The Art of Writing a Thank You Card

There are thank you cards. And then there are thank you cards.

I received the most beautiful handwritten thank you card last week after attending a baby shower for a colleague of mine.  Her kind and thoughtful words reminded me how to write a thank you card....the right way.



In the day of high tech everything where people send invitations, thank you notes...anything...by email, I'm realizing that I'm very old school when it comes to these things. I still prefer to send party invitations by mail, I still love sending thank you notes to friends and family in the mail, and I love hand writing letters or notes...still. Today.

I'm that person who still loves reading a "real" book and turning each and every page. And even though I own an iPad and have the option of reading a book electronically, I still prefer to buy the real thing.

That's why I so appreciated this thank you card.  It was heartfelt, and I'm sure my colleague thought about each and every word she wrote.  She understands the art of writing a thank you card.

What she didn't do, and what a lot of people do, is just say thank you for attending and then just randomly list the gift items that were received. Done.

What she did so beautifully was...she made it personal. Of course, she thanked me for attending, and she listed each gift item. But she didn't stop there. She went on to explain how she would use the gift items, and she made sure to include my son for a more special touch.

Here's what she wrote:

Dear Alicia,

Thank you so much for coming out to shower Baby R. and for your sweet well wishes, adorable onesies, fabulous book choices and the amazing matching frog. I am most looking forward to reading to and with Baby Boy (even before he "gets" it) and can't wait to share "It's Mine" and "On the Night You Were Born" with him.

I miss you as a hall mate, but think of you often and will definitely be up to visit often next year. I'll need you to keep me up to date on all the super-mom things you do with Buddy Roller! 

Thank you so much for everything!

Now I know that not everyone takes the time to do something like this. That's not a priority for some people, and I get that. There are far more important things in life than writing a thank you card. But I'm just recognizing that it was a beautifully written card that I appreciated, and I've definitely taken notes for the next time I write a thank you card.