Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Writing thank-you notes

Here is an article from the Ladies' Home Journal about the importance of early training in writing thank-you notes. There is nothing like sending someone a handwritten note, but an email "thank-you" is better than no "thank-you" at all. One of these days I am going to rant about the importance of giving an RSVP and how rude it is not to respond to an invitation, or to respond belatedly. (That rant may coincide with the one about the lack of graciousness of some Catholic bloggers. Knowing the catechism by heart is no replacement for basic social skills; faith is empty without works.)

http://ww4.lhj.com/lhj/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/10831.xml&categoryid=/templatedata/lhj/category/data/GoodManners.xml Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Elena Maria -- I have a question about thank-you notes (and I apologize if the article addresses it; I haven't time to read it at the moment). I recall reading a while ago that, if you are able to thank the individual giving you a gift in person (for example, at a bridal shower, where everybody watches the gifts being opened), a thank-you note is unnecessary. Is this true? Many thanks!

elena maria vidal said...

Hi, Lylia! Great question. I was always told that if you are able to give thanks in person, it suffices, although a little note always adds an extra touch of gratitude. I think for bridal and baby showers it is good to write notes since with so many people around it is sometimes difficult to thank everyone as they deserve. In a note one can add a special comment about the gift and about the kindness of the giver, etc.

Anonymous said...

I agree that writing a note is what I would want to do, even if I could thank the giver in person. Thanks for your advice! Now I know that brow-beating my girls into writing those notes IS what etiquette requires!

Anonymous said...

You are so right. From my observations of human nature I see that in our society today people think that personal power comes from being rude and crude and that the formality of being polite is seen as false. It started with the
baby boomers and their ranting and raving against the establishment, now they are reaping the whirlwind.