Common Courtesy

Christmas isn’t complete without a note of thanks

Here we are, a couple of days after Christmas. The holiday feast has been consumed, the dishes cleared away and hopefully washed. Family members in from afar have either headed home or are preparing to do. The after-Christmas sales have started and the stores are crowded.

But there is one task left to do. One that too many of us forget about these days.

Thank you notes.

It’s and old tradition and a thoughtful one. A handwritten note expressing gratitude for a holiday gift.

Thank you notes have been around as long as man has had the ability to put words on paper. And for generations they were an important part of our lives. We wrote thank you notes for any gift, after being hosted at dinners or parties, or for just about any conceive cable courtesy.

But times have changed. With the advent of email and, heaven help us, text messaging it seems fewer and fewer people bother to write letters or notes anymore.

Indeed, many young people have never written a thank you note. Wouldn’t even know how to go about it.

That’s too bad.

We live in a world where courtesy and civility are fast being lost. Where devices interact more often than people.

In our view, it’s time to bring back some of the old traditions, the old ways, the old courtesies.

And let’s start with thank you notes this Christmas.

It’s simple to do. A handwritten note, thanking those who thought enough of you to send a gift. Though enough to invite you to a party or celebration.

Then you put the note in an addressed envelope, affix a stamp and drop it in the mail. Not so hard, is it?

Thank you notes wet once a normal part of the Christmas holidays. It’s time we go back to the past to help ensure a kinder, more mannered future.