Baby shower thank yous

imsoexcited915 · July 2015

his long did it take before you sent your thank you notes out? Is there an acceptable time frame?

meggipi5 · July 2015

I did them right away--within a week. I wanted to get them out before baby.

FinalyFound · July 2015

I wrote them that night and mailed them the next day.

chelseajeanene · July 2015

I wrote them out the following day and day after, just gotta get myself to the post office for stamps

eah325 · July 2015

FinalyFound said:
I wrote them that night and mailed them the next day.

Me too!

Erinelaina · July 2015

I usually set a goal of writing like 3-5 each day, trying to get them done within 2 weeks or so.

gollygeeitsamy · July 2015

My mom always told me to send thank you notes post-haste but in the event of it being late to always send one anyway.

KanishaT · July 2015

I've written mine out to give out at the end of my shower. I figured it'd be easier because I don't know everyone's address. For the family that is mailing me gifts, I will be sending out thank you cards within a week of receiving gifts.

eah325 · July 2015

To answer your direct question, etiquette states you should send them out before baby is born if at all possible. If not, they should be sent within two months of baby's birth.

I know a lot of people on this board don't believe in traditional etiquette and I'm really not interested in engaging in a battle on it--- I am just trying to answer your question on timing. Everyone is of course free to do as they so please.

JessicaS0914 · July 2015

KanishaT said:
I've written mine out to give out at the end of my shower. I figured it'd be easier because I don't know everyone's address. For the family that is mailing me gifts, I will be sending out thank you cards within a week of receiving gifts.

How do you write thank you notes before you've opened the gift????? :-/

shelbydd · July 2015

My shower was on a Saturday, I had thank you notes sent out the following Tuesday.

RosieStadj · July 2015

Mine was Sat and I mailed them today.

LoveLee85 · July 2015

Mine was Sunday the 26th! I sent half today, I'll finish up the others tomorrow! I ran out of stamps.

Yiggle09 · July 2015

I'm bad I guess lol my shower was June 28th I'm just writing them now!

GeorgiaDottie · July 2015

My shower was Sunday and they were mailed Tuesday. I did the envelopes in advance.

jen83mn · July 2015

I've written mine the night after the shower and then mailed them the next morning. But I also like crossing stuff off my to-do list!

ButterflyRae · July 2015

My shower was Sunday and I hoped to have them written by now, but have found I'm only able to write a few at a time without becoming winded. Baby is pushing on my lungs on one side and I'm pushing on them in the opposite way as I bend over the table to write! Glad to here that it's okay to write them anytime before the baby is born.

thinkpink101 · July 2015

I mailed mine the next day.

rebeccabloomwood · July 2015

I always find that I get lazy if I don't do them the night after or the very next day. I try to do them as quickly as possible.

TracyYoung819 · July 2015

Funny timing of reading this post. My shower was on the 17th of July and I am mailing the majority of them out tomorrow. I have 4-5 that I need addresses for though.

I always have to add a personal sentiment to each thank you because I hate feeling like I'm generic to others when others were so thoughtful for me. I also re read to make sure I'm thanking the right person for the right gift, and to make sure I don't put the wrong thank you in the wrong envelope.

These took me longer because at this stage baby brain had me misspelling words, and my motivation level is low! Plus my hand writing is terrible, so I spend time trying to re-read them to see if they are legible enough

But I'm glad to get them out because I am so thankful for our gifts to get our son started in the world!

meggipi5 · July 2015

If I ever host a shower, I'm going to have guests self-address envelopes for the bride or mommy to be. I've been to showers where people have done that and it is so stinking smart and convenient.

shelbydd · July 2015

TracyYoung819 said:
I always have to add a personal sentiment to each thank you because I hate feeling like I'm generic to others when others were so thoughtful for me.

Sorry, maybe I'm confused on the etiquette but someone mentioned handing out thank you cards at the end of the shower but I thought the whole personalized note thing was the norm?
I mean that's what I did and mentioned the gifts that the person gave and everything.

Legit question.. my baby shower was actually the first event I've been apart of that I sent thank you cards for so I have no idea.

KanishaT · July 2015

JessicaS0914 said:

KanishaT said:
I've written mine out to give out at the end of my shower. I figured it'd be easier because I don't know everyone's address. For the family that is mailing me gifts, I will be sending out thank you cards within a week of receiving gifts.
How do you write thank you notes before you've opened the gift????? :-/

I wrote a sweet little poem in the thank you cards. Basically saying thank you for sharing their time with me at the shower and thank you for the gift that baby will use.

JessicaS0914 · July 2015

shelbydd said:

TracyYoung819 said:
I always have to add a personal sentiment to each thank you because I hate feeling like I'm generic to others when others were so thoughtful for me.
Sorry, maybe I'm confused on the etiquette but someone mentioned handing out thank you cards at the end of the shower but I thought the whole personalized note thing was the norm?
I mean that's what I did and mentioned the gifts that the person gave and everything.

Legit question.. my baby shower was actually the first event I've been apart of that I sent thank you cards for so I have no idea.

You are correct. Notes should be personalized and make mention of the specific gift. "Thank you for the beautiful blanket from dad's alma mater. Baby X will be nice and cozy when we watch football together this fall."

hatchback4g · July 2015

Question... when you ladies write a thank you note for someone who got you a giftcard do you just thank them for the giftcard or do you thank them and tell them what baby item you used it for? I don't want them to feel to generic and not personal but I don't find it appropriate to personalize it by adding the specific ammount the giftcard was for.

eah325 · July 2015

hatchback4g said:
Question... when you ladies write a thank you note for someone who got you a giftcard do you just thank them for the giftcard or do you thank them and tell them what baby item you used it for? I don't want them to feel to generic and not personal but I don't find it appropriate to personalize it by adding the specific ammount the giftcard was for.

I thank them for the gift card and mention what I plan to use it for--- I do the same for money. You're supposed to be as specific as possible about how to you plan to use gifts so that thank yous are personalized. There's no need to mention the amount of the gift card, though.

Example:

Dear Aunt Sally,

Thank you so much for taking the time to come to my shower today. It was so wonderful to see you. Thank you also for the gift card to Babies R Us. I know it will come in handy as we purchase our last few baby needs-- blankets, bottles, etc. I'm so grateful for the love and support of family like you as we prepare for the arrival of Baby Hatchback. Thanks again.

Love,
Hatchback

thinkpink101 · July 2015

hatchback4g said:
Question... when you ladies write a thank you note for someone who got you a giftcard do you just thank them for the giftcard or do you thank them and tell them what baby item you used it for? I don't want them to feel to generic and not personal but I don't find it appropriate to personalize it by adding the specific ammount the giftcard was for.

Yes, I definitely mention what I plan to use the gift card for. I always appreciate when people do the same when I have given them a gift card.

TracyYoung819 · July 2015

In response to my post's question... I didn't know if that was considered the norm or not, I have always done thank yous that way. I have seen generic thank yous come my way but not often.

I added a little extra sentiment to family members beyond the gift because our family lost 4 family members in 2013 so i used it as a time to tell them how thankful I am for them, how much we love them, and how excited we are to tell and introduce our son to his family.

And I did seperate thank you to those who went in on a gift together. I didn't know for sure if that was the right etiquette or not but figured it best.

arianaramirez · July 2015

Same here, I'm glad traditional etiquette gives me some time.

kathleennoel · July 2015

You girls are speedy! My shower was just over a month ago and I'm still working on mine :-S I'm usually really quick with thank you notes but these days it's hard to find the energy to write them after work!

theglitteredpterodactyl · July 2015

My slower was this post suggest and I haven't started mine yet, but I'm going to work on them this weekend. I hand make my cards so I like to wait for an open pocket of time. And I second the others, I totally think personalised notes are standard etiquette. I'm not give on etiquette for etiquette's same but a personalised message acknowledging the effort the person went through to pick your present is appropriately grateful.

And I guess to specifically answer op's wisdom, I say within a two week timeframe, give or take time depending on circumstances

wilcoxev · July 2015

@kathleennoel yes. I was starting to feel like a slacker. My first shower was July 11th, 2nd was July 18th and the last was this past Sunday. Between putting away gifts from the shower, feeling exhausted from work all day and my swollen hands, I can only write a handful each day. I have like 40 to write from each shower so about 120, it's gonna take me a while....

Yiggle09 · July 2015

I am writing my last one now and I wish I had not waiting because they joint pain in my fingers is killing me. I feel like an old lady. Cannot wait till Sept !

eah325 · August 2015

I had my second baby shower today. First one was with family last weekend and second one was with friends today... Just finished the thank you notes for the friends one today (did family ones last weekend).

I cannot encourage people enough to just knock them out the day of the shower or the next day. I always feel so accomplished for finishing something on my list, and I had two family members compliment me on how quickly they were thanked after last weekend. People appreciate that you care enough to thank them for the time and effort they put in attending your shower and what gift they gave you.

Bripugs · August 2015

I'm dealing with this currently, had my baby shower about a month ago and I just look at the Thank Cards every dad hoping they will magically get written. I have to work on these this week, unfortunately.

shaunnar053 · August 2015

I had my baby shower a week ago. I'm knocking out my invitations this week, so it will have been around 1-2 weeks after my shower that people will receive the thank yous. I think people completely understand if they aren't mailed out ASAP (same/next day).

I'm also including maternity pictures in my thank yous though, so I'm waiting a bit longer on our photographer to send us those. I wouldn't stress though, this is a very busy time for all of us and as long as you send them out within a reasonable amount of time, I think family and friends will completely understand

.

kimrich81 · August 2015

my shower is this saturday i am waiting to see how many ppl come to the shower before i purchase thank you cards but i will be mailing them off the next day. i already purchased a book of stamps

PickledPlums · August 2015

Most of my husband's side addressed the cards to both of us - one even bought him a specific daddy gift. I don't sign his name, so should he sign the thank yous to the people who included his name on the card? And send a separate thank you for his daddy gift?

And speaking of that gift, actually, it's a daddy diaper bag, styled to look like a messenger bag (with a checklist of things to put in it printed inside, even, which I found a little demeaning...). I honestly don't see us getting much use out of it (or any) because we like the bag we got off our registry at our first shower. I want to exchange it (and if we do, how would he or I write the thank you card?), but he feels too guilty. We only see this person at holidays, but then his family is very open about asking where the thing they got for you is, or why you don't use it - I would rather exchange it and white lie about it and get something we need (we're on an extremely tight budget), but I don't know how to convince him. We live with his parents, I'm thinking of enlisting his mother - sorry to hijack the post a bit - but any advice?
It's not that I'm ungrateful, and this is honestly the only item I'm thinking about returning, I just would rather see the money go towards something we need instead of sitting in a closet.

lesliecosta · August 2015

Mine was June 28th and I'm starting them tonight. As long as they are out pre baby, I'll be satisfied.

JessicaS0914 · August 2015

PickledPlums said:

Most of my husband's side addressed the cards to both of us - one even bought him a specific daddy gift. I don't sign his name, so should he sign the thank yous to the people who included his name on the card? And send a separate thank you for his daddy gift? And speaking of that gift, actually, it's a daddy diaper bag, styled to look like a messenger bag (with a checklist of things to put in it printed inside, even, which I found a little demeaning...). I honestly don't see us getting much use out of it (or any) because we like the bag we got off our registry at our first shower. I want to exchange it (and if we do, how would he or I write the thank you card?), but he feels too guilty. We only see this person at holidays, but then his family is very open about asking where the thing they got for you is, or why you don't use it - I would rather exchange it and white lie about it and get something we need (we're on an extremely tight budget), but I don't know how to convince him. We live with his parents, I'm thinking of enlisting his mother - sorry to hijack the post a bit - but any advice? It's not that I'm ungrateful, and this is honestly the only item I'm thinking about returning, I just would rather see the money go towards something we need instead of sitting in a closet.

As for the thank you notes, they only come from one person, so you can just sign your name, even if the card was addressed to both of you. For the daddy diaper bag, have him write the note and just say thank you. Honestly, I'd just keep it. You'll want a back up for the day you're walking out the door and baby spits up ALL OVER your primary one.

Juelz86 · August 2015

I did it a bit different. I wrote out all of them before baby was born, but sent them out each with a printed baby pic of my daughter that said "thank you" at the bottom, right after she was born. It just felt more personal and the pic was like a little keepsake.

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