Write a Thank You Note

A gift requires a thank-you note. This may seem like an ordeal, especially right after your birthday or a big holiday, but a sloppy note — or, worse, no note at all — shows ingratitude. Luckily, writing a nice thank-you is easy. It can even be fun.

Steps

Sample Thank You Notes

Doc:Thank You Note for a Gift,Thank You Email After Interview

Writing a Thank You Note

  1. Start with a fresh piece of paper or stationery. If you're buying a card, make sure it's neat and appropriate for the occasion. Remember, you're writing a thank-you note, not inviting someone to a bachelor party or celebrating a birthday.
  2. Talk about the gift, good deed, or favor for several sentences. When people give something to you or do something for you, they receive vicarious pleasure from knowing that you've enjoyed it or how you used it.
    • If having received a gift: Have you used it? Did someone else comment on it? Are there things about it that you particularly like?
    • If having received a favor: How did it make you feel? Does it make you want to pay it forward?
    • If having been the recipient of a good deed: Has that ever happened to you before? Does it restore your faith in humanity? How does it make you feel?
  3. Ask some questions about the person to whom you're writing. What's going on at their house? Show a little interest in them after writing a bit about yourself.
    • Some other questions to consider:
      • "How is work going?"
      • Think back to the last time you were together in person: "Did you ever end up eating that foot-long lollipop after we left the boardwalk?"
      • Ask them about any upcoming plans for vacations, holidays, or trips: "How is planning for Tahoe going? Did you find the cabin by the lake you were looking for?"
  4. Bring them up to speed on the news at your home. Bring them up to date on a thing or two. Help them feel connected to whatever you're doing at the moment.
  5. Mention the gift a second time, just before you end. A quick thank-you again will reinforce how happy and grateful you are to have received whatever you received.

Mastering the Thank-You Note Etiquette

  1. Keep the thank-you note proportional to the size and effort behind the gift or deed. That's a fancy way of saying that if someone gives you something really nice or does something super special for you, spend a little more time and put a little more effort into your thank-you.
    • Think about how it feels to do something wonderful for someone and then receive a one-sentence reply. It feels like the other person isn't appreciative. You don't want to come off as unappreciative.
    • On the flip side, it might be a little weird to write a novel of a thank-you letter for someone who gave you some hair gel. You might come off as weird or creepy if you over-write your thank-you.
  2. Unless you're great at it, keep humor to a minimum in thank-you notes. Humor is always a happy remedy, but in quick notes like thank-yous, it can be misinterpreted as ungratefulness. Unless you're very close to the person you're writing a thank-you to, or you're wittier than Winston Churchill, keep it sincere.
  3. Write it freehand, and keep it neat. In the digital age, it's easy to write something on your word-processor and then print it out and affix a signature to it. But what's easy isn't always what's great. Writing freehand shows the recipient of your letter than you're willing to put the time and effort into writing something, a token of your appreciation.

Tips

  • Write carefully. Reread what you've written. Sloppy handwriting and misspelled words tell the recipient, "Boy, I can't wait to get this note over with."

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