Thank You Notes

Some "chit-chat" about Thank You notes:

According to etiquette, whenever you receive a gift, you should send a written thank you note...at any age. It's not about you, but about letting the gift giver feel valued and appreciated.  After all, they didn't HAVE to give you a gift. Our society is drifting away from such niceties, substituting phone calls and emails - or just not sending any thank you at all. There is nothing, however, that says you truly appreciate the thought and kindness behind the gift you've received than a heartfelt, handwritten thank you note.

Here's when you send a note:  In your personal life: when someone has given you a gift, done you a favor or shown you special kindness. It also acknowledges you received the gift.  In business: when you have been interviewed (even if you don't know whether you got the job) or been given a gift. Further, if someone has made a referral to your business, given you the name of a valuable contact or talked highly of you to a superior or prospective employer it is always an elegant touch to write a short note.

Exceptions: If the person gave you the gift in person and you thanked them personally. However, it is important to know that the over-60 generation still generally expects a written thank you.

Much is made of the timing of a thank-you note, but really, it is quite simple: The sooner the better. But if you've procrastinated, it is never too late. A late note is worlds better than no note. According to Leslie Harpold, "Thank-you-note writing is one of the loveliest traditions to have been utterly compromised by the information age."  In this age of e-cards, texts and voicemail, a thank-you note is a grace note that will build your reputation as a thoughtful, elegant person.

Experts say not to underestimate the power of a "thank you." Kim Izzo, etiquette columnist, says, "It's making the effort. People really appreciate getting mail that's not a bill, for one thing, and just taking that extra bit of time to write a thank you note really means everything."

Harriette Cole, syndicated columnist: It also depends on whom you're sending it to. If you have a person who lives on the Internet, you can get a thank you card that that is animated and dances and does all kinds of fabulous things. If that person would love to get an e-mail thank you, that's the person you send it to. Your momma doesn't want that. She wants appreciation and handwritten notes!

E. Jean Carroll, Elle magazine advice columnist: We send thank you notes because we want to be loved and admired. And if you want to be loved and admired, you send it on stationery so thick it's like ice cream and you write it by hand—it's just elegant and it's fun to get it!

If you receive flowers for your birthday, is that a note or a card?
Harriette: I write a note. And describe them! If they were beautiful, they smelled good—you tell them! Describe what you felt like!

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Newby Realty provides sales of new and used manufactured (mobile) homes throughout Florida in Bradenton, Clearwater, Debary, Edgewater, Ellenton, Fort Pierce, Hudson, Lakeland, N. Fort Myers, New Smyrna Beach, Ocala, Palmetto, Port Charlotte, Port Richey, Sarasota, Winter Springs, Zephyrhills.