Sharing is a great invention. You can share your lunch, your friends, your family, good news, or favorite stories about your children. It’s a fabulous way to involve people in your life and thoughts. This is one of those times that I need to share. Some people will call it venting, but I call it sharing my innermost angst on the lack of proper behavior when it comes to thank you cards.
“Thank you” is such a basic concept and it really is getting lost in today’s hurry up life style. Or rather, maybe certain people are forgetting the concept of expressing gratitude for a gift that was received. Specifically, I’m speaking of my nephew. So this is what happened:
My nephew had a small destination wedding in Las Vegas that I could not attend, but being the great aunt that I am, I sent him a nice card with a hefty check tucked into it. My mom (his grandmother) did attend the wedding, and she also sent him a gift after returning home.
Would you believe we didn’t get a thank you card for six months?! When it came in the mail, the thank you card was a simple printed note with my nephew and new wife’s signatures. No handwritten message. No picture. I thought to myself, “A picture would’ve been nice.” I know it’s not strictly required, but it usually is done and after all, he did send a picture to his grandmother. It was just a snapshot, and it would’ve been very inexpensive to have copies made. Listen, if it takes that long to send a thank you card, I think you can make it a little more personal and add a picture.
I decided to look up the proper etiquette, and it says that you should send wedding thank you cards within one month of the big day or the receipt of a wedding gift, but two months is considered acceptable. It is not acceptable to send printed thank you notes; they should be personal. My nephew failed and so did his new wife.
As a post script to this saga, his grandmother sent them both Christmas gifts. It is now March and no call, no visit, and no thank you cards from either of them. Personally, it will be a cold day in Hellen’s house before I send him another gift!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Amen! The fine art of expressing thanks by sending a note or at least a phone call after receiving a gift is being lost on a generation of selfish, egocentric generation X, Y’s or whatever you call it. I won’t send any gifts anymore to someone who does not bother to send their thanks.
Totally agree & it’s so easy today to just go to a website like this & download a picture to create your own special card. Little effort, big results.