Writing Thank You Notes After the Funeral...

Writing thank you notes after the funeral of a loved one can be a hard task to tackle.  Mentally and emotionally it may feel almost impossible for most of us.  You can always consider enlisting the help of family members or close friends.  You can even divide the list of thank you’s to share the weight so that no one person has to do it all.

It is best to send thank you notes to those who: 

• sent sympathy flowers to the house or funeral service 
• made donations in honor of the deceased 
• brought food in to the family at home or for the after funeral dinner 
• gave a gift of any kind 
• and anyone else that helped out the family during this time of bereavement

The content of a thank you note does not have to be long and wordy. No one is going to be judging your grammar. It can be short and sweet and consist of just three to four short sentences, you might want to include:

• a greeting–something simple and straight forward 
• an acknowledgement–recognize the specific gift or thoughtful action they have given you 
• a personal tidbit– something that fits the relationship that you have with that person 
• a word of thanks/appreciation– (this one needs no explanation) 
• a closing– how personal your closing is depends on the bond that you share with this person

The main thing is to let them know you are thankful, it does not need to be fancy or elaborate. Just be yourself. You can never go wrong being honest and sincere.