In Reply to: daughter just got engaged (lives out of state).. posted by need a gift idea. Thanks! nm on Sun, Apr 15 2012 at 03:51 PM CDT:
Wedding gifts should always be acknowledged with a hand written thank you note. (Well, I'll go with a typewritten note, but they must be perseonalized, not generic. By that I mean, the bride and/or groom actually sits at the computer and types out a personalized note, then prints it on nice paper or a nice note card.) To me, e-mail and phone calls don't really count.
I had that drilled into me as a teenager, and my mother drilled it into my kids, including the boys. My kids wrote and mailed thank you notes, but I didn't get ANY acknowledgement of a couple of wedding gifts at all, and for others, it was just a thank you on the spot when the gifts were opened at a shower or reception. These were for girls my kids age whom I honestly expected would write notes. I'd expected their mothers would have taught them that.
Sorry - off my soap box! This is a manners thing that I think should not have ever stopped.