I tried to find this online so I could post it, but I can't find it on Heloise's site. The scenario is this: a mom whose son just had a birthday party took a picture of her son holding a sign that said, "thank you," then printed cards with the picture. She mailed the cards - with no text - to the attendees.
I'm conflicted about this. Yes, nowadays we are happy - sometimes even a bit shocked - to receive TY notes. And, to be fair, if a person says TY in person they're good as far I'm concerned (with the exception of wedding gift - more formal rules). But let's say the birthday boy didn't open gifts at the party, so didn't have the opportunity to say TY. I have attended several kids' parties where this was the case. (This is guessing - I have no idea about the details with this LW). That detail, which is left out, would be nice.
It reminds me of the pre-written TY note we got from a neighbor who'd graduated high school. We gave him a card and cash gift. We got a form letter TY, with a few words written in blanks. It seemed....off.
If I'm too old school, I will accept that. I have loosened my definition of what is acceptable, FTR. This is not a hill-to-die-on situation. I just wondered what others thought of this.