Which is more appropriate?

amother

Floralwhite

Thu, Aug 18 2016, 11:53 pm

Ds just had bar mitzvah, and received some very generous gifts.

But, ds struggles with handwriting, and for other reasons, having him write thank you cards would be a HUGE deal.

Is it bad etiquette or poor form if I write them myself? Or do you think it makes no difference?

penguin

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 12:08 am

Can you print out a generic thank you (either at home or your local print shop) and have DS sign his own name? That way people will see his handwriting and perhaps realize it was hard for him.

Though I'm sure everyone has an elderly aunt who would be insulted, and may even let you know about it! But I personally don't think you should make a child suffer for something just because some people may not like it.

debsey

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 12:11 am

I agree with rowo - type and sign by hand (but make sure to personalize each one, don't make it a generic "thank you for contributing to my simcha)

"Dear Aunt Beatrice, Thank you for the beautiful personalized pen. I'm sure I'll use it in my studies." "Dear Uncle Benny, thank you for your generous gift. I will use it as I grow up....etc"
print annd have him sign in his own handwriting.

amother

Floralwhite

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 12:20 am

Thanks everyone for the responses!

debsey wrote:

So Debsey how do you think it should work with the stationary? Plain white printer paper doesn't seem quite right ?
Or cut out the typed letters and paste them into the stationary??

seeker

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 12:27 am

Another vote for let him type something personal and print them separately. You can get cards that will go through a printer.

ra_mom

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 12:28 am

amother wrote:

Thanks everyone for the responses!

So Debsey how do you think it should work with the stationary? Plain white printer paper doesn't seem quite right ?
Or cut out the typed letters and paste them into the stationary??

Either purchase cards that can be placed into the printer. Or format a word document set for cards so that you can fold it into a proper card.

Iymnok

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 5:34 am

Go to an office supply store and have him choose some paper. You can print two on a page that get folded in half, or four/page that are just cards. There are many nice templates available.

amother

Periwinkle

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 7:00 am

I had this problem. After my bat mitzvah, my mother finally relented and let me type the thank you cards. I typed something personal to each person (also a generic thank you, and then something specific about their gift in particular) - this is exactly like if I had hand-written them, the only difference is that it was typed. I don't remember whether I signed them all by hand, but I suspect I did. We printed them on nice personalized stationary paper that I actually received as a bat mitzvah gift.

You should just know, not a single person complained about receiving a typed card. Plus, a typed card was better in any case, because I had I hand-written them, not a single person would have been able to decipher my handwriting enough to read them Smile

penguin

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 2:59 pm

You can buy a thank you card in staples, or buy cardstock and cut in half then fold again.

You would need to format your printer for custom size of whatever the card is.

I once wanted to type a note on a card, I had to play around a bit with trial and error til I could get it to print in just the right place, but if you're patient it can be done and look really nice.

You can even use a 'handwriting font' if you want.

greenfire

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 3:05 pm

if you don't want to do a generic note ... have him type them ... computers take note cards - all you have to do is set them up

another vote for sign with pen himself

debsey

Fri, Aug 19 2016, 5:59 pm

amother wrote:

Beautiful cardstock paper and a nice font. You can get all sorts of pretty cardstock paper at Staples. There's even a thank -you card size set so you can have a few on one page and then you separate carefully at the perforations.

amother

Floralwhite

Sun, Aug 21 2016, 12:47 am

Cardstock!

I guess I didn't think of that because here I had already ordered stationary, together with the invitations, for the thank you cards.

But this sounds like it may be the best idea.

Thank you fine ladies!