Painting by Theodore Gerard (1829 - 1895) Here is an idea for getting thank-you notes out in a timely manner. I discovered this when I found myself always being late with thank you notes. I was so late in one case, that the lady invited me out again before I was able to get a note of appreciation to her for the last visit. I always have such a huge amount of things to do that eventually something gets missed.
Having a supply of cards on the desk makes it much easier to remember to write a thank-you note.
When anyone invites me over, I get out a card or letter paper from its place immediately and address the envelope, adding a stamp. I do this before I have even gone to visit her, even if it is a week or two away. That way, I will not forget or get too busy. The card or letter will say how grateful I am that she took the time to invite me and how much I enjoy her friendship, and sign my name. Then I leave the card by the front door in a letter box until after I have gone to her house. When I return from her house, I add a p.s. and write a few sentences about the visit, and mention something about her house or the food or the visit.
It is just a way of being a little more efficient. I was reminded about this once when a friend invited me over and I got too busy to get the card in the mail. Before I knew it, I had been invited again, and hadn't even gotten the last thank-you note mailed. I usually think I am going to have time to sit down and write a long, leisurely letter, but sometimes that is not the case. Having the cards ready will certainly
20 comments:
Yes, yes! My dear mother taught me not to let the day close without writing the necessary thanks. That meant that any visits, any trips returned from, any gifts received--the notes needed to be done before bed. This made procrastination impossible! It is a habit now, and I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise or omitting this from my own little daughter's education. Thank you for a timely post and gentle reminder!
That's a great idea!
A good idea - thank you.
Wonderful idea....
Deby
I am a true thank you note nazi! They are so important to a civilized society. The graciousness given and received from a note of any kind. I really like your idea of making one early in the game and mailing it swiftly. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings,
~Mrs. Farrah Ginter
http://homesteadblogger.com/keeperofthehome/
A wonderful idea! I might do this with birthday cards as well! :)
Thank you, Lady Lydia! Your wisdom is always welcome.
Ohhh I would be worried to do this in case a family member decided to "help" by posting the card! Just imagine how surreal it would feel for the hostess to receive a thank-you note *before* the occasion!!
Excellent idea--some times it seems like thank you notes are becoming a thing of the past.
Blessings,
Sharon
Thank you so much for sharing such a valuable idea, and also thanks to Amy G. for her excellent input. I will add this to my daily "to do" list so never again will my good intentions have a chance to fall by the wayside.
I had to laugh! I used to complain incessantly when my mother made me write thank-you notes Christmas day and my birthday - I was not allowed to play with anything until they were done (usually only about 10 to do)
Then I had my wedding at age 19...and boy, howdy, did that insistence on her part come in handy. 250+ thank you cards later, I find note-writing and letter-writing MUCH easier now!
I love writing and making cards.
Lovely post. I actually recently made some cards on my blog. Some with roses and one funny bunny one last night :)
Candy
This is a wonderful thing and some thing that i fall short of. you have inspired me to start again thank you.
I posted a link to you on my blog ...speaking about thank you notes........thank you for all your knowledge
Great ideas, I need to do ths as I have been taking longer than I should in sending thank you notes. Thank you for posting this!
A good idea, and one I could do with following Lady Lydia!
This is not yet a habit. More of a desire. It's finding the time to do it and a system that works for me that is holding me back.
I don't visit with many people but I do recieve many gifts from people. As soon as I recieve the gift I make a mental note to write a note, but the idea never moves from the mental to the physical.
I am hoping that with time I can incorporate this lovely habit into my lifestyle.
Thank you for posting on this topic.
Sincerely,
A Proverbs Wife in Progress
You can NEVER write too many thank you notes! That's what my grandmother always told me.
Dear Lady Lydia, What would you advise in the following situation? We were invited as a family to stay overnight and participate in a delicious extended family dinner with cousins we don't see very often. There were several families there. I fully intended to write the day we got home, but didn't. My dear husband did telephone, but got the answering machine. The cousins then left for a month long trip abroad (3 days after we returned home). Is it actually worse to send the letter once they return home so long afterwards or (as dh had left a message)to let it be now, rather than to draw attention to the fact that I was so rude as to not write immediately. Embarrassed, Gill.
For Christmas one year I had an Aunt that gave me the neatest lil basket she made of card stock, rubber stamps, color pencils, and other things in it to make cards with.
I've have so much fun with them, I sometimes just make a card to send out, just to sent one out. I've enjoyed it so much! Now every time I see her she's giving me tips and new supplies! It's also saved me money on buying cards.
Now if I can find a way to save money of gift bags! LOL Where I am sometimes they're ten dollars! Maybe I'm just too cheap?
As always I enjoy reading your blog! Thank you for all the uplifting, and neat ideas! Reading your site helps me get motivated, when I'm feeling overwhelmed.
That's a great idea to get the note ready as soon as you receive and answer the invitation -- even before you actually attend. Then, as you said, you can add a post script describing the event in more detail.
Excuse the delay in publishing comments. I've been so busy at home. The thank you notes that are even a year late are always welcome. To make up for the lack of promptness, maybe you could write a little more than usual, in a letter. The sting of the delay seems to go away when the person reads a nice letter. It seems to be getting harder to find time to write to people. Wouldn't it be nice to have another house somewhere that had no laundry waiting to be done and no piles of dishes waiting to be washed, where one could go and catch up on correspondence. I think in my case though, there would be people always knocking at the door wanting to know where something could be found (the keys, the cereal, the towels, their shoes), or they would be slipping notes under the door. I always enjoy writing but if there have been several events close together, it is more difficult to catch up on the notes.
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