Sending thank you cards or notes is a wonderful tradition to show appreciation for the gifts or experiences offered by family and friends over the holidays.

Having received some truly thoughtful gifts this year, I wanted to find some beautiful notecards and scoured Pinterest for inspiration and discovered a plethora of delightful printable designs which we can use for free!

Here is a hand-picked selection of my favourite Christmas thank you printables, including designs suitable for both adults and children. If you've not already organised your post-holiday stationary, you're sure to find your something ideal for your needs in this list!

A "Thank You" list to get you organised, by The Orchard Playground This is perfect for keeping track of who-sent-what, with tickboxes so you'l be sure you've posted your notes.

Adorable Elfie Cards from Jenny Allsorts This PDF prints four single-sided cards that fit into 5.25" x 4.25" envelopes. Ideal for children and adults too!

A colourful printable aimed at younger children who may need assistance with their notes from  The Same Difference. Be sure to read the accompanying post, it explains perfectly why we should encourage our children to send thank-you notes for the gifts they receive!

A calligraphic postcard printable from Mellissa Elpin. The reverse can be handwritten with the recipient's address and your own personal note. (Scroll down the page a little to find the PDF link).

This pretty card design from Anna and Blue is ideal for both adults and children. Two designs are available: one with the apple green font shown above, the other with chocolate coloured writing.

A set of four bold and colourful thank-you printables from Pumpkins and Posies

These adorable printable cards for children were designed by Fun.kyti.me for Today's Creative (download them here). These are so cute, and could easily be used all year round!

These "fill-in-the-blanks" colouring pages from Kids Activities Blog double as colouring pages for children to personalise. Princess particularly likes these as our current printer will only print with black ink!

I adore these gorgeous thank you card designs from My Life Abundant! These would look wonderful presented in frames for festive decoration net year.

This bold and beautiful thank you card design was created by Jennifer Ferguson for How About Orange.

Another offering from the talented Melissa Esplin, this time in the form of a calligraphic letterhead which can be personalised with your own handwritten message.

Although designed for Thanksgiving, these elegant monochrome cards by Oh My! Handmade could be sent year-round. Simply print on card stock in your chosen colour, fold and print.

74 Lime Lane designed this simple bunting-themed card, which you can also find in a pink colour scheme.

These elegant and unusual cards are available for download from Ruffled.

Organising Homelife has designed a set of four thank you notes with children in mind, complete with matching envelopes.

Printed red on white card stock, this design from Sweet Muffin Suite is bang on trend for the festive season.

These sweet candy-cane notelets are available for download from Disney Family.

These lovely cards from A Crafty House have designs on the inside too!

These printable postcards from Melissa Elspin are so versitile. Print off a few sheets and you'll always have a stack to hand!

Although "Thank a Mailman Day" isn't until February 4th, you might consider gifting this printable and candy bag a little early to thank your postie for their hard work over the holidays. Courtesy of Who-Arted, I think this printable is a genius idea!

I saved my personal favourite for last. Although not specifically designed for thank you notes, I think it can be perfectly re-purposed for such an occasion. Get the download as a PDF or JPEG from Design Editor.

Which are your favourite designs?

Will you be printing any of the thank you designs featured above to send in gratitude for your holiday celebrations? Let us know which you like best, or suggest other free printables which others may like by leaving your comments below.

Photo credit (post banner): Lachlan Hardy, via Flickr.