When sending a thank you card for an event, what is the universal deadline before it becomes unethical?

Question

When sending a thank you card for an event, what is the universal deadline before it becomes unethical?

Answer 1

You should send your thank you card within three days following the event.  If you can send it the very next day, that is even better.  I always keep a small supply of fancy note cards handy for such things.

Answer 2

Unethical?  Er... once bribes have been paid or the subject had been brought up? =D

There is no universal deadline, but I would, for the sake of good manners and effectiveness, try to send the thank you card within three business days usually, and a week at the most.

Answer 3

No longer than 2 weeks.

Answer 4

It's never unethical, but for proper etiquette, you're supposed to send a thank you card within days, and no longer than a month after the event.

Answer 5

I think it is more like when it becomes very bad taste. To thank someone no matter how tardy is never in bad taste but the longer you wait the less apt it is to be accepted with the same type of appreciation as being prompt would be.

I would begin with a well worded apology about tardiness and showing how greatly you appreciate the thoughtfulness of the gift even if you did not like it.

E.g.

A friend of mine from work invited all her friends to her daughters wedding and handed them invitations because her daughter was not motivated enough to do this. When we came because we liked her mother many of us brought many very nice gifts along with money for her daughter. This mother who took the trouble to give us or send us all invitations left it up to her daughter to send the thank you cards which never arrived. For that reason eventually I stopped associating with the mother because I figured the mother invited me along with handed the invitation such that it was her responsibility to insure I recieved a thank-you. When I ran into the mother later on after I had long stopped visiting she asked me to come visit so she could tell me where she was moving. I feigned interest and said I will but never went to see her again.  I liked her very much but her daughter insulted us at  the wedding and her mother along with sisters passed it off as her hair was braided too tight and she had a headache.  Her daughter is a beautiful striking girl and as I saw it she snubbed us along with insulted us then added to insult by not thanking or recognizing the value of our gifts when we were not her friends but her mothers.  I would forgive the mother if she ever took the time to thank me with a card just as she invited me with a card but when I ran into her she never acknowledged the fact I never nor any of her other very nice friends recieved thank you cards.

I am sure she is very lonely now because of how her daughter treated us at the wedding because she was marrying the son of a very well to do man and the fact that we never recieved thank you cards for gifts to a child that many of us had never met.

Is it unethical that word does not apply. Regardless of how much time has passed one can always say thank you along with tell how much it was appreciated that someone gave a gift rather than go out on the town one night with that money and spend it on someone who obviously appreciated it more themselves than the person who gave it to them and did not bother to say thank you. My family gave her a very expensive gift along with I purchased her a very nice gift which cost more than what I would normally give to someone I did not know and then gave her some money to be snubbed about the amount I gave her but she had no problem taking it from me.

My opinion is what transpired was unforgiveable on the part of the daughter whom I will never forgive but as to the mother she should have taken her daughter aside and corrected her before her attitude soured her marriage to a very nice well to do attractive young man.

My suggestion is you make an effort, explain why you were so tardy and remember to tell how much you appreciated the gift and used it. If you lost their address and had difficulty finding it then tell them that. I do recognize that the mother did not have my mailing address possibly because she lost it again but she had that opportunity to thank me for the gift when she saw me again and apologize for the fact her daughter neglected to show respect and appreciation to her working class mother's friends.

I would still greatly appreciate a thank you from the mother who is the person who invited me quite possibly without permission from the daughter who was aggravated  about all who were there but I personally think she was making sure she got a nice group of gifts from her very nice friends along with wanted to invite them to something she spent a great deal of money on along with wanted to show her beautiful daughter's happiness.

All the same it turned out to be very unacceptably distasteful in my opinion to find out I had been invited quite possibly without the knowledge or desire of a rather stuck up daughter as I interpreted it. And the snub set a hard spot in me especially when I recieved no thank you from her daughter after her mother said she would send me one.

I have no doubt  that little girl wore the nice bed clothing I gave her very shortly after opening the package because I am sure she loved it but not enough to say thank you which is very rude.

Answer 6

There is no deadline, per se, but, for example, for a wedding gift you should really get the thank you out within a month, barring an around the world cruise or a sojourn in Tahiti.  

As for deadlines.  I guess it is better late than never.  Someone went to the trouble of getting you a gift or doing you a favor, the least you can do is let them know you got it and that you loved it (even though you didn't).