With all of the texting and emailing, written letters sent via the US
Postal Service have become a real novelty. However, it's still very
exciting to receive a piece of mail or a package. My old roommates and I used to play mail derby everyday- whoever received the most mail addressed to them got out of doing dishes that night.

It's important for our children to learn how to write and send letters. Handwriting itself is a dying art. Thank you notes are a great way to start. Older people especially appreciate receiving hand written thank you notes. Our house rule is that you can't cash the check or use the present until you have written a thank you note. It's just good manners.

It's easy to make it fun for kids...

Let them select some thank you notes of their own- maybe with their initial on them or a design that they like. If your child is just learning to write, let them dictate to you and then let them sign their name. I've even seen thank you notes for kids where you just fill in the blank (name of present).

Whatever the occasion, teach your kids to write a note of thanks. We'll appreciate having those special notes when they're all grown up!