Dec 29, 2023 — Cardies being Cardies, we would not be surprised if you have your Thank You notes for your holiday gifts already in the mail. Cardie Rosemary Guchone put it so well: “Thank you notes are so important! When I was a girl in the ’60s, the day after Christmas, my siblings and I sat around the dining room table writing thank you notes, not leaving the table until they were finished. I raised my son the same way. The tradition will be passed down to my grandchildren as well.”

Cardie Lynn Olden, too, “When I was a child, my mother taught me to send thank you notes for gifts as well as for sleepovers :) And I taught my own children that notes are a must. So many people think that if they text a ‘thank you,’ then that is enough, but Everyone appreciates being remembered in a note!”

Cardie Monica Visser agreed, “It was my mother who taught me. In this day and age of texts and emojis, nothing beats holding in your hand a card from someone you care about.”

Cardie Christine Napiorski, “I raised my three children to write Thank You notes within one week of receiving gifts but, today, it seems as if the “Thank You Note” has disappeared from society. Due to parents’ busy schedules, notes seem to have been replaced with text messages or (if lucky) a phone call saying thanks.” Christine added, “I gave a lovely box of note cards to my grown daughter when she was going through cancer treatments as she wanted to send notes thanking friends and family for all their thoughts and prayers. Praying the Thank You Note comes back!”

We asked a few Cardies what tips they would have for today’s parents on how to instill the importance — along with the pleasure! — that comes with writing Thank You notes.

“As soon as our kids were old enough to write,” shared Cardie Madeline Stockbridge, “we had a rule: They could play with the new gift … once the thank you note had been written. To this day, as grown adults, they have that habit,” she says proudly.

Cardie Candy Smith shared this sweet “tough love” story. “My mom taught me early about thank you notes. Before I could write, I drew pictures and Mom would add the note. As I got older, I wrote my own thank you notes the very next day after a gift was received. And when my husband and I married, I found that his two daughters were very good about writing thank yous because their mother had taught them. When the girls had grown and had children of their own, one daughter’s three sons did not write notes because his father did not deem it necessary.

“After some back and forth, we finally began receiving thank you notes from two of the sons. Having not received any thanks from the third son, my husband and I saw to it that he did not receive any more gifts from us. A real shock to his mother, we heard, ‘He’s just a kid!’ but we held our ground as that’s how important we believe it is that everyone be taught to feel and express gratitude from an early age. All is well now. We receive gracious thank yous from all three grandsons, and their wives, plus our six great-grandchildren. This is an old tradition, and definitely one to keep going!”

What to Say?!
Often a kid’s reluctance to write stems from not knowing exactly what to write! Rather than a generic “Thank you for the XYZ” — which can sometimes read like you don’t trust the giver to remember what they gave! — it might help to coach young writers to:

1) Express appreciation to the giver for really “seeing” you. For example, from our CEO Ana, I received a Christmas package containing two promising beach reads, along with a fancy beach towel, and a BIG, insulated margarita glass guaranteed to keep that beach beverage cold for hours. Instead of “Thank you for the books, towel, and glass,” I acknowledged Ana’s thoughtfulness with, “Wow, you’ve really set me up for a great Miami staycation! Thanks so much for the much-needed gift of R&R!”

2) Note something you love about the gift. Creative Coordinator Bianca gave me a great necklace of chunky turquoise bits and beads. I was able to say in a note to her, “You chose my favorite colors and stones! And the artful piece looks just like something your clever hands would create!” (Hmm, if I’d waited until today to write it, I’d have added that I’ve worn her gift practically every day this week!)

3) Share a good sense of the gift with the giver. From my tasteful neighbor friend Liza — who had recently visited our Retail Partner, Morikami Museum Store in Delray Beach, Florida — I received the beautiful book, “An Apothecary of Art to Soothe Your Soul.” It was a pleasure to thank her with, “Liza, I am loving your gift book … even the title is brilliant. The intro reads, ‘Wrap yourself in these pages, where no one needs anything or asks anything of you.’ Perfect! Thank you again.” Our graphic designer Brandon sent me big, beautiful boxes filled with fancy artisan chocolates. In my note, I was able to say, “You always choose the most gorgeous presents, B. Beyond the taste, it’s the colors, the patterns, the textures of these chocolates — thank you for this feast for the senses!”

I’ll leave it to wise Contributing Cardie Cardies being Cardies, we would not be surprised if you have your Thank You notes for your holiday gifts already in the mail. Cardie Rosemary Guchone put it so well … to wrap this story up in her always clever and eloquent way: “From time to time, we all need to be reminded to employ the beauty of a handwritten note … pen to paper, rather than fingers to keys. Happy New Year to all the Cardies! XXXOOO, Paige”

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative

Dec 29, 2023 — Cardies being Cardies, we would not be surprised if you have your Thank You notes for your holiday gifts already in the mail. Cardie Rosemary Guchone put it so well: “Thank you notes are so important! When I was a girl in the ’60s, the day after Christmas, my siblings and I sat around the dining room table writing thank you notes, not leaving the table until they were finished. I raised my son the same way. The tradition will be passed down to my grandchildren as well.”

Cardie Lynn Olden, too, “When I was a child, my mother taught me to send thank you notes for gifts as well as for sleepovers :) And I taught my own children that notes are a must. So many people think that if they text a ‘thank you,’ then that is enough, but Everyone appreciates being remembered in a note!”

Cardie Monica Visser agreed, “It was my mother who taught me. In this day and age of texts and emojis, nothing beats holding in your hand a card from someone you care about.”

Cardie Christine Napiorski, “I raised my three children to write Thank You notes within one week of receiving gifts but, today, it seems as if the “Thank You Note” has disappeared from society. Due to parents’ busy schedules, notes seem to have been replaced with text messages or (if lucky) a phone call saying thanks.” Christine added, “I gave a lovely box of note cards to my grown daughter when she was going through cancer treatments as she wanted to send notes thanking friends and family for all their thoughts and prayers. Praying the Thank You Note comes back!”

We asked a few Cardies what tips they would have for today’s parents on how to instill the importance — along with the pleasure! — that comes with writing Thank You notes.

“As soon as our kids were old enough to write,” shared Cardie Madeline Stockbridge, “we had a rule: They could play with the new gift … once the thank you note had been written. To this day, as grown adults, they have that habit,” she says proudly.

Cardie Candy Smith shared this sweet “tough love” story. “My mom taught me early about thank you notes. Before I could write, I drew pictures and Mom would add the note. As I got older, I wrote my own thank you notes the very next day after a gift was received. And when my husband and I married, I found that his two daughters were very good about writing thank yous because their mother had taught them. When the girls had grown and had children of their own, one daughter’s three sons did not write notes because his father did not deem it necessary.

“After some back and forth, we finally began receiving thank you notes from two of the sons. Having not received any thanks from the third son, my husband and I saw to it that he did not receive any more gifts from us. A real shock to his mother, we heard, ‘He’s just a kid!’ but we held our ground as that’s how important we believe it is that everyone be taught to feel and express gratitude from an early age. All is well now. We receive gracious thank yous from all three grandsons, and their wives, plus our six great-grandchildren. This is an old tradition, and definitely one to keep going!”

What to Say?!
Often a kid’s reluctance to write stems from not knowing exactly what to write! Rather than a generic “Thank you for the XYZ” — which can sometimes read like you don’t trust the giver to remember what they gave! — it might help to coach young writers to:

1) Express appreciation to the giver for really “seeing” you. For example, from our CEO Ana, I received a Christmas package containing two promising beach reads, along with a fancy beach towel, and a BIG, insulated margarita glass guaranteed to keep that beach beverage cold for hours. Instead of “Thank you for the books, towel, and glass,” I acknowledged Ana’s thoughtfulness with, “Wow, you’ve really set me up for a great Miami staycation! Thanks so much for the much-needed gift of R&R!”

2) Note something you love about the gift. Creative Coordinator Bianca gave me a great necklace of chunky turquoise bits and beads. I was able to say in a note to her, “You chose my favorite colors and stones! And the artful piece looks just like something your clever hands would create!” (Hmm, if I’d waited until today to write it, I’d have added that I’ve worn her gift practically every day this week!)

3) Share a good sense of the gift with the giver. From my tasteful neighbor friend Liza — who had recently visited our Retail Partner, Morikami Museum Store in Delray Beach, Florida — I received the beautiful book, “An Apothecary of Art to Soothe Your Soul.” It was a pleasure to thank her with, “Liza, I am loving your gift book … even the title is brilliant. The intro reads, ‘Wrap yourself in these pages, where no one needs anything or asks anything of you.’ Perfect! Thank you again.” Our graphic designer Brandon sent me big, beautiful boxes filled with fancy artisan chocolates. In my note, I was able to say, “You always choose the most gorgeous presents, B. Beyond the taste, it’s the colors, the patterns, the textures of these chocolates — thank you for this feast for the senses!”

I’ll leave it to wise Contributing Cardie Cardies being Cardies, we would not be surprised if you have your Thank You notes for your holiday gifts already in the mail. Cardie Rosemary Guchone put it so well … to wrap this story up in her always clever and eloquent way: “From time to time, we all need to be reminded to employ the beauty of a handwritten note … pen to paper, rather than fingers to keys. Happy New Year to all the Cardies! XXXOOO, Paige”

Jodee Stevens
Founder & Chief Creative