Dear Ms. Plaid:
Do people send handwritten thank you notes? Is this an outdated practice when an email will do just fine?
– Thank You
Dear Thank You,
In my opinion a handwritten thank you note will never go out of style. In the digital age taking the time to write something by hand and post it shows even more thoughtfulness than an email.
Here are a few thoughts from those in the know about Thank You Notes:
- Emily Post – http://emilypost.com/advice/thank-you-notes-to-send-or-not-to-send/
- Dear Abby – http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/11/12/writing-thank-you-notes-gets-easier-using
- Miss Manners – http://www.uexpress.com/miss-manners/2016/7/24/2
I do sometimes struggle with sending an email versus sending a handwritten note. For personal gifts, friends bringing meals or someone going above and beyond to make my life easier I try to write a handwritten note. I do however give myself a bit of grace to not get it done the next day, but try to get it in the post within one week.
For children’s gifts, I do make my children acknowledge the gift in person (at the party) to the giver immediately and we send out a generic thank you post event with an event picture. I lost my patience one too many valentines making my child address each card individually (like hours of my life were lost that I will never get back). When my children are older, maybe twelve, we will give the handwriting a go again on personalized stationary to make it fun.
For business purposes like introductions or potential new businesses I stick to thank you emails because this is the normal way I communicate with other business professionals. If someone when out of their way or I landed a very lucrative deal based on someone doing something I would handwrite a small note and send a small thank you gift.
Best,
Ms. Plaid
