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3rd Trimester
Anyone else despise Thank You notes????
Maybe it's just me but when i get a thank you note I read it and think how nice and then throw it away and if I don't get one I don't even notice and I don't think that the person was not thankful. BUT not everyone is like me and I know that.....
Friends my age have told me I'm not allowed to give them thank you notes cause they know what a pain they are and they already know how thankful I am for their gift because I TOLD them how much I loved it. Why do I have to tell them multiple times? On the other hand, my grandparents have already called me and asked where their thank you note was from our baby shower last weekend. I was thinking of sending out thank you's via email because the thing that takes the most time is finding addresses and stamps (I don't think I even own any) but Im not sure if this is a no no. I can't imagine attempting to do thank you notes after the baby comes. That would be the least of my worries and I would never expect a new mom to send me one. Like I said, I'm not like everyone else. I know its a generational think mostly and I don't want to offend anyone who gave me a gift because I really am very thankful but isn't their an easier way now that we're in the 21st century and all??
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Re: Anyone else despise Thank You notes????
Yes, e-mail thank you notes are a huge no-no. Not to mention incredibly lazy. And tacky.
You can buy stamps anywhere. And your hostess should have your guests addresses. It really doesn't take THAT long.
I like some sort of acknowledgement that I've sent a gift and it's been received and is appreciated. I don't have to have a formal thank you card, but would at least like a phone call or e-mail.
That said, I still send out formal thank you's- I guess it's just something that has been ingrained in me since I was a kid.
Sorry but sending out thankyous via email is lazy and very unclassy IMO.
Yeah, it takes time to find the addresses, and you have to go buy stamps and thank you cards. They took time to spend their MONEY on you that they worked hard for when they didn't have to.
it's just manners to send someone a little note to tell them you were thinking of them and wanted to let them know one more time how thankful you are for their gift and for coming to your shower.
Me: 37
DH: 36
Married: 08-25-07
DS: 11-20-09
Name change alert: Formerly Lisswastaken
Your grandparents are being a little crazy with asking where they are. Usually thank you notes can come a month afterward.
I did have mine out two weeks after the shower because I knew otherwise I'd run out of time. My friend has a 6-week old baby and has not done hers at all...
If you have friends you KNOW will be OK with an email, send a well written one out to them. Otherwise, you need to handwrite them. I love using stationary, so once I sat down to write them, it was a breeze.
Unfortunately at my shower, the list of what everyone purchased was thrown away. I just ordered 50 photo thank you cards from Costco for $15. I still had stamps left over from the invitations. We pay all of our bills online, so stamps are not something we typically have. I know we'll need some for the birth announcements as well.
I hate doing them too but like someone said- people took the time to buy you a gift and come to your shower, it's the least you can do. ?
I actually knocked all of mine out (I only had about 50 to do) while I was going laundry the day after my shower, and it took until about Wed to get all of the addresses. ?They went in the mail Thursday morning and are now out of the way. ?Thank God. ??
Yes, they take time to write and money to buy cards and stamps. But as PP said, the guests took their time to pick something out for you and spent their money too - I think it's the least you can do! Esp. for shipped gifts, it lets the giver know that you got it, it arrived intact, and that you like it!
For showers, we'll write out TY's for each person.
After baby, we'll do like we did for our wedding and turn a photo of baby in to a thank you note and send those to everyone. Yes, they are less personal, but I figure people get a pic of baby this way! Everyone we talked to about the ones from our wedding loved them, but much like thank you's in general this may be generational or regional.
This. Come on. People spent time and their money to "shower" you with gifts. Yes, thanks yous take a long time. My shower was last weekend and I've just done 4-5 a night since then. It is the least you can do.
In my bag: Canon 60D, 50mm 1.4, Tamron 28-75 2.8, 430exii
I hate doing them, but I think its tacky and lazy not to do them. My showers are coming up the next few weeks and to avoid the irritation with doing them, I already picked them out, bought them, addressed the envelopes with the guests names (just went off the invite list-if I wasted a card or 2 with people who don't show up or send something-no biggie) and have the envelopes return addressed and stamped already.
All I have to do after my showers is write a little thank you in each one, stuff and seal and drop them in the mail box.
I think the few bucks and few minutes it takes to do this is well worth the smile it puts on someone's face when the realize a gift they spent good money on was well appreciated.
I don't hate writing them. I think it is the least I can do when someone takes the time/energy/money to give me a gift. It bothers me when I never get a thank you because I wonder if the person ever got it.
I don't think it is a generational thing either, most of my friends in my generation are great about sending timely, thoughtful thank you notes...
My parents never let us play with or use our gifts until the thank you notes were written. I hated it then but now I actually enjoy writing them. I must be getting pretty good at it because a few people called me to tell me they got them and cried! I am lucky that I can write mine at work as long as I do my other work when needed. Here are a few tips:
Acknowledge the specific gift when possible. "Thank you for coming to my shower and also for the cute baby outfits." It makes the note seem more personal. If it is cash or a gift card don't write thank you for the $30 cash, write "Thank you for the generous gift card. It will help us to buy the stroller we have been saving up for." Then end with something like "Celebrating this exciting time with friends and family was such a blessing." 2-3 lines, easy. I have my thank you notes sitting out and when a gift comes in the mail or is dropped off, I write the note immediately and it takes just a couple minutes.
I do notice when people don't send me a TY note. A girl at work has been back from her maternity leave for several months now and has not acknowledged the gift I left on her desk and it had a card too. No note, no verbal thank you- nothing. And yes, it pisses me off
I was also never allowed to play with the toys until the TY was written. I always get them done in a very timely manner. We had a 200 person wedding and I had them done within a week of coming back from the HM, i think it is very rude not to get one and agree emailed ones are very tacky!!! you will have to just suck it up and do them.....
Since I feel so bad when I go over a week in not writing Thank You notes, and would NEVER email a thank you, I think you should suck it up and write them! They are not that painful, you don't have to write paragraphs just a quick note!
Good luck
Yup, they can be a PITA...but....so it going to the store, printing a registry and taking the time to search out your specific item and purchase it. I created a simple note that I wrote over and over making sure to incorporate the individual person's gift.
They went something like this:
Dear_______________,
Thank you so much for sharing in our excitement as we prepare to welcome _________ into our lives. We can't wait to meet him and your gift of _________________ is very appreciated in helping us start down the new road of parenthood. Thank you again!
Love always,
Daisy and DH
This is the best thank you note I have seen. Love it.
I think we must have the SAME cousin! Except my cousin was sending wedding thank you's and I was sending baby shower thank you's!
Also, HAND WRITE YOUR THANK YOU'S! My cousin had a pre-printed thank you card she sent. Granted there was a lovely picture of her and her DH on the front of the card, but then you opened it to view this generic blerb. VERY TACKY IMO. Whether it's a wedding or a shower, these people took the time to come be with you to celebrate and give a gift, take the 3 minutes to write a personal thank you. In the end, yea it'll get read and tossed, but the fact that you took the time to send one will be remembered.
For my local friends I am doing standard thank you notes I've been hand delivering when we get together.
For my friends from out state and other family members etc., from my baby shower in NY I have written out all the thank you cards but I will be sending them WITH a baby announcement. I just feel like if I'm going to have to mail them the thank you card, and the announcement I might as well do it both together.
And then I don't feel like all the thank yous are a waste of time, because I also couldn't really care less if I got a thank you card or not from someone.