Thank You Note Etiquette

What's the appropriate time between receiving a gift and sending a thank you?
Ceri Marsh, etiquette columnist: Do it right away, and be strict with yourself. Give yourself a week because if you wait longer then you put it off another week and then you feel dumb about acknowledging it. People like a thank you note more than they even like a gift.

Is it okay to send a thank you on email?
Ceri: It's okay...but why not do something that's great?

Harriette Cole, syndicated columnist: It also depends on whom you're sending it to. If that person would love to get an e-mail thank you, that's the person you send it to. Your momma doesn't want that. She wants appreciation and handwritten notes!

E. Jean Carroll, Elle magazine advice columnist: We send thank you notes because we want to be loved and admired. And if you want to be loved and admired, you send it on stationery so thick it's like ice cream and you write it by hand—it's just elegant and it's fun to get it!

If someone sends you flowers as a thank you gift, do you now send them a note saying thank you for the flowers?
All: You call.

If they just send you flowers for your birthday, is that a note or a card?
Harriette: I write a note. And describe them! If they were beautiful, they smelled good—you tell them! Describe what you felt like!