The Handwritten Note… Thank You!

My mother is famous for her beautiful handwritten notes.  She has always had a knack for dropping a card or letter in the mail (yes, the real mail… not email) with just the perfect thing to say.

My husband’s grandmother, Emmy, is also a frequent note writer.  I get a letter from her — handwritten, in cursive — at least once a month.

From as early as I can remember, my mom insisted I write handwritten thank you notes to people who had helped me.  Since I showed livestock growing up, many trophies would have lists of sponsors on the back that I was supposed to write to.  Trust me, I have probably written more than one-thousand thank you notes in my life! During the past few days, I’ve been writing thank you notes to Miss Oklahoma scholarship sponsors.

Yet it seems some people have forgotten the art (or never learned) of a hand written note, especially as a thank you.

I supervise a student ambassador group at work, and I often assign them to write thank you notes.  I was surprised how many of them didn’t even know how.  Then I came across a wonderful article in Southern Living magazine, “How to Write a Charming Thank You Note.”  I used it to teach my student ambassadors, and I thought I’d pass it along.

Here are some tips from the article… and some of my own (from mom)!

• A proper thank you note should have at least 3 sentences
• Be specific.  Mention the item that the person gave you and how you plan to use it.  (Example… thank you for the beautiful crown lantern.  I can’t wait to display it on my fireplace mantle).
• Better later than never!  It’s never too late to send a thank you.
• Don’t refer to specific amounts of money.  You can say, “Thank you for your generous donation,” or “I am so grateful for your generosity.”
• Check out the Southern Living article for lots more note-writing advice.

I will end with an example thank you note to my mom! (He, he, he)

Dear Mom,

Thank you very much for teaching me the value of writing thank you notes when I was young.  This skill has been very beneficial as I’ve written birthday, graduation, job interview, wedding, and holiday thank you notes.  I know many people have been able to better know my appreciation for them through my hand written letters.  I am so grateful you took time to teach me this important life skill.

Love Always,

EKS