When you scour the advice columnists such as Ask Amy or Miss Manners, it seems like one out of every ten questions is a frustrated query from an auntie or grandmother about why the young people in their lives won’t write thank you notes.

It seems to be a widespread problem, and where there’s a problem, there are solutions. If you have young adults in your life who do not express gratitude for the gifts you give them and the things you do for them, then maybe they need some tools. We’ve put together this brief guide to help you.

The Tools of Gratitude

The tools of gratitude are simple and easy to gather: 1. Give them their own stationery. 2. Model for them how to write a proper thank you note.

Giving stationery to member of Generation Z — those who are currently in their late teens or early twenties — may seem counterintuitive: They use their phones for everything right? Snapchat and Instagram and texting are their primary mode of communication. Even email seems hopelessly old-fashioned to the average 20-year-old.

We can all agree that a young person’s first instinct after a birthday party or receiving a beautiful gift in the mail is not to run to the store and buy a package of thank you notes.

So you can do this for them. Create a thank you note toolkit of sorts: a set of beautifully personalized thank you notes, a book of colorful stamps, a smooth-writing pen, and a print-out or digital file of the family addresses they can program into their phone.

Now that young person has the writing tools. We’re almost there…

Go a step further and model for them how to write a thank you note. The rhythm and structure is simple, as you know, being a regular thank you note writer, of course!

Here is collection of blogs we’ve written that explain how easy it is. They cover all the bases, ranging from writing thank you notes for birthdays, weddings, teachers and business occasions. You can send them that link, or you can sit with them in person or over the phone and go over the basics — salutation, name the gift, how you’ll use or enjoy it, hope for a future meeting, close.

Lack of Handwriting Skills?

One barrier you won’t be able to help them with is that many young people may not have learned to properly write in cursive. If they print the thank you note, or render it in a mixture of printing and cursive, who is to judge? Nothing’s perfect in this life, and if it’s the difference between sending a thank you note and not sending one, I’ll take the printed or badly scrawled thank you note any day of the week.

Stationery Choices for Young Adults

Let’s say this first: there is no right or wrong choices for personalized stationery. Some young adults are working in fields, such as the law or the corporate world, where a formal monogram or their name in plain block letters at the top of a folded note would be perfect.

Other young people might love that very same stationery simply for its classic feel. Still others might prefer stationery with a more youthful attitude.

Ultimately, the stationery you choose to give them depends on their personal taste.

You can also simply give them the link to the Gifts In 24 website and let them choose. Good luck and thank you for helping the world be a little kinder and gentler.

Back to school! Create lunchbox love notes with our personalized stationery. Shown here are two kinds of gift enclosures, Festive and Executive.

It’s back to school time. Pencils, crayons, scissors and text books top the school supply list. But don’t forget the organizational tools you need to keep your kids on track and your own peace of mind in place.

Here are some of our favorite products for back to school:

Highland Memo Square For the grade schooler, personalize this memo square with “A note from the mom of Zack Thompson.” Your child’s teacher will always be able to keep track of special requests, questions and special thank yous.

Highland List  For the high school or college student, personalize this list with his or her name. It will be easy to see the day’s or week’s tasks and home work.

Family Organize By Day Slab  puts the week’s sports schedule, playdates and dance recitals in a central place. The whole family can stay on track.

Highland Gift Enclosures  make perfect lunch box notes, for you to tuck in an encouraging word, a sentiment of love or a quick reminder mid-day.

Tweens (kids ages 9-12) are at a wonderful stage in life.

For the Tween girl or boy in your life, all the world’s a stage at this age. Tweens (roughly ages 9-12) are growing out of their stuffed animals, but not quite ready for The Hunger Games.

Kids this age still are drawn to the worlds of magic and imagination. They are developing their sense of self and self-esteem. As they explore who they are, they can be sensitive to how others perceive them. This is also the age when girls may turn away from sports or decide they don’t like math, due to peer pressure or other messages in the mainstream media.

Help the tween in your life be who he or she wants to be by encouraging him or her to follow their own star and not worry about what others think.

If you have a terrific tween in your life who is having a birthday or will make the transition to middle school this summer, we have some gifts for tweens that celebrate the young man or woman they are becoming. Check these out.

Great Gifts for Tweens

Sport Note  The perfect gift for an aspiring young athlete. Proclaim a love of sports with these fun, raised-ink illustrations. Five designs: crossed baseball bats, basketball, football, volleyball, and crossed hockey sticks. Offered in a choice of raised-ink colors, including fuchsia, navy and emerald, as well as 6 playful lettering styles.

Modern Dot Ensemble Stand out and get noticed with our dotted specialty ensemble. Choose white or ivory paper and their favorite raised-ink color.

Aviator Carnival Memo Square Reinvent your style with this colorful memo square. Add two lines at the top and the bottom for the ultimate customization in black ink. Colors come in Terra Green, Pulsar Pink and Lunar Blue.

Your children have opened their carefully wrapped presents. The evidence is everywhere . . . ribbons and bows are strewn across the floor. Crumpled tissue paper explodes out of boxes.

The merriment of the holiday is winding down to everyday life again. Now comes a teachable moment that will last your children a lifetime: thanking the generous friends and family in their lives.

Teaching children from a young age that it’s important to express their gratitude helps lay the groundwork for thoughtfulness and appreciation. Not only will they learn the importance of courtesy, they will be developing their communication skills as well.

Holiday Thank You Note How-Tos

Here are a few helpful hints to make the “chore” of writing holiday thank you notes both fun and rewarding:

• Set aside a specific time to sit down with your children and help them with their thank you notes to Grandma and Grandpa. Find a comfortable, well-lit place to relax and settle in. This helps them focus on the task at hand and avoid distractions. It’s no fun to have to nag or rush!

• Have the writing paper and envelopes, pens, markers, stickers and stamps ready and available. Kids will especially love being able to write thank yous on their very own stationery.

• If your child is still very young, you may need to be the designated writer; however, even young children can print their name or draw a picture to accompany the words you supply. Children will enjoy embellishing the note with their own stickers and drawings.

Children will love writing holiday thank you notes on their very own stationery!

• Be sincere. You want your kids to be authentic. Even if the gift wasn’t something they love, encourage them to thank the giver in genuine appreciation: “It must have taken you a long time to knit the sweater for me. Thank you!”

• Do it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the less enthusiastic your child will be and the easier it will be to let the good intentions evaporate.

• But do it later, too! Wouldn’t it be fun to make someone’s day by sending them a brief note, long after the holidays, reminding them of their gift and how it’s still being appreciated? “Remember that blue shirt you gave me for Christmas? Here’s a picture of me wearing it when we went to Disneyland.”

• Teach them how to fold the letter or card and tuck it into the envelope. Attach the stamp. Take a special trip to the post office to drop it into the slot. Children will enjoy personally sending their note off to its destination.

Finally, praise your child for their time and effort in writing a thank you. Explain to them how happy their note will make Grandpa or Aunt Ellen. In newspaper advice columns across the country, people are lamenting that they haven’t received thank you notes. But it doesn’t have to be a dying art. If you teach your children the joy of writing at an early age, they’ll continue it throughout their life . . . and it will help them maintain strong relationships that we all know are the key to happiness in life.

Create lunchbox love notes with our personalized stationery. Shown here are two kinds of gift enclosures, Festive and Executive.

You’ve made the sandwich, added an apple and filled up the water bottle. What’s left? How about tucking in a small token of your love: a lunchtime note from mom or dad. You can create lunchbox love notes easily and affordably at Giftsin24.com.

All grade schoolers, especially the kindergartners and first-graders  venturing to school for the first time, look forward to opening a lunch box and enjoying treats from home. And when there’s a little love note from mom or dad in there, well…it makes lunchtime even more fun!

Including a lunchtime note is a beautiful ritual that you can enjoy throughout the years. Include a small joke, a sweet message of encouragement, or reminders to “eat your veggies!”

Giftsin24.com offers all kinds of stationery you can personalize for this purpose, from notepads to gift enclosures to our line of children’s stationery. Try “Note from Daddy” or “Hello Honeybun” or other nickname, or “Lunchtime Love.” And remember, if you want more than 50 of the gift enclosures or children’s notes, you can order the second (or third) set at a discount.

Gift Enclosures

The Highland Gift Enclosure features a more casual script. Personalize it with a choice of 8 vivid ink colors.  Fifty envelopes come with the 25 enclosures.

Notepads & Memo Squares

The Aviator Memo Square  offers two lines to play with. The colored paper adds a happy touch to lunch time.

The Heart Square is another memo square that features a cute heart design and one line of personalization.

Personalize the front Gaiety Note with a few loving words to set a happy tone at lunchtime.

Youthful Notes

We have a wide variety of stationery featuring youthful lettering styles, such as our Sguiggle Note and Color Me Oversized Note. Your little ones will enjoy the happy letters that march along the front, and inside, you’ll have plenty of room to write.

Choose giftsin24 for colorful and fun Easter basket ideas. Our personalized gifts will delight and amuse everyone. But first…

Fun Easter facts:

• Easter is the second best-selling candy holiday in America, after Halloween.

• The largest Easter egg ever made was over 25 feet high and weighed over 8,000 pounds. It was built out of chocolate and marshmallow and supported by an internal steel frame.

•  Hares and rabbits have long been symbols of Easter. In Germany, people began incorporating these soft furry creatures in Easter customs. Over the centuries, they told tales of an “Easter hare” who laid eggs for children to find.

Easter Basket Gift Ideas

The traditions of Easter include colored eggs, lots of chocolate and candy, and of course, Easter baskets.  If you’re looking for fun and creative Easter basket ideas this year, take a look at Giftsin24. You’ll find colorful, useful and personalized gifts that go beyond the usual Peeps and jelly beans.

How about a set of personalized notes, cards or tablets?  Imagine their delight when they find this unexpected treasure, nestled in among the treats in their basket.   Personalized with their name, a gift of stationery makes a thoughtful and loving present for all the special people you want to remember on this holiday.

Children especially will enjoy writing notes to grandparents and friends on their very own stationery.  Browse our Youthful Gifts category for personalized gift ideas for that special boy or girl.  We have bright and colorful designs in notes, memos and tablets.

Remember your loved ones this Easter with personalized gifts. They will enjoy them long after the holiday is over.

Nighttime visits from the tooth fairy are a memorable family tradition. And when she tucks a short message under the pillow for that sweet little lost tooth, it’s even more exciting for children. Because children typically lose 20 baby teeth from the age of 6 through 13, there are lots of opportunities to write creative notes. Save these along with other childhood keepsakes. Attached to a picture of your child sporting an adorable, missing-tooth smile, these notes are perfect for scrapbooks, too.

The tooth fairy can be as creative as she wants to be. She also often can use beautifully printed stationery – in diminutive dimensions, of course. Here are some of our favorite messages:

Dear Susie: Thank you for the sweet tooth you left under your pillow last night. It’s perfect for my collection! From, the Tooth Fairy

Dear Juan: Thank you for the tooth–it’s so shiny and white! Keep on brushing.  Signed, the Tooth Fairy

Dear LaTisha: What a fine tooth you’ve left for me! Please take care of the next ones that grow in. After all, you’ll have them for the rest of your life! Kindly, the Tooth Fairy

Dear Lindsay:  I’m so sorry I’m late in picking up your tooth. It was a busy week, and I got tied up across the world in France, where there was an epidemic of lost teeth for some reason, I can’t figure out why. Please accept my apologies. It’s a terrific tooth and will go nicely with the others. From, the Tooth Fairy

Dear Marni: My, what a pretty little tooth you’ve left me! And this is the second one this month! You are keeping me busy! But it’s always a pleasure to visit you. Keep brushing! Signed, the Tooth Fairy

Tooth Fairy Stationery

Consider several giftsin24 stationery sets that can be customized with her name. Here are our top three ideas:

Highland Enclosure:  Tiny cards for a tiny fairy. Personalize them with “Tooth Fairy” and you’ve got the perfect card-and-envelope set sized just right for a fairy. And with 50 cards to a set, there are enough for two children.

Roman Name Gift Enclosure: The matching envelopes, included in this set of 50 cards, easily accomodate a coin or dollar bill, perhaps even some glitter. Simply personalize with “Tooth Fairy” and she’s good to go. Happy note-writing!

Dream Squares Refill:  A simple, inexpensive solution. The Tooth Fairy can add her name to these eye-catching star-themed memo sheets. Just roll them up with a ribbon and perhaps a coin taped to the center or a bill tucked inside.  With 300 pages, she won’t run out.

Looking for tween gifts? It’s especially difficult to find that special gift for a tween (9 – 12 years old). You want something that’s colorful and fun.  You want something she’ll enjoy sharing with her friends and something he won’t be embarrassed to use.  But you may also need some help choosing the right colors, and you don’t want it to break the bank.

Terrific Tween Gifts

Here are a few great ideas for $25.95 or less from Giftsin24 for all those special tweens on your gift list:

Caprice Notes make great tween gifts. They ship in 24 hours.

Anthony Memo Square with CrystalClear Holder – Our most popular memo square, organized in a holder, is perfect for a desktop or in their locker at school.
Caprice Note – A fun 4” x 5” foldover note with colorful personalization.  The envelopes are available with optional lining patterns and colors. Ideal for writing thank you notes or pass a note to a friend.
Billboard Desk Slab – A 6” x 6” tablet of 250 sheets in a choice of 8 personalization colors.  She can doodle, write notes and share messages with friends.
Family & Friends Tablets –8 tablets of 100 sheets. Each tablet can have a different name (perfect to share with his or her friends!) or a different creative message on each one
Sport Note – For the sports enthusiast!  Choose from 6 different sports motifs, 6 lettering styles, and 10 raised ink colors.  Your athlete will love these notes.

Browse our online selection of notes, cards, tablets and memos.  You’re sure to find the perfect gift at the perfect price.