thought for thursday: thank you and acknowledgement

is it thursday already?  i've got a million topics i could tft, but this one is on my mind most i guess.

yesterday i tried to send out the thank you notes for monkey girl's birthday party. i say tried because unbenounced to me the stupid USPS decided to up the priceage for the stampage earlier this week by one flippin cent. meaning i have to make a special trip to the post office for one. cent. stamps. lame. at least bump it three or even five because this is just silly. i'm the lazy one who will put another 41 cent stamp on it just to get it done and not have to make the special trip.

ok. my post isn't supposed to be about the post office.

i have always tried to thank people in writing, via the mail, the old fashioned way.  for any sort of gift for any sort of occasion. and promptly. for example, i feel as if i'm behind the eight-ball on monkey's thank yous because it's been three weeks. that's pushing it for me.

i think it's just courtesy.  to tell the person who gave the gift or did the nice deed that i appreciated that they took time out of their schedule, out of their day, to think of me or my kid.  i know how much effort it takes, to 1) find the gift 2) wrap it, possibly  3) get a card (this is something that i hate to do because i hate to spend $3-5 on a card when i know it costs target $0.10.  and 4) package and send the gift.  this one is key, because without this step, the package never gets sent.

i have sent gifts and never even known if they were received. really the only situation i think i don't expect a thank you for is a newborn gift. i know what it's like to be a new mom.

i guess the post is supposed to be more about acknowledgement. i get a little anxiety if i don't remember somebody's birthday. or thank them properly and promptly. it's just how i am.  i even used to take pictures of the item that the person has gifted to me or my kids in action and send it to them. since i got pregnant with the monkey my brian went somewhere else and i'm trying to get back on track, because aside from like five people, i fell off the wagon here. i had a huge spreadsheet of names and birthdates and for years i made sure the card was in the mail.

let me know your thoughts on this. tell me how you thank people for things, or if you do... 

i also need some help here. i always struggle with this one. how should i tell j-man's bus driver and teacher (male) that i appreciate them and their patience with my son and other kids??  the school year ends soon!

check out the other thoughts for thursday participants: jenny, kristi, denise
 

Comments

[Mel]

Well, I suck at this so I'm not one to give advice. But I think maybe a giftcard to....pun intended...APPLEbees...haha...apple - teacher. ok not funny. But maybe just a simple thank you card for the bus driver? Or cookies or something?

[Hyphen Mama]

Hold on, my head just exploded with the "USPS postage increase" information. I heard it mentioned a few days ago, but didn't realize it was RIGHT NOW. I ordered new stamps last week and got 41 cent stamps. Now I have to go buy 100 one cent stamps.

Okay, I'm better now.

I try really hard to get a thank you card in the mail within a few weeks of receiving the gift. If it's for Wynnie, I try to have her sign the card, even though I write the actual note. I used to try to get pics of the gift in action (like my grandma makes my kids sweaters and I take pictures of the kids wearing them), but now I'm getting to where I only do that for close family.

I like the idea of baked goods for the bus driver and teacher.

[Denise H.]

I sent homemade thank you cards to every single person who gave us a gift at our wedding if I could find their address. Their gift and sharing in our happiness meant so much to us.

I also try to make sure that I use an item given to us by someone when they come over just to show them that their gift was not wasted.

However, I agree with after having the baby not having the time to send out Thank you Cards to everyone. I never expect to get a thank you card but it is always nice to get one knowing that the person received and enjoys the gift.

Like Mel said, a Gift Card (maybe for a movie), cookies and a card.

[anne]

I try to acknowledge all gifts with a thank-you note sent via snail mail. I just consider it a polite and nice gesture. Sometimes though I will just do the thanking in person, or over email. But generally I make it a point to send a card. There have been a few times I've sent a gift and never had it acknowledged- then you wonder if the person received it or if the mailman is using it or what. I once had to ask a friend, about 6 months after her wedding, if she rec'd the restaurant gift certificate I had sent...worried my $50 went down the tubes! I rec'd a thank-you card from her w/in the week...not sure if she was waiting for reminders from gift-givers, or what.

Anyway, as a teacher, I can offer some advice on what NOT to give your son's teacher: candy (they won't want to eat it, even though they WILL want to eat it!), chochki knick-knack type items, perfume. Some good ideas would be a gift card to a restaurant or book store, or to a teacher supply store.

[Jan]

Re: Thank you notes. Always a good practice. From my grandkids, thanks are sparse, their gifts don't stop, but aren't as wonderful as they might be if I thought they were appreciated.

Re: Teacher/Bus Driver gifts - Gift Cards are the way to go. Teachers are not rich, usually, and Gift Cards for what they might need are great. Bookstore, Restaurants, Target or Grociers. I agree with Anne, on the things they don't need.

[Robyn]

I try to always send thank you notes, I like getting them. I haven't done any for school yet, but I should some of the day care ladies are awesome.

[Kristi S]

It bugs me when i don't receive thank yous for things that are a big deal....like weddings! There have been a few that I never received a thank you for and I think it is just rude! It makes me wonder if they ever even got my gift, ya know? So yes, it is especially nice to get the acknowledgment.

[jenny]

i need to be better about sending thank you's. i try to, but i seriously need to make it more of an effort. tucker's have not been sent out yet. eeeek!

oh, and i'd go with the baked goods to show appreciation! :)

[Dana]

As a child, my mom made my brother and I write thank you notes for everything. But now, I am so busy with school, work & child... (and I know it isn't an excuse because some of these people buying gifts for us have the same problems) but I find it harder for me to find time for myself to write thank yous. As a single mom, I try to teach my daughter that she needs to write thank you notes to people, but I always get "dad doesn't make me do these!" So it is hard. I definately do want to make a more constant effort to write and mail them. It is more of a pain for me to get them to the post office!