Press NewsEvents Wholesale Find a Store Shop Online Help Contact view cart viewcart Home
Tell a Friend:



Sunday, April 26, 2009

6 Tips My Son Taught Me for Helping Kids Write Thank You Note Cards

My son, Isaiah, recently celebrated his 9th birthday. Today he worked on his birthday gift thank you note cards. He was very bossy (yet cute) about the whole process. First of all, he wanted to use note cards he designed. (I need to write an entire new post about that process. :D ) He designed a cute little snail thank you note card. I wrote a script for him to use for each card. He promptly ripped it up and told me "I know what to write." Most of them were well written and cute: "Thank you for the Target Gift Card. Target is the best store ever!" For another one, "Thank you for the race car. I love it! I have about 100 of them at my house."

There were a few in which he was a little bit too honest. "Thank you for the.... I did not really like it." I made him rewrite that one. In another he pointed out the gift's shortcoming: "I really like the horse even though it does not stand up straight." In a third he shamelessly lobbied for a party invitation: "Thank you for the....Make sure you invite me to your party."

Overall the experience was very positive. He even taught me a thing or 2 about how to help kids write thank you note cards.

1. Explain to your child the reason for writing thank you note cards: to let people know that their gifts are appreciated. So, no Isaiah, you will not tell people that you dislike their gifts!

2. Encourage your child to write the thank you notes as soon as possible. Isaiah wrote his note cards a few days after the party when the excitement of the event was still fresh in his mind.

3. Write a special note to each recipient. Lesson from Isaiah to Mommy: "'form' thank you note cards are not the way to go! Therefore, I rejected the 'script' you wrote to use in each note card."

4. Let your child pick out the thank you note cards. Isaiah was much more enthusiastic about using the note cards of his choice—and they were acceptable to Mommy as well!

5. If your child is old enough, let him or her take control of the process. You may be surprised as to how creative and heartfelt the result is. In the words of Isaiah, “I know what I am doing!” This may be a little difficult because you do not want your child to mess up too many cards. So check in on your child every now and then to make sure things are going well.

6. Let your child take breaks during the process. If your child has several thank you note cards to write, allow him or her to write the note cards in sessions- 2-3 at a time. Isaiah’s enthusiasm quickly diminished after the first 3 note cards. So we stopped and he finished later on in the day.

The most important result of Isaiah's taking control over the process was that all of the sudden writing the thank you note cards became a fun activity and not a necessary chore.

Stacey M Design offers a variety of note cards for every occasion and age group, including for baby gifts, fill-in thank you note cards for kids and grown up note cards.

Labels: , , ,

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like this article, Stacey. It reminds me that Mike still hasn't written his thank you cards yet. I'll try some of your suggestions when we do them. Thanks! :^) Betty

Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 10:14:00 PM CDT  
Anonymous Doll Barnes said...

Way to go, Stacey, teaching your son the importance of thank you cards. I love receiving them and I'm always a bit disappointed when I don't. And the ones that children write are especially heartfelt and welcomed.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 7:52:00 AM CDT  
Blogger groovyinclinations said...

You are a great mom, Stacey! This is adorable!

Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 8:44:00 AM CDT  
Blogger Patti Gibbons said...

I was in Barnes and Noble once, buying cards for various people (yes, even tho I make them, I still love to buy them!) There was a young girl with her mother buying an end of the year card for her teacher. The little girl said "this one mama!" It was a card that said something to the effect "to the most wonderful teacher who has done so much for me" The mother put it back saying, "no, not this one, she hasn't done THAT much for you". The little girl looked rather sad. As a teacher, I kept my mouth shut because though I am fairly composed and mellow, I had the potential to rip her a new one, but I certainly gave her the evil glare. Your article made me remember this moment. Perhaps I should have told her how I am a mother, social worker, teacher, mentor, give everything I have even when I have horrid things going on in my life or are sick. But I decided that it would have been a waste of my energy, and I walked away....

Nice article Stacey! It made me smile....and was so grounded and heartfelt.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 10:39:00 AM CDT  
Blogger StaceyMDesign said...

Hi Patti:
Thanks for posting a comment. I loved it! I do think that sometimes it is really hard as a parent not to impose your will on your child. Of course, a parent's judgement is sometimes appropriate, but there are many times, especially as the child gets older, when he or she really can make some decisions. I do not always let Isaiah do what he wants to do, but I try to never be dismissive about his opinion. And since he is a budding artist, I try to give him freedom to create the way he wants to.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 3:02:00 PM CDT  
Blogger StaceyMDesign said...

Hi Doll:
I too love receiving thank you note cards in the mail. Frankly, I love receiving any written correspondence in the mail (except bills!). I can't remember the last time anyone sent me a personal letter. I love receiving birthday cards, Christmas cards, mother's day cards, etc. I agree with you that notes from kids tend to be the sweetest and the most heartfelt.

Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 3:04:00 PM CDT  

Post a Comment

<< Home





fundraising customer praise press news and events stacey's story wholesale find a store gifts favors other occassions christmas party wedding babies and kids stationery notepads Greeting Cards