Thank You Notes

January 10, 2011 by Sheila Stover 1 Comment

My mom cursed blessed me by always making me write thank you notes when I was a child.  Nowadays I still hear her voice when I receive a gift, “Don’t forget to write a thank you!”

It is a dying art.  And nothing says Thank You quite like a handwritten, thoughtful note.  I want to instill in my kids a sense of gratitude and the ability to properly express thanks to someone who has given them a gift.  So, the best time to work on this is… January.

January, what a dull month!  The Christmas decor is packed away, the winter doldrums are upon us, and we have plenty of time to write thank you notes for the nice Christmas gifts we opened last month.  OK, you may not feel like you have plenty of time to write thank yous, but let’s face it, if you don’t write them this month, it’s probably not going to happen!  Here are some ways to get your children to write notes, even if they can’t yet write their own name!

Toddlers and Preschoolers

• Print out a picture for your child to color, write a simple message for them, their name, and the date.  (If your child can write their own name, let them add their name to the drawing.)
• Give your child some blank paper and art mediums– stickers, glitter, markers, paints, crayons– and let them create a little masterpiece.  Write a simple message their name, and the date for them.
• Print a picture of your child using/wearing the gift received and mail it to the sender.  Write a brief message on the back stating your thanks.

School-Aged Children

• Create a simple fill-in-the-blank generic thank you note for your child to fill in.  (This not only teaches them to write thank you notes, it helps them learn the proper way to write a letter!)  Add a picture for them to color if you would like.

______/_______/_______

Dear ______________________________,

Thank you for the ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­___________________________ you gave me for Christmas.  I like it because _____________

_____________________________________.  I hope you had a very merry Christmas!

Love,

____________

• If your school-aged child is a little older, buy (or help them make thank you cards), and encourage them to write a brief message of thanks for the gift.  The note doesn’t have to be long, just an expression of appreciation for the gift! Let them use special glitter pens or markers or stickers– let writing thank yous be a fun activity, not a dreaded chore!

Do you always write a thank you note for gifts you receive?