Monday: Weekly Family Activity–Write Your Thank You Notes Together!

Take the time this week to start (or continue) teaching your children the importance of hand written thank you notes.

1. Explain to your children the importance of handwritten thank you notes for presents they have received or special outings they have attended. When you give a warm thanks (handwritten with time and love) it makes the sender feel appreciated for all the work they put into sending a present or taking them on a special outing.
2. Depending on the age of your children, take the time to let writing thank you notes develop their writing skills. For my baby I feel it helps her motor skills to scribble with pencils. For my older daughter I can explain how to correctly start, finish and what to include in thank you notes. Teach them how to write a meaningful thank you note by including a couple of sentences with specifics of how they loved the color, feel, playtime, etc. of the gift.
3. Let them have fun! For my baby I let her personalize it by having her put on some chap-stick and giving the card a good kiss! For my older daughter I let her decorate it with drawings, stickers and stamps. Try not to make it to much of a chore by playing fun music in the background and writing along with them! Have your children pose for a fun picture with the gift to include in the letter. If you have a lot of thank you notes to complete, spread it over a few days so you do not overwhelm your kids.
4. Lead by example. Take the time to write thank you notes for the gifts YOU received at the same time, they will see that you practice what you preach!
5. Gratitude. This is sure to help your children understand true gratitude to others and for the time and effort they put into making your children have a great holiday.

Tags: family activity, thank you notes

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