I hope you are having a fabulous weekend! I've been a little bit MIA on the blog scene lately. As you may know, my hubby was in town for 10 days for spring break so we got to catch up for a bit. No sooner did I drop him off at the airport, two days later one of my best friends from Toronto, her hubby, 5 month old and 3.5 year old arrived and are staying with me for a week during part of their vacation. All of my regular daily schedule got put on the backburner for a while, but it's been fun to catch up with those I love.
I want to send out a big thank you to everyone who participated and gave me your feedback in the Classy and Fabulous survey that I posted last month. :) Your kind words have been much appreciated and your honest feedback will help me to further grow this blog into something that responds to the interests of my readers. If you are new or haven't had a chance to fill out the survey and want to be included, it's still open, will take you about 2 mins and all feedback is anonymous, you can fill it out HERE.
As I've mentioned before, a goal of mine was to start getting posts down to a shorter length. I know everyone is busy and we all read multiple blogs so while there will still be a few long ones here and there when I just can't seem to post it any other way, I'm going to transition to more bite sized posts whenever I can. With that said I've decided to start an Everyday Etiquette series. It will offer relevant advice and gentle reminders that you can use in your everyday life but unlike the Manners Monday series it will be posted more sporadically vs. on a particular day and they will feature one quick tip vs. several for a particular topic.
Without further ado, today's topic is about thanking guests that have been invited to an event that YOU are hosting.
When it comes to a formal event like a wedding, most don't think twice about sending out a thank you gift for a wedding gift that was received on their big day or simply for the guest's attendance, it is only customary. These days when it comes to more casual celebrations such as a surprise birthday, a graduation party or even a house warming party, hosts and hostesses usually verbally thank their guests for coming and celebrating with them but often do not bother to follow up with a thank you note.
Even if you have made the decision to host a surprise birthday party for someone at an expensive restaurant and will pick up the tab or have food catered into your home and feel as though that is more than enough to show your thanks to your guests, it is impolite to invite guests and not follow up with a thank you for them having joined you.
In the thank you note, be sure to let guests know how much you (if you hosted a party for yourself) or your guest of honor (if you hosted on their behalf) enjoyed the special day, the company of all of the guests that joined them as well as the special gift they may have provided. Add something funny that was said or pop a photo of your guest from the party into the card as a keepsake. It leaves a guest feeling appreciated and with this, your duties as the hostess come to a close.
Note: If you entertain very casually on a regular basis, sending cards out weekly would obviously be overkill, so a simple e-mail then would suffice.
At a time with so much technology, guests and friends love to receive something personalized, handwritten and thoughtful from those they've celebrated with. When was the last time you received a thank you card from a host/hostess?
Happy Weekend!
XOXO
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