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It happened with every gift we sent our nieces and nephews so eventually I just stopped sending anything. Then my SIL complained to my MIL that we didn't get the kids a present. Although she had never acknowledged any of the gifts we did send:

I hate this. I sent a baby shower gift to a friend since I couldn't attend the shower. I sent it when she was 6 months pregnant and she didn't mention it until her LO was 4 months. Thankfully Amazon told me it was delivered.

Every time we send a gift to our nephew we either don't hear for 6-8 months or occasionally they never say anything. He is 3 so not on him, it's on DH's stepsister and her husband.

@Modern Daisy: Why is it crazy to write thank you notes on behalf of your kids? It seems like you're more likely to get out of the habit of doing it and never teach your kids to do it if you stop doing it yourself...

I agree that it's incredibly rude not to send a thank you! It's one of my biggest pet-peeves!

I generally don't receive gifts from anyone, but on the occasion where my son gets something, if i have the person's number, i usually send them a text with a photo of my son and the gift. I love to get those too, so I figure we're good.

My son likes to write letters now, he's got his whole art station set up with envelopes, stickers and paper and he regularly writes thank you notes and greetings. I think it's great because it's one less thing i have to do!

Two of my cousins and one of my friends never acknowledged the wedding gifts I sent. It was years ago and I still remember that, probably because they were expensive gifts. I wasn't at the weddings, so I didn't even get an in-person thank-you.

I don't expect everyone to be perfect--I sometimes don't get the Christmas thank-yous out until late January--but I think some sort of acknowledgement is in order, preferably by mail. I figure that I took the time to pick something out and mail it/bring it to you, two minutes to jot down "I love it!" and write an address on an envelope is not too much to ask. Everyone likes getting presents and everyone likes getting fun snail mail, so it's curious to me that people don't do it.

Once my son could hold a crayon and scribble (so, 2 and up), I started having him participate in preparing thank you cards.

I don't understand what people are writing in their thank you notes that makes them so time consuming. "Dear Aunt Matilda, Thank you so much for the books, Jeremy loves to read and we'll have lots of fun going through these together." "Dear Cousin Frank, Thank you so much for the engraved beer stein, when Jeremy is old enough to hold his head up he's going to really love having a personalized glass!" They take, like, three minutes each and that includes addressing the envelope.

I'm not fishing for a thank you but I would want acknowledgement so at least I know the gift got there!

I hate this. I want to know that the gift got there ok. It isn't that hard to send a text saying we got the package, thanks so much!

That being said, we got something in the mail for my LO's baptism and there was NO note who it is from. So I hate that I look like a jack ass cause I can't thank anyone.

I like to see an acknowledgement but understand that some people aren't good at acknowledging - with family I may send a text or ask them did you receive the gift just to make sure they got it. Then I have family that would give gifts all the time and I would write thank yous but I felt it got to be too much - we're family do I have to say thank you for everything all the time? It is hard keeping up with everything.

Yes, I think it's rude. If someone took a couple hours to research or shop for a gift, drive to the mall, find a parking spot and pick it up, I have a few minutes to write a note or make a phone call.

LO often gets gifts from her grandparents - we always call to say thank you. I will not call to say thank you to a simple card (empty with no money) for Easter, etc. If it's a birthday card, I will call so the sender can tell LO happy birthday (assuming they care to since they went to the trouble of sending a card).

I do think it's rude to not say thank you for gifts.

One more thing: if we open gifts in person, and I say thank you then, I usually will not send a thank you card.

@Modern Daisy: I agree with you.

My stance on gift-giving is that it is ENTIRELY a gift, and not expecting anything at all in return. (I recognize that this is a bit on the extreme side.) If the recipient *wants* to send a thank you note or an "I got it!" in whatever form, then he should. If he only does so out of obligation, then I'd rather he not do so, and I probably shouldn't have sent a gift.

When I receive a gift in the mail, I'd like to think that I usually acknowledge having received it. But when LO was first born, some thank yous definitely went under the radar, oops. When LO is old enough, I think I want to teach him that saying thank you is a joy and brings joy to others, not an obligation. If he sees that I'm seething that someone didn't say thank you when I sent a gift, I think it'll send my son the wrong message about why I like to say thank you.

I feel like this has turned in to two different topics. Sending an actual thank you card in the mail vs. letting someone know a gift arrived in any capacity. I really believe in writing thank you cards but I can generally give people a pass on them. But I can not imagine not letting someone know a gift arrived. If I spent money on something I want to know it at least made it to you.

@Adira: To me it seemed that some people really didn't think any acknowledgement was required. While others were more worried about an actual card. Who knows.

I'll continue to send cards for any gifts that I receive or that DD receives. We will continue to send gifts to those we care about even if they don't acknowledge them. I will just make sure to have tracking info for them to confirm it at least made it to their address.

I'm in the camp of, please acknowledge that gift was sent with a text. No actual thank you note is necessary. and I would think it's rude if you don't say anything.

@Mrs. Sketchbook: I'm not sure people just feel "compelled" to write thank you notes if they weren't taught to do so. Everyday we're teaching our children how to be polite. If we don't teach them to say "thank you", I wouldn't assume they would just be "compelled" to do it anyway.

@Adira: I'm just trying to say that our culture is so material that people take those things for granted and don't appreciate them. Material items are so easy to obtain. Especially toys, kids clothes, etc. Im not quibbling with the practice of thank you cards but simply that our over gifting culture has hardened us to caring about gifts the way previous generations might have. My parents were very into me being appreciative of gifts and this lead me to resent the obsession over gifting and politeness etc. My parents have always been really into showing affection with gifts and expecting particular treatment as a result of their generosity. As a result I am highly skeptical of gifts in general.

@looch: I feel like I see it in my kids all the time. For example, for my son's birthday he got three play fishing poles. Two from my mother and one from my SIL. I had to covertly put two in the attic within one hour of their leaving my house. Then off to Goodwill with them. It was frustrating having to explain to my older DS that we didn't need three.

I think this is a boundaries issue. Boundaries are where you begin and another person end. SO when we send a gift expecting something in return that's a boundary violation and not in the spirit of truly giving. Better only to gift when we are completely ok with getting nothing in return. If you get something back that's an added bonus. Getting resentful over not getting a card or call back is just allowing yourself to get worked up over something you don't have any control over anyway. If you don't get a card that's a sign that your gesture was not deeply appreciated and better to learn not to invest in that relationship via gifts anymore. Give to someone who needed it if you want the appreciation back. My grandmother was the type to buy me stuff and then expect me to wear it around her, etc. Really put a strain on our relationship that her primary love language was gifts and that she attached so much importance in how I enjoyed the gift she gave.

@alphagam84: haha that is really funny although I think I would be mortified.

I like receiving thank you notes, texts, emails, or thanks in person but I wouldn't stew over a missing thanks or acknowledgement. That being said, I most enjoy giving gifts to those that appreciate them and that feeling certainly modulates the frequency and size of certain gifts.

Another thoughtful critique of the thank you note:

http://jezebel.com/5530060/thank-you-notes-overthinking-being-thoughtful