Do you still have nightmares about the hundreds of thank-yous you were forced to send out after your bat mitzvah, Sweet 16, graduations, and all the rest of your otherwise joyous occasions? If so, you probably already know what a pain it is to write thank-you notes to your relatives after an event. Luckily, like everything else, thank-you letter-writing is an art that can be perfected. Once you have the formula for a good letter, you can adapt it for different occasions and different recipients, Mad-Lib style. But before we get into that, here are some other good reasons to send thank-you notes, aside from the ones your mom made you send to your family after Christmas:

• Hospitality (note does not replace the small gift, like a baked good or flowers, that you should present while staying there)
• Loans or gifts of money
• Referrals (from new client to new friend to new hair stylist)
• Kindness, both random and purposeful
• Expressions of sympathy
• Outstanding behavior/efforts
• Job interviews (see last page)