A Lazy Girl's Guide to Writing the Perfect Thank You Note

"Hey, did you ever write those thank you notes?" your mother asks for the seventh time this week. You sheepishly (because yes, you do feel bad that you haven't) say that you haven't, but you will. My mother hasn't checked in on the status of my thank you note writing in a long time, but her "reminders" as she called them (nags, if you will) have stuck with me. I hear her voice as my conscience every time someone needs to be thanked. 

Personally, I find thank you notes very tricky. They either feel very insincere or inadequate. After a large party and lots of presents, it's easy to fall into a pattern of writing the same generic note to every present-giver. And when someone personally does something worthy of a thank you note, it often feels like my mere words are no match for what he or she has done for me.

Well here it is, ladies, the ultimate thank you note guide for the laziest and most considerate amongst us:

Step 1: Buy a pretty card. We recommend www.shoplegacy.com (but we might be biased)

Step 2: Start your card with an appropriate greeting. Options include:

• Dear Aunt Susan,

• Aunt Susan!

• Hi Aunt Susan,

Step 3: Start with an expression of gratitude or compliment towards the recipient 

Step 4: Specifically and explicitly thank them for what they've done. This is so important to make your message genuine 

This can get kind of tricky when someone has given you money, but I mean this. You describe exactly how you spent that fifty bucks on a lovely leather wallet that you've been lusting after for months. 

Step 5: Thank them again.

Yes again. You can never say thank you too many times. Phrase it a different way than you started. So if you started your letter with "I really truly appreciate the dinner plates you got me," end with "Again, thank you so much for your thoughtful gift." Or something along those lines. 

Step 6: End your card and sign your name

We're a big fan of XOXO, but "love" and "Can't wait to see you next week" followed by a comma and your John Hancock will do too.

You can do this in minutes. In sweatpants. In your bed. While watching Netflix. But, just do it. Thank you's go a long way (and generally lead to more presents and future kindness in our experience).