Received gift 6 months early! What do?

flutteringinfl

So FI just told me we got a package in the mail. One of our registry items has already been purchased! As you can see from my ticker, our wedding is still over six months away. He also said there's no name of who sent it, which I'll double check when I get home.

What's the etiquette here? How do we find out who gave it? The store's website doesn't tell us the name of the purchaser. And once we do find out, should we send a formal thank you right away or wait until we have our stationary? This was one of the more expensive items on our registry.

Thanks all!

ETA: I found out from BB&B that the sender was my uncle, who I'm very close to. So still wondering if I'm supposed to send a formal thank you now, or just give a heartfelt thank you call and send a formal card after the wedding?

bethsmiles

I don't know how you go about finding out but when you do you should send the thank-you right away.

flutteringinfl

bethsmiles said:

I don't know how you go about finding out but when you do you should send the thank-you right away.

Thanks Beth. I was able to find out the sender is my uncle. Much easier process than I thought it would be. Is it okay to send a thank you card even though I don't have stationary yet? Should I just get a Hallmark card?

LondonLisa

flutteringinfl said:

bethsmiles said:

I don't know how you go about finding out but when you do you should send the thank-you right away.

Thanks Beth. I was able to find out the sender is my uncle. Much easier process than I thought it would be. Is it okay to send a thank you card even though I don't have stationary yet? Should I just get a Hallmark card?

Any card will do- maybe even just get one of those 20 packs of thank you notes for early gifts. Send a TY note as soon as the gifts arrive but don't use the gift until after the wedding.

ETA- I don't know what you mean by formal thank you note. A TY note is a TY note, you don't need to make them overly formal. Just get some nice stationery and write how nice it was and how much you love it. As with any gift- a written TY note is required immediately after receiving it.

bethsmiles

You send thank-you notes when you receive the gift. You don't need special stationary to write a thank-you note. Just go pick up a pack from Target.

[Deleted User]

Marshall's and TJMaxx seem to have sections where they have tons of packets of TY notes.  Definitely buy a pack and send TY notes as soon as you receive gifts.  "Uncle Dan, thank you so much for the (insert gift)!  I'm so excited to use it to (insert what gift does).  It was so nice to think of us.  Hope we'll see you at (event) this summer and again at our wedding this fall!  Thanks again."

jacques27

Nobody cares what the thank you note is written on - they just want to know that the gift was received and that you are thankful for it in a timely manner.  I just keep several packs of pretty blank cards that come 20 to a box from Target on hand for thank you notes.

huskypuppy14

What kind of stationary do you not have yet? Go buy a pack of thank you cards at Target or wherever. You might get more gifts, and you probably will, so it's best to have them on hand. 

It's not that difficult.

flutteringinfl

Okay, okay guys. I got it. Will buy some thank you cards at Target. You know I'm not going to do the rude thing. I'm not new here, just had a moment of forgetfulness.

ETA: I do really want to thank everyone for responding. I know the answer to the question may have been obvious but I guess it was a "duh" part of the day for me.