I was always taught to send hand-written thank you notes as a child for holidays, birthdays or graduation presents, etc. Also special notes to acknowledge life events like weddings, babies or to express sympathy.

I still think that a handwritten message goes a long way and is so much more personal for the recipient. Personal notes are one of the first ways you can teach your children to give thanks which is so important for their empathy and character. Check out my post on Teaching Children to Give Thanks.

To this day, my youngest daughter always writes notes thanking people for gifts. I just got her these sweet personalized note cards that are perfect for this. I figured when she starts interviewing for jobs, it would be a nice touch to send a little note along. It can’t hurt!

I absolutely love zazzle.com where you can customize and personalize invitations, notecards, return address stickers and ink stampers, among so many other things. Check them out to make your cards and envelopes your own! See my post on our Friendtrips where I customized these adorable wine bottle labels.

Personalized notes come from the heart. You can easily buy a million different greeting cards that say something similar in maybe a more eloquent way. But saying it yourself means so much more. Get some beautiful note paper and spend some time thinking of your loved one-and the words will come to you, trust me!

I actually loved sitting down to write our thank you notes for wedding gifts in 2021 on these adorable cards that captured our travel-themed wedding perfectly. See my post on the Perfect Travel Themed Wedding!

Elements of the Perfect Note

Introduction. Mention something relevant regarding the last time you saw them or the nature of the event (ie someone passing away). Such as:

• It was so nice to see you last month
• Thank you for traveling to our event
• I am so sorry to hear about….
• It is wonderful to hear about your good news
• I hope that you and yours have been well
• I hope you’ve been enduring this long winter
• I’m sorry we haven’t spoken in a while

Specifics. Some details about why you are writing. Like:

• I remember this about your loved one
• I used your gift the other day when I….
• I always wanted this gift because…
• This gift made me smile because I remembered…

Closing.

• I hope to see you soon
• I plan to see you at….
• I will be thinking of you
• I’ll be keeping you in my prayers
• Let me know if there’s anything I can do

Consider a photo, if appropriate. My good friend’s mother just passed away, and every year she would come over to see us when we visited. We always took a cute photo of all of us and it’s something that was such a special memory.

So I printed out this photo on the printer and wrote my note on the back of it. I think (hope) this meant more than a pre-printed card.

I love this one where my girls held up a thank you sign!

When my father passed away last year, the notes that mattered most to me (and that I still remember) were those where my loved ones wrote something special about my dad. How funny he was and the quirky things he did. It is hard losing someone close to you, and those kind of memories make such a difference in helping to heal.

I hope you find my note-writing tips helpful! Let me know if you also practice writing your own special notes, and if you have any of your own ideas to share!