Letter Writers Alliance

Thank You Note Tips

Originally posted way back in 2007 by Kathy, this information remains perennial. 'Tis the time for writing thank you letters and notes. Although most of the thank yous you will be writing this time of year will be regarding a present, included other types of thank you letter formats as well so this can be a one-stop reference for you.

A thank you doesn't need to be long at all, in fact, brevity in this case is good. It should be sincere and express your appreciation without any ass-kissing. Obviously, saying anything rude or harsh will pretty much destroy your purpose for writing the letter.

Thank You format:
- State what the thank you is for
-Mention the appropriateness/how you are using it/how it has helped you
- Be pleasant and brief
- If appropriate, offer something in return

A great key to showing your gratitude in a thank you is to express how the object or info is being used.

Some examples:
The painting looks so wonderful in our living room
The gift certificate will be of great use in decorating my new apartment
I would have never heard of the exhibit otherwise
Your suggestion led to a fabulous job
The information is exactly what I need for my thesis

For those who love example letters, I found some from a book published in the 90s that you might find helpful, even though they are more focused to business (the ones with * are ones I made up):

Gift
John,
   You have that rare ability to select just the right gift. The puzzle you sent kept me up half the night - I'll get it yet.

Dear Mrs. Orland,
   Thank you for the wedding gift. I have the black ceramic vase on my mantel. It is always nice to receive an item unique to a certain part of the country. It has a history of its own, and we love it.

Visiting
Katie & Jason,
   We really enjoyed staying with you while we were in California last week. You two were more than accommodating to us and we really appreciate you rearranging your schedules to show us around town. Thanks for being delightful hosts, we would be more than happy to put you up next time you are in Chicago.

Information
Dr. Arronson,
   Thank you for your prompt reply to my inquiry regarding photographing a portion of your rare book collection. I would appreciate it if you will allow me to photograph the illustration plates from your Tom Finn book. Please let me know what times would be best for you.

Recommendation
Dear Ellis,
   Just a short thank-you for the recommendation you gave me. Your well-chosen words were a big boost in getting me the transfer I wanted.
   I sincerely appreciate your help.

Illness
Dear Fred,
  Thank you for the flowers you sent while I was in the hospital. It really helped brighten my days.
   I am now back to work on a half-day schedule, but will be working full-time next week. The operation went well and the recovery period gave me chance to relax. When you are in Los Angeles again, please stop by and we can share a couple hours over lunch.

- - -

I hope this info is somewhat helpful to you as you sit down to write those holiday thank you cards and when you sit down to write others in the future. If you weren't planning on writing any, I think you should reconsider. Getting a thank you card after bustling though the holiday shopping crowd is quite a nice treat.

With a bow on top,
Kathy

Information from: Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters, by Harold E. Meyer

Current favorite thank you card at Greer by Moglea

Holiday Card Etiquette

If you're looking to have your "i"s properly iced and your cards addressed to a "t", then A. Favorite has a nice blog post for you on the etiquette of holiday cards. I'm still working on mine; so it's still relevant for me, okay? And by relevant, I mean "interesting" because the ordering of names based on gender hierarchy is a bit last patriarchy to me. Imma do what I want. Typically, I put the name of the person I've known longer first. Or sometimes it's how it sounds or visually looks that determines that for me. I might not be proper, but I still sent you a card! If  you  want  to  correct  me,  feel  free  to  write  me  a   letter.

P.S. I love A. Favorite cards. All of them. 

Holiday Calligraphy

Lindsey at The Postman's Knock has tons of calligraphy tips, tricks, tools & tutorials. I love her seasonal offerings. Nearly every year she has a new holiday worksheet for sale and it is definitely worth your while. Her instructions are accessible to all levels, and she's always experimenting and sharing new things. She also kind enough to offer a sample holiday worksheet for free. What a perfect way to really fancy up those cards and letters! Plus, her whole website is a delight. Mail Art, anyone?

DIY Postage Downloads

With the gifting season looming, perhaps you all could benefit from this how-to and free printable resource over at The Graphics Fairy. You don't have to limit yourself to using them for mail art. I think a stamp looks good anywhere. Put 'em on your hat! Put 'em on your cat! But honestly, some of the most elegant gift wrapping looks can be achieved with a plain paper and a stamp or two. Give it a try! The post will show you just how easy it is to make your own beautiful postage stamps.

Mother's Day Mail Idea

Today is the mailing deadline for Mother's Day cards. According to statistics I saw on the internet which, therefore, must be true, 75% of people are sending their Mom a card on Mother's Day. (I guess they mean "Americans" when they say "people" because other countries have other days dedicated to their matriarchs.) 75% doesn't account for those who send their Mamas multiple cards. Check out this sweet idea from the Paper & Stitch blog for a multi-card Mom message. Even last minuters could pull this one off. I wonder though, would my Mom understand that there was a secret message to be had? Or would she just think "Yay, a bunch of cards with lovely, artful envelopes"? Regardless, I'm sure any Mom would love a mailbox full of cards. Happy Mother's Day to all the L.W.A. mom's out there. I don't know how you do it, but you do. Thank you.

Merry Mail at Maple Post

Still working on your holiday cards? Me too. Don't worry, the deadline for First Class mail to arrive by the 25th is December 20th. You've got time! (Plus, I ascribe to the Twelve Days of Christmas which doesn't even start til 12/25 and runs til 1/6; so anything that arrives in there is still on time. Reality is what you make it, friends.) If you find yourself running dry for inspiration, please enjoy the postings for the season over at Maple Post. Taylor's had a fine twelve days of her own and has shared them on the blog. My favorite is the one on hand carved rubber stamps. Bonus: you could totally make those into gifts, you know. The Merry Mail series is a great resource for every letter writer, as is basically, the entire Maple Post blog. Good luck with your mail everyone!

Getting Ready for Travel Writing

It's become a habit for me to carry with me my holiday cards to start them over Thanksgiving travel. I really like writing letters on airplanes and I find cards are a nice digestif after the big event. My typical letter sack carry for this trip is as follows:

Pens- I have a festive red one, but people have complained about trying to read red text. If I'm using a bright color, typically it'll only be for a short message. Otherwise, I stick to blacks, blue/blacks, and an ochre I really like. Since I travel on planes (and am not the biggest fan of fountain pens anyway) I don't bring fountain pens. You certainly can fly with fountain pens. The most prudent disassemble and empty their pens, but just throw it all in a plastic snack bag and you should be fine. 

Cards- I write a great big bunch of variously religious people; so I have a great big bunch of variously religious cards. More traditional ones go to the more traditional people. It's pretty simple. I do have some pen pals who emphatically DO NOT want holiday cards. I make sure to note that next to their entry in my address book.

Address Book- I take my address book because I send a holiday card to anyone in my address book who wants one. When I write the card, I make a mark next to the entry with an erasable stamp. The next time I get a letter or card from that person, the stamp gets erased. Come June, if the stamp is still there... well, I can only write so many cards. You gotta send 'em to get 'em, folks!

Erasable Stamp- As explained above.

Stationery- Sometimes a card doesn't have enough room, and so I make certain to have extra pages available. 

Letters to Return- If I don't double-up the card with a return letter, then I'm doing double the work. That seems silly to me.

You may have noticed that envelopes aren't on this list. That's for two reasons. If you put the card in the envelope and you don't immediately address that envelope, you run the risk of having to ruin that envelope to figure out where to send it. Also, to carry envelopes is to carry more paper. I think I've got enough. 

So this is only my Holiday Card Writing Travel Carry. I pick different things to take if I want to try for Mail Art Along The Way. While I can get away with card writing in mixed family company, the scissors and glue stick are less sociable. I don't try to mail art at Thanksgiving. But that doesn't mean you can't! Share your travel letter tips in the comments below, and have a wonderful holiday!

Halloween at the Postman's Knock

Lindsey of The Postman's Knock has a fantastic round-up of her Halloween projects from the previous years. There are nine paper and calligraphy ideas for your eerie enjoyment. It's got printables and how-tos. All treats here, folks, no tricks. 

P.S. And congratulations to her and her family on their recent special delivery. 

Fun Halloween Mailings

Since you're gonna have a mail art party, why not get ambitious and really push that envelope? Here's some Halloweeny things you can try to sending in the mail without a box for maximum mailing fun. Remember, as long as it's not "liquid, fragile, perishable, or hazardous" and it "does not contain lithium batteries or perfume" and it weighs under 13 ounces, you can send it via First Class Package rates. Pop it right into a blue collection box with the right stamps and a prayer to the gods of the post. 

Tiny pumpkins

Packaged Peeps

Small coffins

Plastic animals (and basically anything else that follows the rules I listed above)

Have A Mail Art Party

It's the most wonderful time of the year! The time of the year when I re-post and try to encourage everyone to throw a mail art party. And ain't no better mail art party than a Halloween mail art party. It is easy and fun. Simply set a date and time, invite some lovely people, gather supplies and set it all up and then had a blast. I understand that you might want a little more information than that; so I'll expound.

STEP ONE: Set a Date and Time. This is the hardest part. You should see my schedule. My schedule is bonkers. Instead of trying to coordinate with others, I just pick a day and time that is far enough in front of actually Halloween in order to send out my mail in a timely fashion. Alternatively, I've had good luck with Doodle and finding a date that works for everyone. Have everyone R.S.V.P. so you know how many pairs of scissors to put out, etc.

STEP TWO: Invite Lovely People. I invited friends, co-workers and pen pals and most of those people are two out of the three. My house was small and the three people who could make the time that was free on my schedule were just enough. Make sure there's room enough for people to cut things or maneuver large sheets of paper without constantly apologizing to each other. 

STEP THREE: Gather Supplies & Set Up. I decided to theme my party around Halloween. It is my most favorite of holidays and one of my favorite motifs. You could pick any theme- a color, an animal, a presidential election..., but it's easier if you pick something familiar. Halloween has a fair amount of craft supplies available for it, making it easy to amass a great number of supplies with very little effort. I went through my collection and pulled out anything spooky, anything weird, anything black, grey, silver, purple, or orange. I also picked up a pack of six glue sticks and three pairs of scissors at the trusty office supply store. From my basics I added ink pads, stencils, and blank labels.

For me, my kitchen was the best place to set up. I pulled in another table from my porch and put an artboard over the top of it so there was a smooth place to work. I put down a craft paper runner so that no one would have to worry about messing up my tables. (Not that they could have, but it's nice to feel free to get glue on things.) I put papers on one side and embellishments and rubber stamps on the other. Everything was going to get mixed up anyway, but it was nice to start out in an orderly manner.

BONUS STEP: Make Goodie Bags. What's a party without a goodie bag? I put together some of the best pieces of Halloween ephemera I had, plus a new Halloween card from Rifle Co., and gave them to my friends when they came in. I gave them out first instead of at the end because I wanted them to be able to use the supplies in the bag.

STEP FOUR: Have a Blast. Mail art is relaxing, fun and all together a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Plus, you end up with a pretty pile of envelopes that will encourage you to send more mail. Everybody wins!