Social Etiquette Article
Have Fun Filling out All of Those Thank You Cards!
The bridal shower can be a lot of fun for the bride that is until it comes time to do the thank you cards! You will probably end up wondering why in the world anyone would have ever invented the tradition of thank you cards by the time you get done. The realty of it is that there is really no written rule that says you have to send out thank you cards, but it is something that is really expected, and that bridal shower guests appreciate. Many brides make the mistake of waiting until after their wedding to do the thank you cards, but they really should be sent as soon as possible after the shower is over. If you wait too long, it looks as though you are only doing them because it is expected, rather than be genuinely appreciative of the gift you received. It is possible to take some of the monotony out of writing your thank you notes, so that it isnt such a droll time.
To make the job of doing thank you cards easier, ask the hostess of your bridal shower to have two envelopes made for each guest when she does the invitations, and that way you wont have to spend a lot of time addressing envelopes. All you will then have to do is write a little thank you notes to each guest, and then send it out in the already pre-printed envelope. If you would rather not put anymore work on your hostess, then you take over the invitations yourself, so that you can make certain this gets done. If you dont want to go this route at all, you could get a copy of the guest list, and create mailing labels using your word processing program on your computer, so that all you have to do is print them out and affix them to the envelopes. This is also a good way to add that extra personal touch, as you can decorate the labels as you wish, using clipart, colorful fonts, etc. It seems like a lot of trouble, but you will likely find that addressing the envelopes for your thank you cards will take up more of your time than actually filling out the cards, by using some of the above tips; you can make the process go by much faster.
If you have good basic computer skills, you could even use your computer to design ad print out your own original thank you notes. You could even go so far as to type in your special message while you create the cards, and then all you would have to do is sign them, and stick them in the envelopes. Signing them, rather than typing your name, will make them seem more personal, and make it seem that you put more time and effort into producing them than you actually did. You could even email your thank you notes as well, but keep in mind; this isnt really the best option, as it takes that personal touch away from it.
If you have many guests coming to your shower, it may be better for you to use a general-style note, where each says the exact same thing, so that you only have to add your signature at the bottom. This way, you dont have to try to keep up with what guest gave what gift, which would be extremely difficult with many guests in attendance.
With these little shortcuts, doing your thank you cards may not be such as hassle after all!
