As the holiday season comes to a close, now is the perfect time to engage your kids in the activity of writing thank-you notes. We’ve got six simple tips to help make it easy to say “thanks.”
T – Timing. Help your child to write the thank you notes as soon as possible after they receive a gift. Set aside some time on an afternoon before school starts again to write notes. Make it a fun activity, complete with snacks.
H – Handwritten. Although technology has given us many ways to say thanks, nothing beats a good, old-fashioned handwritten thank you note. Older children can write their own. Younger kids can draw pictures or dictate their message while you write.
A – Artistic. Pull out the crayons, glue and glitter and craft up a few of your own thank you notes instead of buying them. This will add to the enjoyment of the activity and allow your kids to make each note even more personal.
N – Now … and later. We already talked about timing – writing notes as soon as possible after a gift was received, but you might also want to consider having your kids write ANOTHER note at a later time. Include a picture of the gift in use with a quick note. Something like “Remember the umbrella you gave me for Christmas? It rained today and I finally got to use it! Here’s a picture for you to see.”
K – Kid’s voice. Use your child’s own words! Ask them questions about what they loved most about the gift and help them incorporate those thoughts into the note.
S – Short and Sweet. Thank you messages needn’t be long. Just a few sentences that express sincere gratitude mean the world to the gift giver.
