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  3. Graduation thank you card

Graduation thank you card.
What to write.

Name the gift, name the person, say what it meant. That is the whole message.

The messages are sorted by who helped and how: money and gifts, people who turned up, those who carried you through, and the ones who believed in you before you did.

Create a cardRead a sample card

Everyone's words in one card.

Updated

Marker lettering with a highlighter stroke. You didn't have to. You did. Thank you.

That was generous and I mean it. Thank you.

From Rosa

Thank you for coming. It meant more than the scroll.

From Sam

You read three drafts and never complained about any of them. Thank you.

From Aisha

Pick a design

  • Marker lettering. Thank you for saving us. "helping" is crossed out and "saving" written above it.
  • Cutpaper thanks card. Thank you.
  • Blue stitching on linen. Thank you.
  • A bunch of flowers. Thank you for this year.
  • A heart. Thank you. Honestly.
  • Botanical thanks card. Thank you.
  • A star. Thank you. Gold star, no notes.
  • A bunch of flowers. Thank you. You made a hard week easier.
  • A teapot. Thank you. The kettle's on for you.
  • A bunch of flowers. Thank you. These are for you. Well, a picture of them.

The question

Each writer gets a question.

One at a time, about Sam. They answer in their own words, or write without one.

Who they are to you
  1. The thing Sam did, as you would tell it.
  2. What it changed for you.
  3. Something Sam did that they probably thought was small.
  4. The moment you realised what Sam had done.
  5. How Sam helped, and not only what they did.
  6. What would have happened without Sam.
  1. The moment you knew you had a proper friend in Sam.
  2. Something Sam did that only a friend would.
  3. A thing you still laugh about together.
  4. The time Sam turned up when it mattered.
  5. Something Sam knew about you before you said it.
  1. Something Sam did for the family that went unsaid.
  2. A habit of Sam's that you have caught yourself copying.
  3. A memory of Sam from when you were younger.
  4. Something Sam put up with from you.
  5. Something Sam taught you, mostly by example.
  1. A small thing Sam did that you noticed and never mentioned.
  2. The moment you knew.
  3. Something Sam did this year that made things easier for you.
  4. A thing about Sam you would not change.
  5. Something Sam carried that was yours to carry.
  1. The thing you go to Sam for.
  2. Something you picked up from working beside Sam.
  3. A bad day at work that Sam turned round.
  4. Something a new starter should be told about Sam.
  5. Something Sam did that made the job feel worth doing.

Or write without one.

Graduation thank you card messages

Pick the group that fits, put the real detail in, and sign your name.

For a gift

  • Thank you for the money. It is going towards something I will tell you about the moment I have decided.

  • The voucher arrived the morning of the ceremony. The timing was perfect.

  • Thank you for the gift. You did not have to, and I am glad you did.

  • Thank you. I have been eyeing that for months and somehow you knew.

  • That was generous and I mean it. Thank you.

For turning up

  • Thank you for coming. It meant more than the scroll.

  • You drove three hours for a twenty-minute ceremony and I will not forget that.

  • Thank you for being there. Seeing your face in the crowd settled my nerves.

  • Thank you for making the day feel like the occasion it was.

For getting me through

  • Thank you for the calls, the food, the honest advice when I needed it. You are the reason I finished.

  • You read three drafts and never complained about any of them. Thank you.

  • Thank you for answering at midnight more than once this year. I owe you a lot of sleep.

  • The hard months were easier because you were at the other end of the phone. Thank you.

  • You never let me talk myself out of finishing. That mattered more than I said at the time.

For believing early

  • You told me I could do this before I believed it. I graduated, so apparently you were right.

  • Thank you for the encouragement when the encouragement was the only thing keeping me going.

  • You have been asking how it was going since the first week. Thank you for caring that long.

  • Thank you for seeing this coming before I did.

What to leave out

Do not write a generic thank you for your support. If you cannot name what they did, they cannot feel that you noticed. Name the thing.

Do not mention the grade unless you want to. The card is about them, not your result.

Do not leave it so long that the card arrives after they have forgotten the gift. A week is fine. A month needs an apology first.

Do not write a paragraph. Two sentences and a signature is enough. They gave you a gift, not an essay prompt.

One card, everyone signs it

Gather the people who got you here into one card, and set it to open on the day.

  1. 01

    Add the date.

    Graduation day, or the morning after. The card opens then and not before.

  2. 02

    Ask everyone.

    Family, friends, the flatmate who fed you during finals. Each person gets one link and writes their own words.

  3. 03

    They read it on their phone.

    Every message signed with a name. A card worth keeping.

Create a card

Questions

How soon should you send a graduation thank you card?

Within a week of the ceremony if you can manage it. People remember giving the gift; they should still feel warm about it when the card arrives.

What do you write when you do not know someone well?

Thank them for the specific gift, say it will be useful, and sign off warmly. Two sentences is plenty for an acquaintance.

Can one card go to several people?

Yes. On tbf everyone signs one card from a single link, so the graduate gets one card from everyone rather than a pile of separate envelopes.

Part of group thank you card.

More guides

Somebody has a day coming up.

Create a card

Everyone's words in one card.