You are seven months pregnant and your best friend has given you a special, thoughtful, creative baby shower. As you sit and admire all of the wonderful gifts you received, you suddenly realize that you have 29 baby shower gift thank you notes to write. As you rub your tired feet and breathe through another Braxton Hicks contraction, you wonder if you have the energy to write that many thank you notes for your baby shower.

While it still might take some time, here are some helpful hints to make this note writing process a bit easier. If the baby shower is not a surprise, you can plan ahead. Find some cute thank you cards or note cards before the event. Many cute options are online or you can find a nice variety at your local card store. Ask the hostess for a list of the guests and address the envelopes before the baby shower. If you are feeling creative, you can write a short poem to include in each thank you note. Remember, while most people like clever poems, you still need to write a personal note to each guest after the party.

At the baby shower, make sure that the hostess or another friend keeps track of the gifts you receive. When the time arrives to write the thank you notes, you will have a detailed list of the presents which will make it easier to write the notes. Remember, the most important part of a thank you note is to make it personal. I remember getting a thank you note once and all it said was “Thank you for the thoughtful gift.” I wasn’t even sure if they knew what I gave them! We all love when someone takes the time to write a personal line or two about the gift we spent time and money trying to find. Even if the gift is not your favorite, you can still be personal and still show gratitude. One example might be, “Thank you so much for coming to my shower. It was so great to see you and I really appreciated that you took the time to be a part of the celebration. Thank you so much for the _____________________. I know it will be useful when the baby arrives. I love the colors that you chose. Thank you again. I hope that we can get together after the baby arrives and catch up.”

Be sure to write a thoughtful note to your hostess as well. She spent a lot of time preparing a special day for you and the least you can do is write her a kind, personal note. You might even want to get her a little gift to go along with the note.

Don’t worry about writing two page notes or finding the most adorable card on the market. What really matters when writing a baby shower gift thank you note is that you take the time to write a personal note to the friend who took the time to share a special gift with you at the shower.