The Art of the Thank-You Note

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! Now that we’ve made it through the Christmas rush, there’s a really important final step to this gift-giving season, and that is writing thank-you notes. I feel like thank-you notes are viewed as somewhat antiquated among millennials, but they’re so, so important. If I had one thing drilled into my head throughout my childhood, it’s how valuable writing a thank-you note for a gift is.

Through the years of regularly cranking out thank-you notes for birthdays, Christmases, and everything in between (as well as during multiple internships), I’ve gotten it down to a bit of a science. If you’ve ever wanted to write a thank-you note that’s a step above the rest, here’s my guide to making that happen.

 

Step 1: Pick up some cute note cards

So this isn’t really a necessity to writing a good thank-you note, but good aesthetics always help. There’s just something about picking up a new set of cards that make writing thank-you notes that much more entertaining. While you should never judge a book by its cover, we all do it anyways. A thank-you note on a pretty card just looks more thoughtful than a thank-you note on a sheet of paper.

 

Step 2: Don’t start with “thank you”

This is actually a skill I picked up from an internship – when you start a thank you note with “thank you for…”, it’s awfully hard to come up with anything to follow it with. Instead, start with “I just want to say how much I appreciate…” or “I am so incredibly grateful for…” Those phrases lead into the rest of the note much more naturally, and you won’t find yourself saying “thank you” over and over again.

 

Step 3: Get into some details

Talk about the gift (or, if it’s not a thank-you for a gift, talk about whatever else it is you’re expressing gratitude for). I like to give some sort of little detail, talking about how the gift filled some sort of need or, in the case of a gift card, saying how I‘m planning to use that money. It’s a nice personal touch that really shows how much the gift means to you. Otherwise, your note might sound a lot like one of my favorite Vines: “It’s an avocado… thankssss.”

 

Step 4: Get personal

Sign off your note with something a bit more personal. Talk about how much you’re looking forward to seeing them next month, how much fun you had with them on holiday, or something else that made you think of them. It’s a unique way to end a note that gets into the root cause of why you’re writing the note: you’re grateful for not only the gift itself but for the relationship you have with them.

 

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to sit down and get to work on some thank-you notes!

xo, Taylor