How it works
Every gift you add becomes a note to write. Its draft follows the shape the Emily Post Institute recommends for a thank-you note: thank them for the specific gift, then a line that's personal (how you'll use it, or for money what you'll put it toward, without the amount), then a closing thought. The personal line is left in brackets for you, because only you can write it. Change who you sign as, or write as "I" instead of "we", and every draft you haven't edited changes with it.
Each note has three ticks, because people work in batches: Written, Addressed and Sent. Ticking Sent ticks the other two and takes the note off the pile.
The timing lines are Emily Post's guidance, not rules: about three months for wedding gifts, a day or two for most others, no deadline after a funeral, and a late note is always better than none. Import a guest list by pasting names or a spreadsheet with a header row. Everything stays in this browser.
Questions people ask
- How long do you have to send wedding thank-you notes?
- Emily Post's guidance is within three months of receiving each gift, and it calls the idea of a year's grace period a myth. Zola gives similar advice: within two weeks for gifts that arrive before the wedding, three months for the rest. Emily Post also says a late note is always better than no note.
- What do you write in a thank-you note for money?
- Thank them for their generosity and say what you plan to do with it; Emily Post says mentioning the amount is optional. The draft this page writes for a gift of money does exactly that and leaves one line for you to fill in.
- Who gets a thank-you note after a funeral?
- Emily Post's guidance: anyone who sent a handwritten note, flowers, a Mass card or a donation, or did an act of kindness, plus pallbearers, eulogists and readers. Printed cards with no message and visits to the service don't need a written reply, and a family member or friend may write the notes for you.
- Do I need to send a note if I thanked them in person?
- For shower and wedding gifts, yes: Emily Post says to write even when you've said thank you in person. For other gifts opened in front of the giver, a thank-you in person is enough, though she notes that many older relatives expect a handwritten note.
- Where is my list kept?
- Only in this browser on this device; we never see it. Export a copy from Settings, as a file or a spreadsheet (CSV).
Sources
- Emily Post Institute: Wedding Thank-Yous
- Emily Post Institute: Ten Wedding Thank-You Note Dos and Don'ts
- Emily Post Institute: How to Write a Thank You Note
- Emily Post Institute: Sympathy Notes and Letters
- Emily Post Institute: Being Thankful: Thank-You Note FAQs
- Emily Post Institute: Baby Showers: Thank-You Notes
- Zola: When to Send Wedding Thank You Cards