Thank You Note Basics For Teens
Thank you notes are important because they make people feel recognized for something that they did. Whether it was working with you through an internship, hosting you for a weekend, or giving you a present, they deserve a letter. No one hates thank you notes. They actually set you apart and make you look very put together and polite (which we hope you are). We’ve written thank you notes to friends for everything, to boyfriends for hosting us on vacation, to families for having us for dinner or a weekend (send/bring a gift with you as necessary), to people we’ve enjoyed having lunch or happy hour with, and to those who we worked with during an internship or got us the internship. It’s your responsibility to send thank you notes when you feel like one is necessary. Or for fun!
How does one write a thank you note?
Address letter correctly inside and outside. Outside, a.k.a. the envelope should be their proper name: Our founder would be Ms. Hannah Patience. When we’re dating someone and write them a thank you note we say Mr. John Smith. When writing to someone who is old fashioned, address the wife as Mrs. John M. Smith. Know your audience. If the mother super very liberal consider addressing them Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Jane Smith, Or Jane Smith. If you’re writing to a whole family, write The Smith Family. Inside you may address them as whatever you would call them in person: a nickname, first name, or Mrs. Smith. If you’re writing to a family you can take a judgement call and write “Dear Smith Family,” or “Dear John, Susan, Jay, and Grace,” and write all their names inside.
Once you’ve written “Dear John,” inside go to the next line and write thank you for ______ (whatever it was they did for you or gave you).
Then, write something more personal. Something that you enjoyed about your weekend, liked in your internship, or an experience/quality you connected over. If you’re writing to a family write about an experience you thought was funny with Grace or an impressive conversation you had with Jay, their 5 year old son.
Address your desire to stay in touch and/or wish them well. Be genuine about this. If you don’t want to stay in touch, don’t say it. Instead, say that you hope they have a wonderful vacation or school season, whatever it may be.
Please handwrite in pen!!
Below are some examples of notes we have written.
This is an example of a letter our founder Hannah wrote to a company that she interned for. She addressed the letter to the owner of the company and the creative director that she worked closely with.
This is an example of a letter our founder Hannah wrote to friend she reconnected with over lunch. A few years previously he helped her, with suggestion from a mutual friend, via email during her college decision process. She reached out to grab lunch when they were in the same city. Over lunch he invited her to a party he was hosting in collaboration with a brand she really liked so she wrote him afterward because she a) enjoyed meeting with him and b) was appreciative of him inviting her to the party.
When it comes time to address the envelope..
Use the name you’ve selected for the outside and write it in the middle of the front of the envelope.
Underneath put the street address followed by the city, state, and zip code.
Place the postage stamp. It should go in the top right. You only need one unless you put something else in there. If you do, use two.
Then, put your return address. Your address! You can put it on the front in the top righthand corner, or in the back top of the envelope. It’s your call. Keep in mind how much space you have and don’t have on the front.
Drop it in the mailbox!
How the address should be written and stamp placement. It doesn’t need to be perfect! Write your return address on the upper righthand corner here or turn it around and right it in the center middle of the envelope.
Now go find some cute stationary, a pen, and one of these bad boyz…
