Collecting the presents at a party

• Have a table for the presents, with a box on for checks.
  
  
• Take away the presents early in the evening and place them in a locked room.
  
  
• It happens often that people lose gifts. At the end of your party, check all around and make sure that no gift was left behind.
  
  
• It is recommended to choose one person, a family member or a friend, that will be responsible for gathering the gifts and seeing that they are kept safely.

Opening the gifts

• Now that party is over, it is time to open the gifts. Isn't it fun?
  
  
• When you open the gifts, write down a list of what you got from whom. You will need the list to write the thank you notes.
  
  

Thank you notes

• The thank you notes are a wonderful way to express genuine gratitude to the guests who attended the party.
  
  
• Arrange a day to have all the thank you notes written.
  
  
• Where to get thank you notes? Check thank you notes at FineStationery.com. Anyway, these notes are to be found in any stationery shop.

• We like getting hand-written thank you notes. There is something sincere and happy about a hand-written thank you note.

• Make the thank you notes warm and personal. Say something about how special it was to have them share these happy moments together.
  
  
• For those who gave money gifts, mention in the notes what the money will be used for (college fees, a new laptop, books, etc).
  
  
• For those who gave gift certificates, mention in the notes what you plan to get from the shop.
  
  
• Writing thank you notes to out-of-towners? Talk about what it meant to you that they made the effort and traveled the distance.
  
  
• Close the note with something sweet like: "Hoping to see in my wedding!".

Guest with no gift, or gift with no guest!

• Missing a gift from one of the guests? Or maybe that guest simply did not intend to give a gift? Maybe you lost it? Or is it a gift that you don't who gave you? What to do? This is a tough one!
  
  
• First, check if gifts or envelopes were left behind at the party hall. It happens a lot!
  
  
• How long to wait? Should you ask the guest about it? Maybe they never intended to give a gift?
  
  
• Some people will bring you gifts later. Be patient and wait around 2-3 weeks to see if a gift comes. We remember gifts that came three months after the event!
  
  
• We have a friend, Bob, who always forgets the checks in his pocket! This happened to him 3 times! Then, at the morning after, he runs with his car to put the check in the mailbox of the family followed by an embarrassing phone call.
  
  
• We do not recommend calling the guest and asking about the missing gift...
  
  
• We think you should still send a thank you note even if there was no gift. Make a generic thank you note saying something like: "Thank you for helping me to celebrate my party" or "Thank you for participating in my party…" etc.