How many kids write letters to Santa asking for the stuff they want for Christmas? We all know it’s a lot! But how many of those kids write thank you letters to Santa after Christmas? Probably not nearly enough.

You might be saying, “But what does it matter?” It matters because it is an opportunity to teach children a lesson in gratitude. Teach children how to write thank you letters for the gifts they receive and the kind acts done for them because it is a worthwhile task. Raising grateful children reaps dividends as they grow older. Gratitude positively affects attitude and behaviors for everyone!

Here are some tips to help you teach your children how to write thank you letters. It really doesn’t even matter if your children are pre-school age or teenagers. There are tips to help with every age:

• No matter how old your children are, explain that receiving thank you letters makes other people feel happy.
• Write the thank you letters as soon as possible, but skip out just because you think it might be too late. Later is better than not writing one at all!
• Spend a little time with your child talking about the gifts he received and why he feels thankful for them. Help your child translate those thoughts into his thank you letters.
• Keep fun, colorful craft supplies on hand for creating and writing thank you letters. This helps make it more fun so that your child will want to participate.
• If your child isn’t writing yet, allow them space to draw or scribble on the thank you letter before adding the words. Try to write down your child’s own words about the gift. This makes those thank you letters more special to the recipients.
• Let your child do as much as his age allows, including applying the stamps and dropping thank you letters into the mailbox.
• Allow older children to come to the store and pick out their own cards if it helps create interest in the project.
• Play music and drink hot cocoa while writing thank you letters to Santa to keep it fun!

Make writing thank you letters a regular part of your child’s upbringing. It’s worth the lessons in gratitude he will learn and apply for the rest of his life!

For more tips on thank you letters, see Emily Post.