Shower thank you police

[Deleted]

I had 2 showers last week (one at work and one at my MILs). I got a ridiculous number of gifts and a big individual one from work from a ton of people.

I have carpal tunnel and am trying to figure out how to do thank yous. Normally this is not an issue but I have limited time when I can use my hands during the day and I've only got a month to go.

Be honest - would it be tacky to send thank yous after the baby comes and we can do announcement + thank you for my ILs? About 20 people.

I wrote a sappy group email thank you for work and was planning on doing individual thank yous for individual gifts. Individual gifts are about another 10. No announcements so those have to go out in the next month. Do I need to do individual thank yous for the group gift? I think I might cry if I had to write that many.

[AlpineSlide]

Considering your CT, I would not do individual notes for the people that gave the group gift. Just send one to work and they'll pass it around. This is probably frowned upon but it's honestly what I would do.

You really should try to get the thank you notes out before the baby gets here. I wouldn't send an announcement/thank you combo. Is typing easier? Maybe type the thank yous and just sign them by hand? I know hand written is preferred, but I think it is better to get them out quickly.

[vmars]

For my work wedding shower they did a collection of $ and signed a card. When I got back from the honeymoon I made baked goods for the office and wrote a thank you card to put next to it. I sent out an email thanking everyone and telling them about the food in the kitchen. This is also the norm at my office too.

[sonrisa]

Does the father's hand work? Have him write them. It wasn't his shower but I'm guessing the gifts are for his kid. You can sign them with initials when you have the chance (or he can sign for you).

[Deleted]

Jul 30, 2013 17:16:35 GMT -5 sonrisa said:

Does the father's hand work? Have him write them. It wasn't his shower but I'm guessing the gifts are for his kid. You can sign them with initials when you have the chance (or he can sign for you).

thank god.  i was like "uh, whut."

you just sign them.

[winecheery]

Technically for a group gift each adult is entitled to their own thank you card, but I don't think it's in poor taste to write one nice card for your office. You could even make it cuter by buying one of those huge oversized greeting cards and say something dorky like "I needed a card this big to thank all of you". Well, I'd do that but I'm a huge nerd.

But if you are wondering about thank you's for your ILs, (if I'm reading your post right) you really need to find a way to do them in a timely fashion. Can you do them in batches? If you did 5 every other day, that's 20 done right there. I do mine in batches even, and I don't have CT. It's just overwhelming sometimes.

I keep a spreadsheet with who gave what, and there's a column for whether or not a card has been written for them, and then another column for the date I mailed the thank you, so I don't lose track.

I know when I give a gift I don't expect a thank you card. But I always, always remember the people who take the effort to do so, and for showers, where the entire event is essentially focused on buying me things, I'd feel pretty shitty if I didn't make the effort to thank people. Not trying to make you feel bad, just my thoughts!

[thejackpot]

Totally have your dh do them. I don't see that as a problem.

[VillainV]

If you wait until the baby is born, it probably won't happen. TY notes will be the last thing on your mind then.

Have your H help, or just do a few at a time. As for your office gift, I think I would just do one card, and name everyone who contributed :-)

[sonrisa]

Also, it isn't like the carpal tunnel is going to disappear the day you bring your baby home. Don't set yourself up for more pain down the road.

[halfpint]

I did a group thank you card for my work shower, and brought it in with a huge-ass plate of cookies. It went over well. I know technically you're supposed to individually thank everyone, but seriously - 20 people, wasn't sure who actually contributed to the gift, it was just WAY easier.

I wouldn't wait until announcements to do thank yous for the rest - just knock out a few a day, and/or have your H help. I had mine do some of the cards for his friends and family. I'm not sure when you're due, but a couple of weeks after the shower is generally the rule of thumb for getting those notes out, and I wouldn't want to try and do it while balancing a newborn. But I know myself - it would just straight up never happen if I did that, and then I'd feel like a terrible person.

[Velar Fricative]

Group thank-you notes are the norm in my workplace, so that is probably fine.

Have your H write the notes. The only time I received a TY note after the baby was born was when H's cousin had a baby - but her baby was born less than a week after her shower. She still managed to knock all the notes out after the baby arrived but I'm sure it wasn't easy.

[Deleted]

I'll ask DH to help- not sure why I didn't think of this option before. And of course - thanks for keeping me honest!!