After starting a family, I knew that I wanted our kids to be involved in both gift-giving as well as thank you note writing. I didn't want them to be just passive receivers of gifts and wanted them to enjoy bringing joy to the people who loved them enough to give them a gift. In terms of gift-giving, this means that we spend time using our handicraft skills to plan and make gifts for grandparents and sometimes siblings.
But I also help my kids write and send thank you notes for each gift they receive for Christmas and their birthday. Here is how I slowly build my kids toward an independent habit of thank you note writing without making it too hard even for my very writing resistant boys!
