Unlabeled gift = thank you note dilemma

vandelay · April 2013

My daughter's 3yo birthday party was Saturday and we waited until afterwards to open presents. Part of the reason for that is that our invitations explained that gifts were not expected, so although I knew that many would bring one anyway, I didn't want to make it awkward for those who didn't.

The problem is that one of the gifts doesn't seem to have a card or name on it anywhere. Based on the other gifts we received, I have narrowed it down to 3 kids, none of whose parents I know very well (2 are classmates; 1 is a new-ish neighbor). I can't ask them, obviously, because 2 of them didn't bring a gift and I don't want them to feel weird about that since gifts weren't expected anyway. But I want to be able to thank the family that brought the gift.

I was thinking of sending thank you notes to all 3, focusing heavily on thanking them for coming to the party, how DD really enjoyed having them there, etc. Then at the end, maybe something about there being an unlabeled gift of ______, which although unexpected, was very thoughtful, DD loves it, etc., so if it was you, thank you! Do you think this strikes the right balance of thanking the family who brought the gift, while avoiding embarassing the families who didn't?

Thanks for any advice!

cltk12 · April 2013

I wouldn't say anything about the unlabeled gift. It'd be weird to get a card like that. Also, maybe the gift was a 2 part gift from someone else.

1026pumpkin · April 2013

cltk12:
I wouldn't say anything about the unlabeled gift. It'd be weird to get a card like that. Also, maybe the gift was a 2

vandelay · April 2013

1026pumpkin:

clt

allardr · April 2013

I would not mention the gift at all but send thank yous to all focusing on them coming to the party. "Thank you for joining us in celebrating LOs birthday. Having good food, fun toys, and special friends there made the day real memorable!" (if the gift wa