How long can kids use the pre-printed TY notes for Christmas?

[hopefulfaith]

My kids are 6 and 5.  For the past few years, I've had them at least draw a picture for a thank you note for Christmas/birthday gifts.  It is important to me that they express some sort of gratitude for the thing that he's received, and we talk about how much Aunt/Grandma/Nana enjoyed choosing it for him, etc.

My daughter (preschool) generally draws pictures, but my son is older (first grade), and he can write THANK YOU FOR THE NICE TRUCK.  I LIKE IT VERY MUCH. and such, but it has become this long, tortuous process and I was thinking about ordering/making some pre-printed thank you notes from a catalog that read "Dear ______, Thank you so much for the ________.  It is awesome!  Love,  __________"

What would you think if you received this from a 6 or 5 year old?

Are they old enough to suck it up and write the note, or can I get by another year or two with fill-in-the-blank thank you notes?

Be honest.  :)

[Shaki]

I think the fill in the blank notes are fine. My DD has received a few, and they are fine.

I guess I'd rather get a handwritten "thank you for the gift" (doesn't even have to say what the gift was) or "Thanks for coming to my party"...but that's just subjective and DD doesn't care at all she's just excited to get mail.

Last year for DD's b-day thank yous she drew a picture and we scanned it into the computer and printed cards with the picture being the front. Then she dictated her thank you message to me and she signed it. This took a really loooooong time. We didn't have baby #2 or parents in health crises then...now we do.... I'll be all about the quick thank yous for her next bday!

:)

[hopefulfaith]

Thanks!

[tbone_kneegrabber]

I would assume that even if all they did was draw and picture and maybe sign their names and you did all the writing it would be well received.

[BroodyWoodsgal]

I can totally see how it would get super tedious for an "early writer" to write a ton of notes!! I don't blame him for not wanting to!

To be honest, though, I'd rather receive a nice picture signed by him and a note you wrote than a fill in the blank. A fill in the blank card would kind of be tossed around here, I think....but a nice picture, I would keep. Any time anyone draws a picture I keep it!

Maybe you could make a card, that he designed on the front to say something like "Thank you (next line) Your gift was awesome!" in his own writing...and then you could take that to kinkos or something and make color copies (depending upon how many you have to make, it could end up being cheaper than buying the fill in the blank cards) and then he could make a drawing on the inside of each of them. Maybe a picture of himself playing with the toy train he got...or a picture of his awesome bow and arrow...or whatever. I would love that!

GL....it's so great that you are insisting that thank yous be sent. But I agree that tedious thank you sending could lead to him really disliking it all together! I think making it a fun thing with him, asking him for his ideas, etc might help him be more excited and maybe would foster a better sense of how much fun it can be to send a note of appreciation. My mother took an approach very much like that, letting us get really wild in the things we sent to say thank you, and to this day, I love to make elaborate pictures and little poems on the insides of thank you cards and I always have a blast making creative decorations on the envelope, too. In fact, I love written correspondence of all kinds and I attribute this to my mother always making it so fun to send things in the mail.

[swd12422]

WSS!

[colsxjack]

I don't like the fill in the blank cards.

I would just get him to dicate to me and I would write the note, then have him sign the cards. The people receiving the note will know it is coming from our son and appreciate the card.

[hopefulfaith]

Thanks for the input!  I have sort of a "gentle mandate" that these are done, but I don't want to be all draconian and make my kids hate their lives while they're forced to sit at the kitchen table and write line after line .... I don't want to give the wrong impression, here.  :)

I like the idea of making them a little more fun/personal - when my son was just learning to write, he wrote THANK YOU on a card, which I did take to the printer's to make color copies of, and I subsequently wrote the TY notes to everyone on the back of them -- I like the idea of doing that with him this year, and leaving space for him to write or draw a picture, his choice.

I appreciate the responses!

[JudiAU]

I'd prefer either the hand written note (perhaps given to some but not all gift givers) or a note partially written by a parent but in the child's voice (i.e. copy what they say) and partially written by the kid, i.e. signature or a picture. At 4, DS can copy words etc. but he'd rather do a little doodle.

A pre-printed note seems awfully cold and formulaic but at least it is a thank you note.

[zebra15]

Well  30 years later I remember being 7 and my mother making me write TY's and the drama around them.  The erasers, the insistence  on being neat, correct spelling etc.  So I say the pre-printed ones are fine, there is no reason you DS can't draw on the back or on the envelope.  My 11 yr old has horrible writing and sometimes we just type a note and stick that in a card, or we print photos or *gasp* send an email.

This year I was considering sending New  years cards and having DS write a short TY in those or doing post cards since DS is totally into those as well.

[Super~Single~Mama]

I say have them draw a picture and you write a little note.  I wouldn't do copies either.  Just one note a day until they're all done, which makes it not as tedious.  You could even make it a chart on the fridge, and use stickers to "check off" each person they have done a note for.

[BroodyWoodsgal]

Originally Posted by Super~Single~Mama 

I say have them draw a picture and you write a little note.  I wouldn't do copies either.  Just one note a day until they're all done, which makes it not as tedious.  You could even make it a chart on the fridge, and use stickers to "check off" each person they have done a note for.

One note a day is a FANTASTIC idea!

[hopefulfaith]

We do one note a day, which is such a great way to do it - so much more manageable! - as well as a lot more thought/discussion going into the notes.

I really do appreciate all of the thoughts here.  Thank you!!