Dear grandson, thx 4 the gr8 gift

Boxing Day is no longer spent hand-writing thank you letters to grandparents with less than one in ten over 50s expecting a written thank you note for Christmas gifts - many are now turning to new technology, according to new research. Over 50s are also increasingly shunning traditional notes themselves, with 11% sending their thank you’s via text or email.

The Saga Populus panel, the largest panel of the UKs over 50s, researched attitudes to giving and receiving thanks for gifts, and discovered that just 13% prefer hand written notes and almost one in five (18%) do not even expect to be thanked at all for presents. However grand kids should still show their appreciation to grandma as 88% of women mind if family or friends do not acknowledge a gift compared to 79% of men.

Showing gratitude in person is the top choice for over 50s with almost three quarters (72%) thanking for gifts face to face and over half (56%) preferring to be thanked this way themselves.

Only 2% of over 50s prefer to be thanked via text or email, compared to 11% who send thank you messages in this way themselves.