Here’s a way to let your kids be the thankers (it was their party, after all) and make things easier on yourself: Send thank you videos. About 20 kids showed up at my daughter’s fifth birthday ...

Whether you're writing a thank you note for a gift, a favor done by a friend, or for someone's presence, we can all admit that thank you notes are the first thing to be read (and, sadly, thrown away).

That could be the first sentence: “Dear _____ Thank you so much for coming to my graduation (or my graduation party). It made everything so much more special having you there.” For example: ...