Miss Mommy Manners

As his friends turned the big 1 or 2 this year, my son has attended a lot of birthday parties recently and according to my date book, there are more to come. Since my son is a toddler and does not attend day care or preschool, his friends are actually MY friends' children, as opposed to "just some kid in his class".

Having known and loved these kids since birth, I tend to go all out with their gifts. I go to the trouble of finding something that not only suits the kid's age, but also his or her unique personality and interests.

Whether it's a purse and girly accessories for the little lady that likes to play dress-up or the singing school bus for the little guy that likes cars and music, I put a great deal of effort in finding the right gift, wrapping it, and getting it (and my son) to the party on time and in one piece...

That may not sound like a lot of work, but TRUST ME, it is... particularly the getting my son to the party on time and making sure he hasn't opened the gift in the car before we arrive.

So, what's the deal with receiving a fill-in-the-blank thank you card?

This would be totally cute coming from a first grader who is just learning how to write- misspelled words, inverted letters, and all, but at one and two-years-old, the parents are obviously writing the thank you cards, not the child.

I realize that "it's more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts, 20:35) and I should expect nothing more in return than that child's happy face as he seizes that bow and tears that wrapping paper. I really do find great joy in finding just the right thing, otherwise I wouldn't even bother driving to ten different stores to find it.

I just think that if you're going to go through all the trouble of writing a thank you notes in the first place, you can take a few extra seconds to do it right.

After all, penning "Dear...Thank you for... I really like playing with it/It's so cool/I can't wait to wear it... Your friend,..." isn't that much more effort, but it goes much further in showing your and your child's appreciation. It's also better manners in my opinion.

As a society, we've become a LOT more casual. People wear pajamas and shower shoes to the grocery store, on airplanes, and at the movies. (I wear my sneaks and sweats, thankyouverymuch.) I can't remember the last time someone called me "Mrs. D", but don't you dare... and who hasn't been privy to a LOUD cell phone call or two in a public restrooms while the caller is going potty (Eww! Eww! Eww!)

I would just hate to see the art of writing thank you notes go the way of being eVited to a wedding.