Received a pre-printed generic thank you card

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine not writing a thank you for a gift! I would be so embarressed. Our son's birthday party was last month and he started opening the presents the minute we walked in the door (he's 2)-and we specifically stated no gifts but some people fee the need to bring a gift He unwrapped a gift before I had a pen and paper in my hand and I had no idea who gave it, since we had 6 presents to open and 50 people at the party.

If you strive for your children to grow up with manners, you have to set an example. Thank you notes is all about having manners.

You could have said No when he started opening gifts. When he starts opening them say "Not now". If he cries, ok, they will get over it. Move on. It's rare when kids open presents at a party anyway.

[Anonymous]

I would cut them some slack, too. They probably put a lot of thought into this prior to the arrival of the baby and figured this was the best way to ensure that everyone got thanked in a timely manner. Sounds like they may have their priorities aligned a little differently from those of us who figure a late, handwritten thank you note is probably better than an on time pre-printed one. In the day and age of e-cards, e-vites, mass-emails, and everything else that would have made even us balk in the 80's or early 90's, this isn't so bad, I would guess....

..something I heard recently that might apply to the sentiment up for debate here - "Perhaps we're a bunch of analog people living in a digital world?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this thread is just about dead, but I didn't see a post from anyone like me, who has some kind of emotional/psychological aversion to writing TY notes (and to many other things). It's not that i don't care or even that I don't want to write a thank you, it's that it just gets added to my list of things that are weighing me down. I wish I were perfect but I'm not, and this is one of the ways I'm not.

You are me. I will agonize over having to write a thank you note for two months. I hate this about myself. I also hate that other people keep score in this way. Truly cannot understand it.