I am admittedly a throwback~ I have many times in my life thought that I was really made for another era: one with hats and party dresses, music driven by voices and not electronics or videos, and paper correspondence. I still take time to hand-write notes on pretty stationary, and I love receiving them as well. I do send many more emails, but to me there's just nothing like some crisp paper and a lined envelope~ I love that! I also take time to write thank you notes regularly, and this is a habit that I want to instill in my littles.
I don't want to give the impression that I have a perfect system, and even as I'm typing this I am thinking to myself, 'did I even get out Christmas thank-yous?'. Sometimes being scatter-brained wins out! But today was the day for Remy. My boy really is the most grateful little guy I've ever known. He genuinely appreciates thoughtfulness and is the first to say it. But I want him to know the value of telling the gift-givers in writing. And in truth, writing these notes is also a sneaky way to get in some extra writing time for a busy 4 year old who needs to practice his letters!
Now I wish I could put beautiful pictures of the notes we crafted by hand, but we did take a shortcut and buy notes at Target. Remy liked the monkey on the front, and I knew I was pressing my luck by having him write his name two dozen times. I pick my battles...
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this: Do you still write thank-you notes? Are you bothered that no one seems to send them anymore? Are notes now just for formal occasions (weddings, showers, etc.) or every day? Are they even 'required' for formal events now? Does it bother you when you don't receive one?
I don't necessarily get bothered when I don't receive notes anymore. Such is the way of the world - technology. However, I do still write notes, especially thank you notes and do have Keegan do the same when it comes to birthday presents. He LOVES to write his name so at the age of 4 it's very exciting still. But I do enjoy receiving cards and hand-written notes, though I seem to only get those around birthdays or holidays. I do think it's a bit of a shame, but I have to admit that I love the instant gratification of email.
ReplyDeleteI always make time to write a thank you note. Occasionally, that thank you note is via, but more often than not it's handwritten and mailed the old fashioned way. I know how much it means to me to receive a note like that, so the least I can do is the same for others. I don't EXPECT handwritten thank-yous, or even written thank yous, but it definitely rubs me the wrong way if I don't receive any sort of thank you or acknowledgement-- not because I give gifts for the thanks, but because it is important for me to know the gift was received, and hopefully, that it brightened someone's day.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting long-winded! Good thing I didn't have to hand-write this! :)
We are firm believers in always writing hand-written thank-you notes. It is a wonderful tradition that we will keep in our house as long as snail mail still exists. :)
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