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When in doubt, add chocolate

Gifts by Polly Goncalves on Flicker CC BY NC

In another installment of things I didn't actually know existed, February 17 was Random Acts of Kindness day. A day devoted to small tokens of appreciation to people you know, barely know or who are complete strangers. I like to think of thank you notes often as random acts of kindness. People don't often realize the impact their positive attitude, willingness to help or simple gestures have on the people around them, so a hand-written thank you note many times appear random.

While I honestly believe most people enjoy the unexpected surprise of a hand-written note, sometimes I feel like a small gift included with those notes makes the surprise even better. I've gotten in the habit of including a little something extra when I can, especially for those notes that are hand delivered. Here are a few of my favorites:

  • Chocolate: High-quality, individually wrapped candies such as Ghirardelli or Godiva are pretty easy to come by. While they may be a little pricey at the outset for a 10-piece bag, they are often not a brand someone would buy for themselves. I also take advantage of holidays when these brands are on sale. Just be careful not to eat them yourself between thank you notes.
  • Gift cards in small denominations: These are perfect for places that you know your recipient will go anyway, such as Starbucks or Panera Bread. Five dollars can buy a nice coffee or a sweet treat, or make lunch a little cheaper. It's also easy to give small denominations at places like Target or gas stations, to take a little bit off the total bill.
  • Assorted tea bags: The place I work has a hot water spigot in the coffee machine perfect for hot tea. I knew this existed but I wasn't positive which spigot it was because it wasn't marked. After settling for chai decaf coffee one day, I asked someone. Without judgment, she pointed it out and we started chatting about teas. The next day, I wrote her a thank you note and included a few tea flavors  I had recently discovered. For someone who often has a couple open boxes of tea bags, it was a simple and easy way to say thank you for her help.
  • Notepads: No one has enough notepads. The moment you try to write down a phone number, a reminder or some pieces of information you need to use in a minute is the moment you realized you are out of Post-It notes. Perpetually found in the $1 aisle, fun notepads are cheap and functional tokens of appreciation.
Please don't feel like you have to include something extra with your thank you note. This should not be a barrier to gratitude. I promise people will be just as excited about the note. But if you want to provide a little gift, I'm sure your recipient won't complain.
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