Thank you cards...

HeartLikeMine3

So of course I write them for a wedding or shower and just finished a ton. But who sends them out after a toddler/kids birthday? We had my 3 year olds birthday Saturday and I really don't want to write more but I will if it's the right thing to do. What do you ladies do? Any opinions are welcome. 

sorarose

I am late with ours, but am doing it because feel it's the right thing to do. 

AmberLiz99

Yup. And I have my kid help so they are from him and he learns the importance of saying thank you.  (Meaning I write down what he wants me to and let him write his name or initial at the bottom). 

DeePaddy24

I wonder if this is one of those things that is common in some areas, & not in others. I've been to many of my friends kids' birthdays, & never received a thank you card for the gifts. It's not something I would have considered, but maybe it's just not common practice here.
It definitely seems like the nice thing to do! 

MamaNicoleof3

We're one of two families in our group of friends who do them. I think it's an important skill and life lesson for our kiddos to learn. 

Lyette1206

We've been to several kids parties lately - half have sent (with obvious kid participation), the other half haven't. I wasn't expecting one. 

june2016baby

Lately, I've been receiving photo cards from friends as a thank you card.

How it works: The hostess gets the whole group of party kids together at some point (perhaps before the cake,) and takes a photo. After the party, the hostess prints out a copy of the group photo for each guest with a printed message on the bottom like, "Thanks for making my fifth birthday special!" The birthday kid signs the back of each photo. The cards are then mailed or passed out soon after the party. (However, I went to a birthday where the hubby took a photo towards the beginning of the party, then slipped a copy into the goody bags that were passed out at the end of the party.)

This keeps "work" to a minimum for a busy parent, but also satisfies the "thank you card" requirement. Also, the photo is more likely to be kept than a typical thank you card that goes straight in the trash!

BlueJuice

We always send them - my DD is 5 now and has become more and more involved in the process over the last five years. I was compelled to write thank you cards/notes when I was a kid as well, and although I hated it at the time, I now really appreciate having that skill as part of my upbringing. 

huskypuppy14

I'm not a parent yet, but for birthday parties that I have been to, or based on when I was a kid (with the exception of the 1st birthday), if the person is there when you open the present, and you thank them in person than a thank you note is not sent. If the person is not there, or they send you a gift in the mail, then yes, a thank you note is necessary. It's never wrong to send a thank you note though.

Showers, and weddings, and graduations are a different situation though, and a thank you note is always necessary. 

Boonhilde

Okay. The purpose of the thank you card is to say thanks to people who didn't see you open the gift. However, they're so commonly given after showers that sending them out after a shower is now the norm. 

If if your child opens the gift in front of the friend who gave it to them, there's no need for a thank you. They're always nice though.

HeartLikeMine3

Thanks for the input ladies I went ahead and sent them since I was so back and forth. I agree with @Boonhilde that's what we will do next time makes the most sense to me.