You received a gift from a friend. You had an opportunity to catch up with a business leader in your professional network. Your neighbor stopped by your home to give you a bouquet of flowers she cut from her own backyard garden. When you want to acknowledge an act of kindness you’ve received from anyone in any way, a handwritten thank you card allows you to communicate your appreciation in a personal way. Learn more about when to send thank you cards and how to express your gratitude with thank you cards that will touch the hearts of your recipients.
Many of life’s personal occasions involve gift-giving in some form. When you receive a gift for any occasion, thank you card etiquette recommends acknowledging the person who gave it to you as promptly as you can. The following examples can help you determine when and how to write thank you notes for the gifts you’ve been given:
Acknowledging the gifts you receive on your birthday with a handwritten thank you card is something people of all ages can do. Even children, with the help of their parents, can craft a heartfelt message in a thank you card. It’s never too early to nurture the value of gratitude.
Whether it’s for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, or Father’s Day, any holiday in which you receive a gift from a family member or friend calls for sending a thank you card. When composing your thank you message, describe why you appreciate the gift and what the gift means to you.
Each year, we experience many of life’s special occasions celebrated in the company of our family and friends. Anniversaries, school graduations, the birth of a child, weddings, retirements, and more make up the events that give meaning to our lives. Gifts are often a part of these celebrations in some form.
While wrapped packages, bags, and balloons are what often come to mind when we think about these special events, the gifts of time and support are just as valuable as any object that anyone could get. While you should send a handwritten thank you note to express gratitude for any physical items you receive, also be sure to acknowledge the people you care about the most who took time to be with you for your special occasion with a card of appreciation.
Next to business cards, thank you cards are perhaps one of the most important resources a business professional can have. When you consider how important relationship building is to conducting business, you can appreciate just how much of an impact a thank you card can make. The following examples cover some professional occasions when knowing when to send thank you cards is essential to fostering positive business relationships:
You may be doing work for a new client or you may be renewing a contract with a longtime client. Both occasions call for sending a handwritten thank you card to acknowledge what this business relationship means to you.
In a thank-you card to a new client, state your appreciation for the opportunity to do business together, and express how excited you are to work with the client. If you’re renewing a contract, use the occasion to reaffirm the value you place on the relationship that you’ve built over the course of time you’ve done business together.
Your team has worked very hard to create a significant proposal for your company. Their hard work pays off when you land the business deal you’ve wanted. In addition to expressing your thanks verbally, take the time to write each member of your team a personalized thank you card that shares your appreciation for their efforts. A handwritten thank you card is something that no email can ever duplicate for its ability to communicate your sincerity and genuine gratitude for the work each person does to make your company successful; a similar sentiment can be felt when sending an employee birthday card.
You’ve just completed an interview for a job you really want. In addition to verbally thanking your interviewer for the courtesy of granting you the interview, plan to follow up your in-person, phone, or video interview with a handwritten thank you note. Taking the time to write and send a thank you card shows your interviewer that you are seriously interested in the job opportunity and that you care enough about the person to acknowledge the generosity of the interview time you were given.
When crafting your thank you note, “take the time to include a personal observation or two about the interview or the organization,” says Victor Lipman, founder, and principal of Howling Wolf Management Training, LLC. “It’s worth that small investment of time.”
A colleague gave you a positive word of encouragement when you were having a bad day at work. A friend was passing through your neighborhood and decided to drop by your home, say hello, and spend some time with you. A teacher gave your child some extra help with math homework after school. Occasions like these are perfect opportunities to acknowledge someone’s thoughtfulness with a handwritten thank you card.
Saying thank you with a handwritten note shows that you value the gifts that people give without them expecting anything in return. The gift of time, concern, and service to one another is the “just because” moments in our lives that can mean so much to us. A handwritten thank you card offers the ideal medium for capturing this sentiment and expressing it in a personal way.
Whether created for personal or professional purposes, a handwritten thank you card takes your expression of gratitude one step further by conveying your sentiments in written words that your recipients will treasure. Now that you know when to send thank you cards, you can cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your personal and professional life.
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