Thank you notes are a way to show gratitude, appreciation, and acknowledgement for a gift or favor someone did for you.  They are a joy to receive and I believe an honor to write. 

It’s very important to teach your children the art of writing thank you notes at a very young age.  Beginning early and making the process fun will help ensure they continue the process throughout their life.   

Stationary stores sell thank you notes for very young children that are pre-written with fill in the blanks for children learning to write.  Some come complete with stickers or ones they can color themselves. Introducing your children to a fun activity using stickers, crayons and drawing is the prefect launch for their lifelong commitment to writing thank you notes. 

One way to get the child engaged with writing thank you notes, is to create an activity box with them. Go shopping together and let them select stickers, colored pencils, ribbons. When they get a little older, you can add wax seals to their correspondence supply box.  

The parental goal in this of course, is to train them to write thank you notes as a way of life. It needs to become a habit to acknowledge the act of kindness, or gift someone has done for you.  Shopping for the perfect gift to send the graduate, birthday person, or newlywed takes a lot of time and expense.

I am always excited to mail someone a gift and can’t wait to hear if they loved it, if it fit, was the color just right.  And if I don’t receive any form of acknowledgement or thanks, I wonder if they even received it, and that makes me sad.  The idea of writing thank you notes is to let the giver know you received it, and appreciated their time and effort associated with the special gift.  Even if you receive a gift and go “what in the world were they thinking?” a thank you note is expected. You can always sincerely thank them for the effort and thought.  

There is nothing as personal as a sincere handwritten thank you note. It’s a lovely gesture to express your appreciation and gratitude for the gift or support someone has provided you. Every summer, my daughter sends my husband and me a handwritten note thanking us for the wonderful time they had staying in our home for a few weeks.  I was very touched when I discovered my husband saves them all. Having the opportunity to make someone feel appreciated is a powerful gesture. 

The very act of writing thank you notes lends itself to a gracious way of life. It is an honor to write a thank you note and a joy to receive one.

Zane Carson Carruth, President, Carson Marketing and Vice President Carruth Foundation, is a certified business protocol & etiquette professional, author of The World’s First Tooth Fairy... Ever, Copyright First Animated Tooth Fairy Influencer. Board of Directors: Discovery Green Conservancy, Houston SPCA and TUTS; First Lady of the Rodeo; Honored; ABC’S 13 Women of Distinction, Women Who Mean Business, Top Impact Maker and St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital Woman of Philanthropy.