Writing thank you notes may be going out of fashion – but we should all give thanks when we can

I’m in the habit of sending videos or emails but I do find myself feeling more thankful generally these days, writes Katy Brand

Melania Trump may have outsourced her thank you note-writing (AFP/Getty)

I got a last-minute invitation to join Woman’s Hour last week for a chat about thank you letters. As brilliant new host Emma Barnett explained, the revelation that former first lady Melania Trump had allegedly not written her own thank you notes to staff caused some raised eyebrows.

It was suggested that she had got a junior aide to do it instead. It’s possible that Melania didn’t actually know all of the names she needed - we can only wonder. Ms Trump remains tight-lipped about it. Nevertheless, it prompted a debate about manners, and whether writing thank you notes is important, or out of fashion.

Personally I like making thank you videos, or sending thanks by email. I know this is not to everyone’s liking, and many feel that it’s not personal or polite – there is a school of thought that says if you’re not going to bother to handwrite them, then don’t bother at all. And I respect this, but it’s not the handwriting that bothers me, it’s the sending of the letter.

This is mainly because I no longer know anyone’s postal address. They are all preloaded into my online shopping and card delivery services. Sometimes I hesitate to remember my own address when separated from my machinery. “It’s all saved to the cloud,” I bleat pathetically. In the event of an electrical apocalypse, you will find me wandering around the streets like a lost child, asking strangers where I live.

But that aside, these days I find myself being more thankful generally, for everything. I take a bit more time to notice when something good happens, however small and offer up a small noise of gratitude to whatever may be “out there”. I make a note to myself at least, even if I don’t write a letter.

Last year I wrote a book about Mary Poppins called Practically Perfect, and I found through the writing of it that the underlying message of the film is “be thankful for what you’ve got”. The original Mary Poppins author, PL Travers, even talked about celebrating the “miracle of the every day”.

So that is what I am going to do – give thanks freely wherever I can. And unlike Melania Trump, I shall particularly be able to celebrate the miracle of every day without Donald.

Katy Brand is a writer, actor and comedian