Writing Thank you Cards With Kids
Whoever came up with the saying “Mom Life is the Best Life” forgot about the part where moms have to help their children write thank you notes. One of my least favorite parts of parenting, thank you note writing with Sam and Emma is a chore that requires a significant amount of patience that I do not often possess. It goes something like this: Mom, how you do you spell? Mom, is this right? Mom, can you read this? Mom, I cannot read your writing (because at this point I have resorted to using scratch paper). Mom, my hand hurts. Mom, I need an eraser. Mom, I made a mistake. Mom, I need a new card. Mom, I’m tired of this. Mom, Mom, Mom…And then when Mom cannot answer soon enough, “Alexa, how do you spell?” IT’S A LOT!
Learning social etiquette (visit here to know more about it), however, is important (but if we are being frank my kids’ table manners stink!), so we make having Sam & Emma write thank you notes a priority no matter how painful it may be. And this week is Teacher Appreciation Week (apparently still a thing even in quarantine), which makes this topic all the more relevant. Sam and Emma are writing thank you notes for their teachers and faculty. Here are some tips that I have found make the process a little more bearable (other than an extra-large glass of wine!):
Use free online printable thank you cards for kids. There are numerous free printable thank you cards online for kids. The ones I like best help speed up the process of writing thank you notes by preprinting the salutation, a phrase or two like “Thank you for” and “I really like it!”, and the signature. This way thank you notes becomes more of a fill-in-the-blank exercise than writing a complete message. Here are links to some of my favorite options:
I simply upload the thank you note card files to my computer and use FedEx Office Print & Ship Center from home to have the thank you notes printed on card stock (the UPS Store offers the same service). Both FedEx and the UPS Store are open during quarantine in Washington State and offer very quick turnaround times.
Here is a great option for Teacher Appreciation Week:
Buy Your Cards at Trader Joe’s. With the number of “oops” that occur in the process of writing thank you notes with kids, my go-to card hack is Trader Joe’s. At 99 cents per card (as opposed to $5.99 for the Hallmark Cards at Bartell Drugs), I do not have the same level of anxiety when there is the inevitable redo. In addition, Trader Joe’s cards have super-cute prints and messages. A win-win!
Have your Kids Draw Pictures. While in first grade, my kids writing skills have still not yet caught up to their drawing capabilities. So instead of having Sam and Emma write lengthy messages, I often have them draw pictures of the gift they are thanking the recipient for or include a simple drawing to make the thank you note special. Sam and Emma (and I believe the recipient!) enjoy the artwork way more than the writing and it’s a lot less stressful on this mom.
Complete Over Perfect. For all us Type A moms out there, I constantly remind myself during the child thank you note writing process that its more important that Sam and Emma complete their notes and are proud of their own final products than that the cards are perfect. Yes, this means the cards are going to have several crossed out spelling mistakes and arrows that lead to missing words buts that’s okay. If Sam or Emma exerted effort in the making of their thank you note, into the envelope it goes!
Make the Trip to the Mailbox Fun. Once Sam and Emma finish their thank you cards, they love the process of stuffing envelopes, licking them closed, and then adding return address stickers and stamps. We then take a fun walk (or race!) to the mailbox where they (COVID-19 aside) get to put their own thank you notes into the mail slot. Is there any better feeling than mailing your thank you notes once they are done?
Do you enjoy writing thank you notes with your kids as much as I do? Please let us know if you use any of the tips in this post to help with your child’s thank you notes. Do you have any recommendations that make thank you note writing with your children less chore-like and more fun?
