Thank you cards - how?!

Cyclamen

I am 36 and still send hand written letters to friends/family throughout the year..yes they have text and internet...

my disabiliy makes holding and steering a pen a challenge some days so i have had to start typing my letter in word but then i print it out on note paper' or use clip art, stickers to personalise it.. honestly I am an adult.

Would something like that work.. so its obviously a letter from the recipient but has been typed, they can then decorate or print on 'nice paper', copy and paste for a aragraph f generic stuff with a personal message.. and the giver still gets a nice letter?

I am always thrilled with old fashioned 'through the door post' that isn't a bill.

ilikewatch

DigForVictory wrote: »

If you coax your little dears through pen & paper, how?

Simple, kids can open presents and cards, but not play with/use any gifts until Thank You letters have been written and posted. We generally open presents after Christmas lunch at about 15:00, it's unusual that Thank You letters aren't written and taken to the post box by 17:30.

onlyroz

I don't think the format of a thank you should matter (although a text does seem a bit crass). Verbal is fine if they physically hand you the present, otherwise an email, Facebook message, phone call or handwritten note are also nice. I coaxed two handwritten notes each out of my kids yesterday for two aunties they rarely see in person. The handwriting was awful but hopefully the right message is conveyed.

DigForVictory

I also love handwritten post.
Which is why I seek help coaching the boys!

Special cards they've chosen? Certainly helped the 13 yo (who could draw So Much More Interesting ones, but chose not to, arrgh)

Mrs_Boo_Boo

Remember writing thank you cards and letters when I was younger and it was a bit of a struggle. Appreciate it now I buy for others. I don't mind any medium as long as I get one and that's very difficult with some children I buy for. When I don't get an acknowledgement I am less inclined to make the effort or think about it too much. Had a text from one nephew,but never get one from the other. A post card with a short message would suffice like "thank you for my present".

VfM4meplse

Can I add an OS spin on this?

By handwriting notes routinely, it becomes easier to re-gift unwanted presents without them finding their way back to / it coming to the attention of the original gifter. Sticks in the mind much better.

ALIBOBSY

TBH our kids only get gifts from relatives we see over the festive period so they say thanks in person but I would say for those you don't see a call, text or email is perfectly fine. Possibly an older relative who doesn't have mobile and/or a PC would appreciate a hand written note tho.

Ali x

meritaten

my littler grandkids usually spend an afternoon at my house using my Stamps and Blank cards to make thank you cards. as they are so 'obviously' home made by the kids - they are always appreciated!
I buy a couple of books of second class stamps so they can take the cards straight down the street to the post box - they love doing that!

skattykatty

As an aside: I didn't realise that writing thank you cards after Christmas and birthdays was a 'thing' until I met my husband and his family and then when friends started having kids and I brought gifts for the children. Is it a specifically 'English' or 'British' tradition? I never sent thank you cards as a kid and was never told to do so. It would never have occurred to my parents to tell me to do so! I just said thank you and appeared suitably grateful! I must admit it is nice to get a card, but I've wondered about the challenge for parents to sit kids down and make them write a stream of cards (especially now that kids invite a whole class for birthday dos!)

VfM4meplse

skattykatty wrote: »

As an aside: I didn't realise that writing thank you cards after Christmas and birthdays was a 'thing' until I met my husband and his family and then when friends started having kids and I brought gifts for the children. Is it a specifically 'English' or 'British' tradition?

I think it might be, although I have always considered it to be a marker of good manners.

I remember after my eighth birthday party wanting to buy cards for such a purpose - my mum recoiled in horror at the thought! She didn't get the concept, much less would permit any money to be wasted on such activities. I ended up writing on lined foolscap paper, the yellowing variety commonly available in the early eighties.