My husband was chatting with a female coworker around the water cooler today about their weekends. This coworker had just held a birthday party for her child and the topic of goody bags came up. She said that she includes a thank you card in/tied around the goody bag offering thanks for attending the party and for the kind and thoughtful gift. We are having a party next month with my daughter's classmates/friends. Seems like the idea is worth considering...right? What do you think? Good idea or tacky?
Who needs Miss Manners when I have my Mamasource friends to fall back on! As a kid, I was expected to write thank you notes. It taught me a valuable life skill that many people have lost sight of. As a busy mom, the idea intrigued me because of the convenience factor but I guess, reinforcing the importance of a proper handwritten thank you should take priority. Drats!
Tacky, Tacky, Tacky. For me it's right up there with having people address their own envelopes for shower thank you's at the shower. The person took the time to pick out a gift and come to the party. I think the host/birthday child should take the time to thank them for the gift they brought and not just send home a generic thank you.
Honestly I'd think it was a bit tacky. I think personal thank yous are more kind and thoughtful. I don't know if I notice when I don't get one but I certainly appreciate it when I do.
After reading all of your reponses, obviously many people don't agree with the thank you note in the goody bag. But, I do. As long as you thank everyone at the party and maybe have the birthday child give a few hugs (if old enough)..you are covered. To me that means way more than getting a note in the mail. And lets face it, what do you do with the note after you read it?? A lot of people these days put WAY too much emphasis on thank you notes. And with everyone trying to make the world more GREEN...it would be better for the enviornment..no envelopes, no stamps! LOL!
Good Luck!!
Personally, I would not do that. My daughter just went to a party and her goody bag had a thank you note in it. I didn't really like that.
I always send personalized notes after the party. I keep them very short but personal. "Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me. I'm really looking forward to playing with the Chutes & Ladders game!" Then she writes her name. That's it. It may take me a week or two to do it, but I feel like we should acknowledge their presence and their presents!
And for people who send her money but don't come to the party, it's: "Thank you for thinking of me on my birthday..." GOod luck with the party!
HI
We followed a little different approach and everyone seemed to like it. WE did goddie bag for kids. And a Thnak you Card to an adult member with a little something in it (one per family). Each and everyone was thanked and appreciated.
Best of Luck!!
I understand what you mean, it would be easier to just handle it that way as writing thank you cards is time consuming but I feel teaching your child that it is important to thank others for a gift or doing something nice for them is important and becoming what it seems like a dying tradition.
I would think a pre-printed thank you would be acceptable if you had a type of party where children bring a wrapped gift for a local charity. I know of families who are doing this especially if the child has plenty of toys and things like that already.
I think it would be a nice gesture and important life lesson to teach your child to write a note of thanks if someone is bringing her a gift.. they even have those pre-printed cards that say.. thank you for coming to my party.. and thank you for:______________ and the child can fill it in. Or your child could color on a piece of card stock and the two of you can sit together and she could watch you write out the card if she can't write yet.. if anything, its a great literacy activity.
take care.
I think that's fine. Personally thank you cards are taking a life of their own these days and everyone is trying to outdo the other's thank you card. I am usually happy with a simple phone call or email even. Its the fact that the person remembers to thank you is what matters.
I would probably feel somewhat put off by it. Including the thank you with the goody bag seems too quick. I prefer a more personal thanks. After all, many people put a lot of time and thought into choosing just the right gift, and a well thought out thank you is the best way to show appreciation.
I think it's tackier to send a pre-printed thanks than no thanks at all and consider the thanks in person as the "thank you."
A pre-printed thanks says "you took the time to buy me a gift and I can't even be bothered to thank you personally."
A nice verbal thanks and a hug is worth much more!
I would send personal thank you cards after the party, maybe include a picture or a drawing by the child. It's also OK to skip it all together since the gift was given in person.
I think it's kind of tacky. When you write a thank you card, you mention the gift that was given, right? It makes it more personable, ya know? I would be a little offended if I received some generic thank you card at the time of the party. That's just my opinion.
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My kids aren't old enough to be involved in birthday parties yet, so I have no idea what the current "custom" on thank you notes is. According to traditional etiquette practice, a personal, verbal "thank you" is required to be given from the recipient to the gift-giver at the event. Written, follow-up thank you notes are not required in this case. But from the other posters, it sounds like people are sending written thanks anyway. When in Rome...!
The part of the note on the goody bag I find objectionable is the presumption that every attendee has brought a gift for your child to the party. I'm sure you would not turn away a child from attending the party if she did not bring a gift. But putting that note of thanks for the "thoughtful gift" continues to reinforce the necessity of a gift for attendance.
Finally, doesn't the goody bag itself serve as a "thank you" to the attendee for coming to the party? If you want to issue thanks for gifts, I vote for a hand-written thank you note sent after the fact.
