Holiday Thank You Cards

What You Need:

• Notebook paper
• Pencil
• Blank "thank you" cards

What You Do:

1. Give your child the notebook paper and a pencil, and instruct your child to make a list of the gifts they received this holiday, along with who gave them each particular gift. It is helpful if they do this during or right after the holiday, so it is fresh in their mind!
2. Give your child a blank thank you card, and instruct them to start the note with a greeting. For example, your child can write, “Dear Grandma” at the top of the card.
3. After the initial greeting, instruct your child to directly thank the person they are addressing for the particular gift. Remind them that a specific item lets the person receiving the card know that they remember that gift specifically. For example, your child can write, “Thank you for the new board game!”
4. Guide your child in writing a short personal message, expressing why they like the item or what they hope to do with it. In the above example, your child can go on to say, “I enjoyed getting to see you at Christmas, and I can’t wait to play my new game with you.” If the gift was something to be used, like a movie pass, your child can let the giver know what they plan to do with it. For example, your child can write, “Thank you so much for the movie pass. I can’t wait to go see The Princess and the Frog with my mom.”
5. Help brainstorm ways your child can close the letter with them. For example, they can say, “Love, (name)” or “Hugs and Kisses, (name)."
6. After you have walked your child through writing their first thank you card, encourage them to write the next ones on their own. It may be a good idea to look them over before they put them in the mail.
7. Since writing a bunch of thank you cards all at once can be overwhelming for anyone, allow your child to write a few each day until they are all done. The thank you card will still be appreciated even if it isn’t received until a couple weeks after Christmas or Hanukkah.