So, let me start off by saying- I’m not an etiquette expert (…by any means!) but I do bring hostess gifts to parties and I am a stickler for a hand-written thank you cards. In a world where EVERYTHING is done and accomplished through a screen and a keyboard, I’m a firm believe that a good old-fashioned hand-written thank you card will NEVER go out of style!
I mentioned on my Instagram stories the other day that I always keep thank you cards and stationary on hand at the house. You never know when you may need to send a little “thanks” to someone. Listen, I know what you’re going to say- you can always drive to Target and pick some generic thank you cards up in a pinch, BUT there is something so nice about receiving a note on pretty personalized stationary, don’t you think?
Here are a few of my favorite picks for Thank You cards in kids, baby, women’s, men’s and family categories:
KIDS THANK YOU CARDS
I want my kids to learn the art of sending a thank you note, however- when my children are just learning to write, I like to keep it as simple (and tear free) as possible. Of course, I write thank you cards for my children until they are old enough to write themselves, but even in Ardyn’s case- even though she can’t write yet, I still make her “sign” her own name on the card. That being said, for younger children, I think the “fill-in” cards are adorable. I love the ones that also allow the child to color them in. I think it adds so much personality and really shows that an extra effort was made.
Kids Rainbow Font Fill-in Thank You
Rainbow Dot Fill-in TY with pic
BABY THANK YOU CARDS
Here’s my general rule for baby cards (and this is totally just a “me” thing)…I WANNA SEE A PICTURE OF THAT CUTE BABY’S FACE! Hah! But really, though. I always try to opt for a baby thank you card that has a place for a picture on it. For Max, I used a cute & simple picture from his newborn session, put it on a very simple, personalized thank you card, and I used that card all the way up until, well- last week, when I received a baptism gift from an Aunt. Of course, the trouble with those cards is that you obviously can only use them for about 6months to a year before the child way outgrows the photo. For Q&A, when they outgrow their personalized picture thank you cards, I give them the extras for their art center to play “mail” with. Great letter-writing practice! 😉
Needless to say- simple, beautiful, non-photo thank you cards are always a great option as well!
WOMEN’S THANK YOU CARDS
I’m just a sucker for pretty stationary and I like having cards that are personalized and “thank you” specific, on hand at all times. I only order them once a year (about 20 of them) and I love that when something comes up…ie an Instagram BFF sends me a fun surprise in the mail 😉 I have a card ready to send. Here are a few of my favorites:
Personalized Gold Foil Dots TY
MEN’S THANK YOU CARDS
So, I don’t have anything for this category mainly because of two things (And I’m just going from personal experience here): 1. Ahem, I’M the one writing alllllll thank you cards for any gifts that come through the house around here and 2. On the rare occasion Ryan needs to send a thank you note of his own- it is usually business-related and he will send it on company letterhead, OR if it’s personal- I still think he’d chose a simple masculine card with his name and or monogram embossed on it. I just can’t see him reaching for any sort of “thank you” card with polka dots and gold foil borders! Haha. I DO get him his own stationary (see below) just not “thank you” specific cards.
FAMILY THANK YOU CARDS
Going on what I said above, I feel like having a family thank you card on hand is a good idea because it covers all bases and yet, still feels personal. I like to keep our family card super simple. Again, I buy about 10-15 of my favorite design once a year and I rarely go through them all. These are great to give to party hosts, to give as thank yous for gifts after Christmas, for family/friends that hosted you on a trip, or for anytime you feel the need to say thank you to someone on behalf of your whole family! Again, simple stationary would do the trick here, but I do like having just a few “thank you” specific cards on hand!
STATIONARY FOR ALL
Ok, so now that Thank You cards are out of the way, I also LOVE to have really pretty, really simple letterhead stationary for each member of the family. Not a ton, just a small handful for the rare occasion when a written note is in order. I’m in love with Joy Creative Shop’s stuff. She also makes notebooks (you all know how much I love a notebook!), stickers, meal planners, gift tags, etc. And I just really like how clean, simple, and fun all of her stuff is! You have to go check her out for all of your family’s paper good needs!
EXTRAS
So I keep a few bins of “letter writing essentials” in my office. Here’s what I keep in them:
1. Pretty stamps. I know it’s dumb…like spending money on cute checks…but I can’t help it. A pretty stamp makes the whole package come together, you know what I mean? No? Ok, maybe I’m going a bit overboard here. Anyways, I buy cute stamps on amazon whenever I see ones that I love. THESE fern ones are my favorite!
2. Address stamper, I got one from Ink Me This on Etsy. Love their designs!
3. Cute washi tape to seal my envelopes with. HERE are some cute neutral ones that I love but I also really like supporting small Etsy shops like Pretty Tape (bonus points for her being local…anything to speed up shipping to my impatient online-shopping self!)
I find that writing a note or a thank you card isn’t such a huge ordeal when all of my supplies are in one place!
I also keep an address book file on my computer as well as a print-out in the top drawer of my office desk so that it’s always on hand. I use excel for my address book so that it can be easily uploaded onto sites like Minted or Tiny Prints during Christmas time or any other time I’m sending out a bunch of cards.
The last thing I do sometimes, is I keep THIS Polaroid camera on hand in a bin in my office. Sometimes when I’m writing a fun/personal note or thank you to someone we haven’t seen in a while (or just for fun) I’ll take a quick Polaroid of the kids and slip it in with the card. People really love it…because, let’s be honest, although they’re appropriate and necessary (in my opinion), thank you cards aren’t typically very fun to open. But, whether it’s with some super cute stationary, a prettily addressed envelope, or a fun picture inside, I figure, if I’m sending snail mail…better make it worth the hand cramp! 😉
Could you add a photo of your stationary set up please 🙂