Thank You Notecards

Thank you - two little words that have a whole lot of power. It is the definition of good manners; painfully noticeable when its absent and genuinely appreciated when its expressed. While the phrase seems pretty straightforward, sometimes it can be anything but. Fear not, Jane is here to help! First, the basics:

Do it. If you are in doubt over whether a gift, gesture or act deserves a thank you, DO IT. This is one thing you can never do often enough.Be quick. The easiest way to impress people is to send a thank-you note within 24 hours.  That said, if time has passed and you are afraid that its now too late to send do it anyway. Its better late than never.Be brief. The most effective thank you is heartfelt, direct, and honest three things that can easily be expressed in two lines. Thats all you need.

Next, the extras:

Its always nice to refer to the gift or gesture that motivated the thank you in the first place. If you aren’t sure [was it Aunt Bess who bought me the necklace or was it Cousin Jane?], make your thank you a bit more generic but send it anyway! Do not let that hold you back.Demonstrate how you have been using the gift or took advantage of the gesture.

I really love the beautiful tea set you sent. I’ve already invited my neighbors over for tea and received many compliments on it!

a few other examples:

I can’t thank you enough for the spa gift voucher. I used it for a manicure and a pedicure, and felt like a new woman.

Thank you for looking after Chloe and Fox yesterday, it meant more to me than you know! I was finally able to run the errands I’ve been putting off for weeks.

Thank you so much for looking after our precious puppy Fluffy while we were on holiday. You know how precious I am about her well-being, and knowing you were taking care of her made me relax and able to truly enjoy myself. I look forward to returning the favour.

Remember, that’s all you need. You don’t need to write anything else, or belabour the point. The key thing is to make writing a thank you note an automatic part of your day/week. The easiest way to do this is to keep a supply of beautiful notes on hand and within easy reach and keep some stamps with them to make it even easier.