How to Write a Thank You Note - Tips & Template
Let's learn how to write beautiful thank you notes!

Whenever thereโs a birthday, an anniversary, or any sort of occasion, my mother comes to me with her phone and asks me to write a message for her friends.
Iโm happy to do so, but I wonder why she wouldnโt write it herself. When asked, she says, โI donโt know what to write.โ
As someone whoโs written letters for years, it perplexes me. But then, I realize that not everyone naturally feels confident expressing themselves through words.
When I recommend journaling to a friend of mine, she also says the same thing - I donโt know what to write, and Iโm not sure if what Iโm writing is correct or not.
Writing meaningful thank you notes falls into this category, and shines in it. Itโs so confusing and daunting when weโre expressing gratitude to another person.
So, let me guide you today. As someone whoโs written hundreds of thank you cards for people in the Gratitude app, and written letters to her friends, family, and even herself, Iโm going to provide you with a template that you can follow whenever you share your thankfulness.
Here it goes:
How to write a thank you note
- Part 1: Greeting
- Part 2: Intention
- Part 3: Reason
- Part 4: Hope
- Part 5: Sign Off
(Or, GIRHS, if I'm trying to sound clever ๐)
Letโs start with two examples of thank-you notes and analyze them in their parts.
The first one is for someone that youโre very close with and share a loving relationship with, so the feelings are quite vulnerable and whole.
"Sweet Alex,
I want to take this moment to tell you how grateful I am for you. Ever since youโve come into my life, everything has become more beautiful.
Your innocence, wisdom, trust, and boundless love is the greatest gift of my life. I have the best days with you.
I lovingly look forward to being with you in all the days to come. I wish you the greatest happiness in life.
May you always be as peaceful, healthy, joyous, and perfect as you are.
Eternal love,
Aarushi"
The second example is for someone that you are friends with, a coworker, or a relative. People that you genuinely like and admire.
"Dear Mugdha,
Today Iโm writing this to share my gratitude with you. It was quite a lucky chance to meet you and Iโm grateful that I did.
Iโve had immense fun and laughter with you, and Iโve also learned a lot. I feel happy to know you as you inspire me greatly with the work you do every day, so dedicatedly.
I hope you see all of your dreams come to life, sooner than you imagine. Hope to meet you soon!
Best,
Aarushi"
Letโs analyze them now :)
Part 1: Greeting
โSweet Alex,โ / โDear Mugdha,โ
Itโs super basic but important. Start with a greeting. You can customize it depending on the relationship that you share with the person.
For super close relationships, you can use:
- My dearest Rashi
- Lovely Elyza
- Sweet and lovely Mommy
- Hey funny man aka Papa
Thereโs quite a lot of freedom here. You can mention a particular characteristic about them too.
For example, my dear friend has amazingly crooked teeth that I adore, so I write - My Crooked-Teethed Queen. Itโs so much fun!
With other relationships, you can use the regulars like, โHey Aarushi!โ, or โDear Robynโ
Read more: Meaningful Ways to Say "I Appreciate You" - It's Meaning and Why
Part 2: Intention
โI want to take this moment to tell you how grateful I am for you.โ/โToday Iโm writing this to share my gratitude with you.โ
This part is one that I really like to use as I think it gives more weight to the note and makes the other person feel special.
Starting with intention means stating what this note is for, and why you are writing it.
You can even be quite specific here, like I sometimes write where I am, for example, โAs I sit in my bedroom where weโve had so many long talks, I want to thank you.โ
Part 3: Reason
โEver since youโve come into my life, everything has become more beautiful.
Your innocence, wisdom, trust, and boundless love is the greatest gift of my life. I have the best days with you."
/ โIt was quite a lucky chance to meet you and Iโm grateful that I did. Iโve had immense fun and laughter with you, and Iโve also learned a lot.
I feel happy to know you as you inspire me greatly with the work you do every day, so dedicatedly.โ
Here is where you can go long and in detail.
Tell them why youโre grateful for them, the experiences youโve had, how you feel about them, and about the things theyโve done.
Really get into the nitty gritty of why this thank you note exists, why you felt the desire to write a gratitude letter to them.
Part 4: Hope
โI wish you the greatest happiness in life. May you always be as peaceful, healthy, joyous, and perfect as you are.โ / โI hope you see all of your dreams come to life, sooner than you imagine. Hope to meet you soon!โ
This is the part where we start to wrap up. Here you can write about what you hope for this person and your relationship.
Send them blessings and well wishes. Mention the things that you know are important to them in their life. Write about good hopes for the future.
Part 5: Sign Off
โEternal love, Aarushiโ / โBest, Aarushiโ
This is the part where you close.
And, much like Greetings, you can customize it for close relationships. You can also write the name that that person calls or your relationship with them.
Here are some examples:
- Your best friend, Aarushi
- Only a call away, Jagriti
- Your cheerleader, Kriti
- The one who always picks up, Shrey
- Immense love & gratitude, Abhishek
- Everlasting love, รurea
And, for other relationships in your life, you can use these:
- With gratitude, Aarushi
- Best wishes, Muskaan
- Kind regards, Anoop
- Wishing you well, Aruna
- Lots of love, Rena
And, thatโs it! This is how you write a nice, meaningful, and memorable thank you note. I wish you the very best and hope that youโll enjoy writing these notes, I know I do.
Also, you can use our very handy Gratitude app to write these letters. The best part is that you can attach photos and it really helps personalize them.
Take care :)
๐ Continue Reading: How to Say Thank You Meaningfully