Simple Tips on How to Structure a Handwritten Thank You Letter

Ever since I was a kid, it was instilled in me to send out thank you notes or letters if someone was generous enough to either give me a gift or to show appreciation for something they did for me. I know that we live in the Internet age where a simple text or email saying thank you can be sent, but it seems so impersonal. I always feel so appreciated when I receive a handwritten thank you note or card. The time that a person takes to write a personal message, no matter how short, means so much in the busy world we all live in.

If you are a small business owner, it's definitely important to send out thank you letters to your customers. After all, if they didn’t buy your products or services, you would not be in business. You really can’t afford not to!  As a customer, it's really neat receiving a handwritten note from someone's business I supported. It shows me how important I am to them as a customer, and oftentimes means that I will purchase from them again in the future.

Tips for writing a thank you letter: 

• Always address the person by their first name.  
• Be very specific why you are thanking them. If they gave you a gift, mention that specific gift, and possibly how you will use it or if you enjoyed it. 
• If you had a party or event, be sure to thank them for taking the time to attend and how much it meant to you having them there. 
• If someone made a purchase from you, tell them how much you hope they will enjoy that item, and maybe write a short tip that can help use the product if it applies. 
• If you need to write a lot of letters, it helps to type it up and check for grammar errors so that you have a handwritten thank you letter format to go back to time and time again. 
• You can’t ever say thank you enough, so don’t be afraid to end with “thanks again, you're the best!”

If you are short on time and can’t hand write dozens of letters, you can always use an online service like Handwrytten that can do the writing for you. The recipient will still feel special, and most likely won’t even know that you didn’t take the pen to paper yourself. Of course the message will be provided by you to keep things personalized. 

There are countless reasons you would need to send out thank you cards from birthday parties, graduations, weddings, holidays and more. Let’s not make this small, yet important gesture a lost art. Do you send out personal thank you letters or cards?

Shelly

Good manners make moms happy!

Some days William goes into overdrive when it comes to not listening to me, making a mess or being wild. Of course I take into consideration that his is only 3 and is also 122% boy. I let the little things slide with him... maybe it's that sweet smile or that special way that he says "pleeeeeease". One thing I will say that I get all day long from him are the words "thank you". He thanks me for everything... food, bathing him, taking him to the store, giving him his toy, brushing his teeth, getting him dressed... It doesn't matter how small it is, he thanks me. He even takes it the extra mile and requests a hug and kiss. This makes me feel so good to see that he is grateful for everything. It never gets old hearing him thank me and those sweet hugs and kisses are a bonus :)

Blueberry crumb cake {a must-try recipe}

I was trying so hard to come up with something yummy to bake for the girls' teachers as an end of the school year "thank you" gift. Since I have a dozen+ teachers to give a gift to I figured baking was the most economical choice. I found this recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. I followed the recipe exactly as she stated except I got confused and I think there was a typo about adding cinnamon in the cake part. I only put the cinnamon in the crumb topping and it was perfect. I think if I added it in the cake it would have been over-kill.
I actually made this cake for us to test out before I go nuts baking a ton of cakes that were not very good. I will separate the batter into individual mini pans for the teachers. I think they will love it. My family really enjoyed it and I really liked the fact that the only ingredients I had to purchase was the blueberries and butter. I had everything else in my pantry/fridge. I tell you what, that Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman certainly knows her stuff!

A teeny tiny thank you

I received the most adorable folded note cards the other day from Expressionery.com. They are from a new line of cards called Instant Gratitude Cards. They are really small and can be personalized on the front (blank inside) and come in a pack of 10 for $5.

You can use them for a variety of purposes. Some great ideas are: handing one to your favorite drive-thru worker saying thanks for always making my coffee just right~Maybe putting one in your child's agenda book for the teacher just to say thanks for all she/he does each day for your child~ Your grocery bagger would feel extra special getting one of these cards~ The possibilities are endless! I think I will use these for some surprise muffins I plan to make for my kids' teachers just as a random thing. You never need an occasion to make some one's day! Imagine the impact a tiny card can make on someone.

I received a 10 pack of cards for review purposes. All opinions are 100% mine as always.

Paperspring Review & Giveaway

**Contest Closed**
Winner #30 pennypincher

I wanted to show you guys the adorable greeting cards I ordered from Paperspring.com. Aren't they the cutest cards you ever saw?! I love them so much and they were so easy to personalize. I was even able to create a personal message to go on the inside of the cards. Paperspring offers all kinds of neat products like thank you cards, invitations, address labels, birth announcements and so much more including FREE shipping! I noticed that you can match up the thank you cards and address labels for a more sophisticated look. In the world of email and text it is very nice to still take the time to send and receive actual paper cards, don't you think?

Now through July 30th Paperspring is offering 20% off all invitations. I received some samples and they are beautiful!

Guess what? The wonderful folks at Paperspring has graciously offered for one Momfiles reader to win a $50 gift certificate to spend on their super cute products!

*Mandatory~To enter go check out the Paperspring site and tell us what you would buy if you won the prize.

*Want additional entries?

~You can Tweet this giveaway (once daily)

Example-- Win a $50 gift certificate for @paperspring products @momfiles http://blog.momfiles.com/2010/07/paperspring-review-giveaway.html #giveaway

~Share this giveaway on Facebook (once daily)
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This giveaway is open to US Residents only and will end on August 4, 2010 at 9:00 PM EST. Good luck to all and be sure to leave your email address in comments if you do not have a Blogger account.
Disclosure- I received a $50 gift certificate as well as some sample items for reviewing. All opinions are 100% my own.

600th post today!

I just submitted a post earlier and realized that this is my 600th post! I know that is a small number to some but it is HUGE to little old me! Thanks to everyone that takes the time to read my randomness and give great advice when I need it most. I have really gotten the hang of blogging and I am here to stay! Thanks also to all of my loyal followers. You guys rock!!!

A big thank you to YOU!

I know you are wondering why we are thanking you. It is because of all the feedback you have given us on our new look. Whether you commented through the blog, Twitter, Facebook or personal email it has been greatly appreciated. We really weren't sure what our readers might think since it is so bold and different from what it has been over the past couple years. However, it seems to be unanimous that everyone likes the new look and it is here to stay! Of course we couldn't have done it without two talented young mommies, Sheena from Mommydaddyblog for designing the logo and Jen from Keep it Classy, Jen for making our header. If you are looking to spruce up your blog then I would certainly recommend either of these awesome ladies! We are so happy with the look of the blog and it really is what we envisioned when we started Momfiles.

We wish you all a fantastic weekend!!!