The Importance of Thank You Cards

Since Christmas has just passed, this seems like a really good time for this topic. In the age of texting, e-mail, and all kinds of electronic communication, the simple snail mail invite or thank you card has been lost. And those are things that I think are really important.

My baby shower was on December 2nd, and I had to fight my mother to get my invitations sent out by snail mail. It definitely took ten times longer to address them all by hand (after struggling to get everyone's address), but I think that mailed invitations are so much more formal and personal.

I firmly believe that events such as showers, birthday parties, and weddings should always have paper snail mail invitations sent out. It gives your guest a tangible invitation from you. Something to hold onto and remember. Something to hang on their refrigerator. Something to add to their scrapbook. Something to fold up and stick in their wallet. Something special for your guest to do whatever they please with.

Thank you cards are something else that I believe should absolutely be sent out by snail mail. Especially for things like baby shower gifts, wedding gifts, even Christmas or birthday gifts deserve a thank you card or a phone call (at the very least).

I love receiving cards. Birthday cards, Christmas cards, invites, thank you cards, whatever. I keep them and display them for at least a month after each event. I'm even having my baby shower cards turned into a book so that I'll always have them.

And you all know how much fun it is to receive something in the mail that isn't a bill. It makes me smile way more than a silly e-mail or text would and it is so much more sincere.

You know how you feel after giving someone a gift? You took the time and money to pick out something that you thought they specifically would like. And it hurts to feel under-appreciated for something that you've put a lot of thought into. Imagine how you would feel if you gave someone a gift and then never even received a thank you for it.

I know it definitely hurts my feelings. I bought my sister and step-sister iTunes gift cards for their new iPods they got for Christmas and put the card into a cute little mug with hot chocolate and made some chocolate lollipop sticks as well. As soon as they opened it up, they took out the gift card and tossed the rest of the gift aside.

So many children grow up feeling unappreciative of and entitled to their gifts. They don't have the understanding that they need to let the gift giver know how much they appreciate their gift.

That's why I think thank you cards (and just being appreciative in general) are important. My children are going to grow up being grateful for each and every gift that they receive. They will say thank you to everyone for every little thing that they get. They will write thank you cards for every holiday (as soon as they're old enough. If they're not, they'll just sign or fingerprint it.)

It's important for us to keep traditions such as thank you cards alive and to let others know that we love and appreciate everything that they do for us or give to us. We shouldn't expect gifts for Christmas or birthdays, we should feel honored to receive gifts. Privileged. That's the message I'm going to teach to my children.

Do you write thank you cards for your gifts or have your children send out thank you cards? What is your opinion on the subject?