Thrift Score: Rediscovering Snail Mail

One of the best things I've found at thrift stores is unused stationary and note cards. TONS, as a matter of fact. I have found them unopened, in beautiful gift boxes. They are sold for pennies on the dollar, which makes them a fabulous deal. Have you priced thank you notes lately? Unless you come across a great deal at the dollar store, very nice quality note cards can be found for $10 for a box of 8. That same unopned box at Goodwill can run .50-$1.00. I've also found the boxes of everyday cards........you know, like your grandma used to send? MY grandma would stock up on the boxes that included birthday, anniversary, new baby......so she was always ready.

How much nicer the world would be if we revived snail mail. Email is wonderful, texts and phone calls are great, but nothing beats getting something in the mail. Something that isn't a bill!

When I was a kid, my mom made my brother and I write thank you notes. We HATED it. NOT writing them wasn't an option, so we bucked up. As I got older, it became apparent how grateful people were to receive those handwritten notes. We were not only required to thank the gift giver, but also put something newsworthy in the note. People would always tell my parents how much they appreciated receiving them.

So, when I had kids, I passed the thank you note gene along to them. Like their mother, Brendan and Claire would rather peel grapes than write an actual note, but they do it, because they know how important it is. Why? I've beaten it into their little brains. Haha, just kidding........a little.

We live in an ungrateful generation. We as a whole expect goodies, but do we deserve them? And when we receive them, do we thank the giver? Not as much as we should. We've actually had family members tell us they're not giving gifts anymore, because they never got a thank you from anyone but Brendan and Claire. How sad is that? Sad enough that MY kids miss out because others were never trained to say 'thanks.'

If you know me personally, or you're a long time reader of my blog, you should know by now I'm the first person to admit my faults and mistakes. There have been days when I expected a knock on the door from Child Protective Services. I ain't perfect and I never will be, and I don't hold myself up as a paragon of virtue.

We DO write thank you notes. They are an excellent way for kids to practice their writing skills. They nuture goodwill toward mankind.

And they're especially nice to find at thrift stores :)