I might be embarking on some controversial Thank You card territory.....
But, I'm gonna go there.
I have never been the best at writing Thank You cards, and often times, writing Thank Yous stresses me out!! I'm not quite sure why, other than the reason that it often seems too daunting and time-consuming to put pen to paper and write out multiple Thank Yous that don't sound too contrived. I have trouble finding the time (making the time??) to find all the addresses for the peeps, making sure I have enough stamps for all of them, and then, either, getting them into the mailbox or to the Post Office in a timely and effective manner. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but I almost always feel pressure and anxiety!
Now, don't get me wrong......it is definitely
NOT because I'm ungrateful for anything that I have received, my family has received, or my children have received. That is absolutely NOT the reason. Quite the opposite, actually.
As soon as we receive things, for whatever occasion it might be for, I am very good at writing down what everyone gave us and am very good about keeping that list in PLAIN SIGHT so that I will remember to write Thank Yous. Unfortunately, that list gets looked over, sometimes, for weeks and weeks until I feel sooooooo guilty for not getting them out, that, sometimes, I just don't even want to start them at all!!
I sound a little lazy, don't I?
For the record, though, I have eventually gotten Thank You cards out for
most things that we have received-----everything? No. I gotta be honest. I know that there are things that I have missed writing a Thank You for. Does that mean I'm ungrateful? No. Does that mean I don't care? No. Does that mean I don't remember the wonderful, generous, thoughtful gift someone gave me? No. It simply means that, for whatever reason, I didn't get a Thank You out.
I'm sure the etiquette police will arrest me for what I'm about to say, but I gotta say it:
It's OK if you don't write a Thank You.There.
I said it.
But, that doesn't mean you still shouldn't say Thank You---in some form or another, if you can.
So, if you're like me, and Thank You cards tend to stress you out, here are a few of my ideas for thanking someone in a little more FRUGAL and less stressful way:
1.
Tell them in person.Why does it seem as though thanking someone in person, maybe on the day you open the gift, is not enough?? Again, I don't want to sound ungrateful at all, I'm just thinking aloud here........If I open a gift in front of someone, say, for my birthday or Christmas, why is thanking them, right then and there, not enough? In my humble opinion---it should be.
2.
Call them.I would never balk at someone calling me and thanking me for something, instead of writing a Thank You card. To me, it shows that they put thought and effort into it, and made it a point to thank me.
3.
Use Technology.In this extremely technological era, I find it very appropriate to thank someone via, EMAIL---
yes I said it----or, via Facebook---
yes, I went there, too---or even a super nice and thoughtful E-card. Often times E-cards seem a lot less daunting, because you can write it more quickly, you don't have to find home addresses, and you don't need a stamp or a post office to send it. It's a super frugal, easy, yet, still thoughtful way to send a Thank You.
Here are a few sights that I like:
Blue Mountain
Hallmark
Day Spring
free-e-cards-online
4.
Combine your thoughts of Thanks.Again, I might get caught by the etiquette police, but,in my opinion, I don't think it's such a terrible thing to combine Thank Yous. For example: Mother's Day and my birthday fall on the same month. I have been known to send out one Thank You card for both of those occasions----is this following proper etiquette?? Probably not. My feeling is, though, that however you say it-----at least you did! :-)
Don't get me wrong, here.......I will still write handwritten Thank Yous---I know how wonderful it is to get something in the mail!! It's great!! BUT, I will sprinkle in some other forms of thanks, as well. I truly believe that other ways of saying Thank You are
just as good, and just as thoughtful.And, a couple notes to the givers (myself included):
If someone happens to forget to send you a Thank You, in any format, they are probably still super thankful!! Some of us are just better at sending out Thank Yous than others-------and that's OK.
The bottom line, is:
"Give as if you're giving to the Lord."
Don't expect a Thank You, don't get upset if you don't get one, don't think that person is ungrateful, or doesn't care. Simply revel in the fact that you gave a nice, thoughtful, wonderful gift and the person receiving it is probably extremely grateful and thankful----whether they tell you that, or not.
