I'm sorry for the delay!

We all know the holiday season is a very busy time of the year. Can you believe it already passed and we are in 2009? Sometimes, we feel we are so involved with all the parties, office parties, cooking, baking, wrapping gifts, decorating, opening gifts, entertaining, taking pictures and reading holiday cards, that days go by and the holiday entertainment and atmosphere do not seem to cease!

Then, we realize the difficult thruth: We forgot to THANK people for their caring gift they gave us and our family in the month of December. Well, you know you thanked them verbally, but you really wanted to send out a nice Thank You Note expressing your gratitude.

Now, you find yourself already in January! What should you do?

The best thing to do is to be creative!

• Make a very small compilation of your favorite Holiday pictures on which your kids, your loved one, your pets or the beautiful natural scenery is displayed.
• Use these pictures to create a fun Thank You card where you not only thank the person for their gift(s), but where you also wish them all the best for the new year!
• You may use colorful paper to crate your cards or a fun computer software can help you as well. Even a simple word processing program can create nice cards!
• You may want to add a small note on your card simply apologizing for the delay

There is a "social rule" that asks for Thank Yous to be given no later than 48h. You can call or send a card. I understand we sometimes have the best of intentions, but are unable to stay withing these 48h. While this short time span demonstrates a strong commitment from your part, don't feel bad if you are unable to stay within it.

Think about how you can learn from this experience as well. How did it make you feel when you wanted to send out the Thank You cards but didn't do so "in time? Then, how did it make you feel to end out personalized cards with holiday pictures and a handwritten note?

Think about using your weekly/daily goal strategy to your advantage before the holiday season comes again. Choose a day around those December days that you will dedicate to writing your cards. To increase your efficiency, you may even want to think about pre-addressing the envelopes sometime during a quiet day of the year, or choosing which card will go to what family/friend, and save time by doing so!

E is for Thank You Etiquette.

E is for Efficiency.