I think I may be done. Hallelujah! I’m not talking about a 500 page thesis or month long work project. I’m talking about thank you notes for all my wedding gifts. That’s right. I got married in April, and it’s August. I have no idea why it was so hard and difficult for me to finish them. I never dreaded thank you notes like some people do. If someone has taken the time and used their own money to purchase me a gift, the LEAST they deserve is a heartfelt thank you.
I was moving quickly through my list, taking time for each one to be sincere. But once I was a month away from April 9th, it started getting a little hectic. Thank you notes were replaced by parties, showers and planning. Once I returned from our honeymoon in Mexico, the pile had substantially grown. I started on the long list again, but the numbers slowly started to dwindle. Then I ran into a problem when I lost a part of my list.
However, I eventually found it and found the time to finish. Yet, if you are reading this, and you didn’t receive a thank you note, just know that I either A) didn’t manage to write your gift down, B) you didn’t attach a card to your gift, or C) the note got lost in the mail!
Brides, here are some tips for writing thank you notes … (Trust me; we’re in the South, and here it’s etiquette. Making sure they get in the hands of each gift-giver is more important than you realize!)
- Keep your list in the same notebook.
- Don’t take one notebook to a shower and then take piece of party to the next party. I ended up misplacing a few pages that way.
- Another tip would be to keep the list right by the front door. Once gifts start arriving, it’s easy to quickly write them down.
- Try to write at least five notes a night. I tried to only write when I knew I would have several hours available. However, if I would have just done a few whenever I had a brief moment, I could have covered a lot more ground.
- Write meaningful notes no matter how many more you have to go! Seriously, even if someone bought you a $5 candle, they still made the effort to give a gift.
The gifts were fun to receive, but I am definitely glad that the thank you notes are wrapped up!
Tell us your Thank You note stories (or nightmares) below in the comment box!
Deborah Edwards, a recent newlywed bride from Little Rock, is an account executive for our sister publication Little Rock Family. She will chronicle the exciting days of settling into married life, buying a house, nesting in said house and all the in between. Read more about her adventures as a wifey on her personal blog, Edwards Newlywed Nest.