Thanks to modern day communication (and by thanks, boy do I mean it!), properly thanking friends and family who generously shower our families with gifts is sort of getting canned. Is an e-mail saying how much you love the monogrammed cocktail napkins okay? What about a text showing how adorable JR looks using his lamb-hooded bath towel? These are nice gestures, but surely an old-school, handwritten note sent via snail mail must follow this up, right?

The good news? Not always. (Save that stamp, people!) The bad news? It’s a little tricky to know when to thank...