter how late it is.

Is it tacky to e-mail thank you’s?

My first reac­tion is to say YES! How­ever, I feel there are excep­tions, lazi­ness not being one of them. If your friend is a “goober techno junkie” who would love to get some e-card with danc­ing cof­fee mugs singing “thanks a latte,” then by all means go ahead. If you’re a sin­gle mom, rais­ing 3 kids while jug­gling work­ing and walk­ing the dog, by all means go ahead. If you’re going through a tragedy in life, by all means go ahead. Use good judge­ment but be hon­est with your­self. I do believe any thank you, is bet­ter than no thank you.