I think the tradition of writing thank-you notes should be done away with...?

Question

... Isn't a phone call or face-to-face thank you more personal anyway?

Does anyone actually get offended if you don't receive a note in the mail?

Answer 1

Actually, yes I do get offended if I don't receive a thank you.

I had to work for the money to give a gift. I think the person who receives the gift should put a little work into the thank you.

It takes about 30 seconds to write a thank you note. It costs less than a dollar to send. If the value of the gift is over $1, then you should write a thank you.

Answer 2

I think thank-you notes show that you have put forth a little more effort into showing your gratitude! I had to write a ton for graduation presents after high school, which seemed annoying at the time. I know that a lot of people really appreciate recieving a short thank-you note in the mail, especially if you do it right after you receive the gift! People take note if you don't send them one... Then, when you are in person, thank them then also!!!

Answer 3

I do get offended. I've taken time out of my busy day, searched for what I feel is an appropriate gift, spent my hard earned money to buy the gift for you, either mailed the gift or given it to you in person. I think the least you could do would be to take 5 minutes out of your day, write a thank you note and sent it off in the mail. It show how much you truly appreciate their gift.

Answer 4

I think it depends on the person and the occasion.
For example, if your grandmother gives you a gift for your birthday, christmas, graduation, etc., I'd say send a note.
If a friend gives you a gift, a phone call or e-mail should be okay.

Basically, I would send notes to older people and on special occasions (graduation, anniversary, baby shower, wedding).

Answer 5

It depends upon the occasion motivating the gift - routine, annual birthday and holiday gifts need not involve a personalized note or email. Weddings (until one gets divorced so often to make it routine), graduations, promotions or other not so usual accomplishments warranting gifts should be acknowledged in writing - emails would be okay, too, especially if the giver included their email address in their note.

I hold in much higher regard each of my 40 nieces and nephews who have written thank you notes acknowledging their 21st birthday gift from me.

Answer 6

I agree with a lot of the answers; it really depends if you are hosting a celebration for and aniversery, wedding, house warming, baptism...(you get my point) yes indeed you should make the effort to show your appreciation. On the other hand if it is a random gift sent by a relative you see all the time, then I would be pleased with a call!

Answer 7

Yes. One of the rudest things you can do is to let a gift go by unacknowledged with a note. A verbal thank-you, whether on the phone or in person, is nice but does not replace the note. Notes should be handwritten, not printed from the computer.

Whenever someone sends me a thank-you note, I notice it ---- and when they don't, I notice that too.

I write thank-you notes as a matter of course.

When you go on job interviews, it is crucial to send a handwritten note of thanks to the person who interviewed you.

The exception is that you don't have to write a thank-you note thanking someone for the nice thank-you note they sent. ;-)

Answer 8

Absolutely yes. My family went to a relative's wedding in 2003, travelled 6 hours to get to the wedding. We contributed a heafty sum of money as a gift. (basically we paid for our meals a seven course meal) and our thank you only came 7 months later, it was a crappy post card-like note with personalization or nothing. It was one thank you to thank four adults. the front of the post card had a nice photo of the bride and groom, but was overwelmed with advertisements for the photographer. prior to that my mom had gone to her bridal shower (again travelling 6 hours to get there) and had never received a thank you. She had a christening for her son in 2005 and my boyfriend and I spent money on train fare + gifts for her and to this day have never received a thank you.

I personalized thank you is appropriate and to thank someone for a wedding gift seven months later with a crappy post card is just disgusting. I went to my boyfriends sister's wedding and i got a thank you two months later, a nice hand written thoughtful thank you card! That is classy!!!

Answer 9

Thank you notes is a tradition of taking time to sit down and write a personal thank you to someone. I think it is a classy way of being grateful and showing it.

Answer 10

i get very offended when people don't send a thank you note. i have been to weddings, showers, and christenings and not gotten anything. i go out of my way to give very nice gifts, it's the least someone can do to show their appreciation.
it shows the thoughtfulness.