Life Skills: 3 Top Tips to Writing the Perfect Thank You Note
Words by Utterly Printable
If you’ve recently got married, had a christening or other large event and people attended, you really should thank them for their time. You could just send a quick text, but we always think that heartfelt, professionally printed thank you card adds that super special touch.
Bigger events like weddings have been months in the planning and it seems remiss to then forget to close all of the preparation and planning, the actual day and the aftermath without thanking people (especially if they gave you a gift!). And of course, it is one of life’s little joys to receive some proper post through the door. So, if you have been avoiding thank you cards because you think what to write, here is a quick guide to get you started.
Who Are You Thanking?
The first thing you need to establish is who you need to say thank you too. Basically, its everyone! Start by creating a list of everyone who gave you a gift and attended your day. You need to include everyone whether they posted you the present or bought it in person. You should also aim to thank people who help set up and plan the event with you. Friends, parents, caterers…everyone who was instrumental in the day.
What to Say
Each thank you note needs to be personal, you don’t have to write an essay, but it is important that you acknowledge people individually. Begin with your greeting and address the person by name being careful to spell the name correctly. Now you can say thank you and these two words should appear in the sentence whether you start with them or use them halfway through. For example, ‘thank you so much’, ‘I would just like to say thank you’, etc.
Here is where the personalisation comes in. In a short sentence you can sum up how you feel about whatever impact they had on your event, or whichever gift they gave you. For example, ‘we are truly delighted with the new dinner service and can’t wait to use it when we next have people over for dinner’. If they gave you money, do not mention the amount, but acknowledge and offer some idea as to what it will be spent on. For example, ‘thank you so much for your generous gift we plan to add it to the conservatory fund and are hopeful building will begin in July’.
Move on to either acknowledge that you are looking forward to seeing them again soon or, if it’s someone who is perhaps not local, that you are thinking about them. For example, ‘it will be really great to see you at Sarah‘s christening next month’ or ‘I really hope you are well, and will call you in a few weeks for a catch up’.
Ending the thank you note is up to you, if you are unsure of your relationship with someone using the word sincerely is good, but for closer family and friends you may choose to end with ‘lots of love’, ‘love and hugs’, ‘many thanks’, or ‘yours truly’.
When Should You Send a Thank You?
Ideally, your printed thank you notes should be sent out within a month of the event, as this allows for things like honeymoon’s to take place and life to return to normal. If you leave it any later than that you will need to start your thank you card by first apologising for the tardiness of your response, which is never a great look!
Occasions: What can we offer?
For the new parents amongst you, you might be looking to thank friends and family for all the baby gifts for your new son or daughter. If that’s the case, then we can’t recommend our range of photo baby thank you cards enough.
For the newlyweds out there, who are looking to send out their gratitude for all the lovely presents, we most certainly have something for you. We consider ourselves to be the best place for wedding thank you cards, especially those designed to hold photos from your big day. Stop by and take a look!
If you’ve just had a christening for your son or daughter, then we certainly recommend our range of christening thank you cards. You’ll find designs for boys and girls that are cute beyond belief. Similarly, we have dozens of design for personalised communion thank you cards that will fit the bill after any big day out at church.
Finally, we are very proud of our personalised funeral thank you cards. We have a collection of elegant templates that are simple to design online. They pair extremely well with our thank you card printing service.