The company of friends and family is one of life’s greatest joys. It can also help us cope with life’s sorrows.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- How to Thank Faraway Guests for Visiting You
- How to Thank Someone For Visiting While You Were Sick
- How to Thank a Close Friend For Visiting You at Home
- How to Thank Someone For Visiting You During Difficult Times
- How to Thank Someone For Visiting You in the Hospital
- How to Thank Someone For Visiting Your Store or Business
- How to Thank Someone For Visiting Your Church or Place of Worship
That said, we don’t always get to see the important people in our lives as often as we might like. Maybe they live far away. Maybe you have busy lifestyles. Maybe both.
Thus, when people do visit us, we want to make sure we say “Thank you for visiting” in a way that genuinely conveys our appreciation. If you feel like a simple “thank you” isn’t enough, there are plenty of other ways to let someone know you’re thrilled they came to see you.
The following are just a few examples. Keep them in mind the next time you want someone to understand just how much you appreciated seeing them.
How to Thank Faraway Guests for Visiting You
When someone visits from far away, saying “Thank you for visiting” is particularly important. Consider doing so in one of the following ways.
1. Show them around
People visiting from far away may not be very familiar with your area.
Help them get the most out of their trip (and show your gratitude in the process) by taking them out to meals, showing them interesting local spots, and paying for them to enjoy activities unique to your area.
2. Cover their travel expenses
This might not be an option for everyone’s budget, but you could easily let guests know you appreciate them visiting by covering the travel expenses for at least one half of their trip.
3. Help with the packing
If you can’t afford to cover travel expenses for friends or family who traveled a long distance to see you, you can still address other practical concerns.
For example, if they traveled from far away, there’s a good chance they’ll have a lot of packing to do when they prepare to go back home. Make their last few days with you less stressful by helping them pack.
4. Make arrangements to visit them
We appreciate it when people travel from far away to see us because it indicates they care enough about us to spend a decent amount of precious time and money on a visit.
Show them you feel the same way by quickly making genuine arrangements to visit them sometime in the future.
5. Write a long letter
This may seem like a simple gesture, but it involves more than writing a short thank you note.
Show guests who visited from far away your gratitude by sending them a long letter describing all the fun experiences you enjoyed because they made the trip.
How to Thank Someone For Visiting While You Were Sick
A visit from a friend or loved one can make a big difference when you’re sick. Use one of these ideas to show your gratitude for these visits.
6. Send them a ‘Doctor Certification’
This is a cute way to say “Thank you for visiting” to someone who was there when you were sick if you both have a light-hearted sense of humor.
With your computer, you could create a fake doctor’s “certification” or diploma for someone who visited you. Include wording describing them as the best “unofficial doctor” (or something similar) and send it as a thank you gift.
7. Insist on helping
Odds are good you’ll have opportunities in the future to help out someone who visited you while you were sick. Examples can include cooking dinner for them when they’re busy, watching their kids, helping them move, and much more.
Make a list of ways you can help such a person, and insist on doing so until they accept your offer. Just don’t accept any payment for your help!
8. Send pictures of your progress
As you recover from an illness or injury, send pictures to your visitors demonstrating your progress, and let them know you sincerely believe you’ve recovered more quickly than you otherwise would’ve thanks to their company.
9. Thank them publicly
One of the best ways to say “Thank you for visiting” to someone who visited you while you were ill is simple: thank them.
However, instead of thanking them privately, write a public thank you post on social media. Letting your social media followers know just how much you appreciated the visits can turn a simple thank you into something much more special.
10. Take them out
One of the most common ways to show gratitude to someone who visits when you’re sick (particularly if they helped around the house during their visit) is to offer to pay them for their help.
The problem is, people usually won’t accept such offers. Instead, you can compensate them by taking them out to dinner or any other activity/experience you know they’ll enjoy.
How to Thank a Close Friend For Visiting You at Home
Simple visits from friends can yield plenty of happy memories. These ideas will help you thank a friend for making those memories possible.
11. Document the occasion
Make sure a friend knows you appreciated their visit by taking pictures and/or video throughout their stay, and sending the pictures and videos to them after they return home.
12. Prepare their favorite food and drink
Let a friend visiting your home know you’re grateful by having some of their favorite foods and beverages readily available as soon as they arrive. It’s a small gesture that nevertheless shows genuine thoughtfulness.
13. Give a gift
It’s not uncommon to thank guests on special occasions (such as weddings) by giving them thank you gifts.
Show a friend you consider their visit to be special by sending them back home with the type of gift you would normally reserve for such occasions.
14. Gush about it on social media
Similar to publicly thanking someone who visited when you were sick on social media, posting pictures and videos of your friend’s visit on social media and describing how you had a great time will let them know you’re glad they stopped by.
15. Make future plans
Friends want to feel welcome in your home when they visit. Prove to them they certainly are by making concrete plans for another visit in the near future before they leave.
Doing so will indicate you appreciated their visit so much you can’t wait for the next one.
How to Thank Someone For Visiting You During Difficult Times
Knowing how to thank someone for visiting during a difficult time can feel at least as tough as knowing how to ask for help in the first place, Luckily, it doesn’t have to.
16. Call (randomly)
A thank you is often most effective when it’s a surprise. For example, you could make someone’s day by randomly calling them, asking if they have time to chat, and explaining to them how much their visit helped you cope with a painful situation.
If they’re the type to visit during difficult times, they’ll probably be willing to set aside a few minutes to listen to your gratitude—and they’ll appreciate it!
17. Do something fun
Visiting someone struggling with difficult life circumstances is emotionally draining.
When you’re doing better, pay someone back for making such a visit by planning a fun experience for the two of you to enjoy.
18. “I know you were also going through…”
No one’s life is completely free of difficulties. It’s highly likely someone who visited you during a hard time was also struggling with some of their own challenges, even if they were as seemingly minor as a tense relationship with a coworker.
Regardless of the specific way you say thank you to someone, let them know you understand they were also going through their own difficulties (be sure to name the specific difficulties, too), and you appreciate how they set those aside to care for you.
19. Set a goal (and achieve it)
When a friend or family member visits you during a painful time, they want to believe their visit will help you overcome your challenges in the long run. Thus, you might set a goal together during their visit. Achieving a major personal goal is often a sign you’ve recovered from difficult circumstances.
Most importantly, make every attempt to genuinely achieve this goal, and let the person who helped you set the goal know you couldn’t have done it without them once you do achieve it.
20. Send a book of thank you quotes
Some people struggle to say “Thank you for visiting during difficult times” because they’re simply not great with words. Not all of us are poets, after all.
Don’t worry if you feel this way about yourself. You could still show gratitude by sending someone a book of famous thank you quotes, highlighting those you think best convey your feelings.
How to Thank Someone For Visiting You in the Hospital
An extended stay in a hospital is often an unpleasant experience regardless of your reason for hospitalization. Visits from friends and family can make this experience much easier than it might otherwise be. Thank those who stopped by while you were in the hospital in one of the following ways:
21. Help with errands or household tasks
Someone who visited you in the hospital may have had to rearrange their daily schedule to do so. Thank them for traveling to see you despite having to inconvenience themselves to make the trip by helping out with certain essential tasks they may have fallen behind on.
22. Update them on your progress
A person who visits you in the hospital likely does so at least in part because they want to know you are recovering from an illness or injury. Thus, when you’re out of the hospital, you could express your appreciation by regularly updating them on your recovery. Be sure to thank them for visiting you every time you send these updates!
23. Grab a gift from the hospital gift shop
Many hospitals have gift shops. Although many of the items they sell are the type of gifts someone might buy for a patient at the hospital, they may also offer certain general items (such as flowers) that you could pick up as a gift for someone who visited you as you’re leaving the hospital.
24. Pay for their gas
This is a lot more practical and a lot less sentimental than many of the other items on this list, but nevertheless, it might be the proper way to thank someone who visited you in the hospital if they had to drive a relatively long way to get there. Simply paying for their gas is a means of acknowledging that you know they chose to go out of their way to offer you some comfort when you needed it.
25. Remember to visit them
There may come a day when someone who visited you in the hospital falls ill, is hospitalized, or otherwise finds themself in a similar position to the one in which you were in during your hospital stay. Remember how much it meant when they stopped by to check on you, and return the favor by visiting them in their time of need.
This might not be a way to thank someone for visiting you in the hospital immediately after you return home, but it’s nevertheless a meaningful way to express your appreciation if you ever get this opportunity.
How to Thank Someone For Visiting Your Store or Business
Starting a business is both an exciting and intimidating experience. A simple visit from a friend, family member, or loyal customer can help you maintain your enthusiasm instead of worrying about your business’ future, particularly during the critical early stages of growth. Thank someone for this type of gesture in one of the following ways:
26. Offer a discount
You don’t necessarily want to cultivate a reputation for being the type of business owner who consistently reserves “special treatment” for family members and friends while not offering the same treatment to other customers.
However, if someone you know supports your business shortly after you open your doors, it’s perfectly acceptable to thank them by offering discounts, coupons for future purchases, or even free items (as long as they know they shouldn’t expect this to be a regular policy).
27. Visit their store or business
Does the person who visited your store or business have their own business as well? If so, support them in return by visiting their business or making a purchase if they only operate online. You could also refer your own customers to their business to help it grow and thrive.
28. Acknowledge them on social media
Regardless of their industries, in the digital age, most successful businesses have social media presences. You can use your social media pages to publicly thank early customers who have visited your business.
29. Name an item or special after them
True, this isn’t a method that will work for all business owners, but if your new business is a restaurant, cafe, or similar type of establishment, you might consider expressing your appreciation for an early supporter by naming a menu item after them. Just make sure you get their permission before doing so!
30. Offer them a job
This is another way to thank someone for visiting your business that likely won’t apply in all situations. That said, if someone you know is looking for work and supports your business despite having money troubles of their own, if you can justify doing so without harming your business’ finances, consider offering them a job.
31. Invite them to business events
If you’re a small business owner who arranges parties and other such events for your employees, there may be instances when it’s also appropriate to invite non-employees who regularly visit your business to these events. Doing so is a way of showing gratitude that can result in even greater customer loyalty.
How to Thank Someone For Visiting Your Church or Place of Worship
There are many reasons you may want to thank someone for visiting your place of worship when they otherwise might not have felt inclined to. Thank someone for joining you at your church or other such religious institution in the following ways:
32. Thank them for researching your customs and traditions
Whether someone has visited your place of worship for a wedding, funeral, initiation rite (such as a bar mitzvah or First Communion), or any similar event, if you notice they clearly did their homework to ensure they were respectful of your religion throughout the ceremony, let them know you appreciate the effort they put in.
You can verbally express your thanks, mention this detail in a letter, or even merely send a text message thanking them for going the extra mile.
33. Thank them for being open to embracing your religion
Again, the potential reasons why someone might visit your place of worship with you are numerous and varied. For example, someone might agree to attend a religious ceremony with you because you are encouraging them to convert and you want them to at least expose themselves to your religion before dismissing the idea entirely.
After the visit, they might decide that converting is not something they wish to do. Even if this happens, you should still thank them for making an honest attempt to experience your religion in such an important setting.
34. Thank them in a speech
Once more, a common reason to visit someone’s place of worship when you are not a member of the same religious community is to attend a wedding or other religious event. Those organizing these events often deliver speeches during or after them.
If you’re giving such a speech, take the opportunity to thank all those in attendance who participated in your religious traditions even though they might not have been familiar with them.
35. Acknowledge that the experience may have made them uncomfortable
You might be thanking someone for visiting your church or place of worship because you know that they don’t share your religious beliefs, but nevertheless agreed to accompany you because they knew that doing so was important to you.
For example, maybe your family is religious, and a new romantic partner has visited your place of worship despite not being a member of your religious community because they understand the value of making the right impression on your loved ones. In such instances, a thank you can be particularly meaningful if it acknowledges that someone put themselves in an uncomfortable position for you.
‘Thank You For Visiting’: Celebrating Friends and Family
Regardless of your life circumstances, visits from the important people in your life can bring tremendous happiness. These ideas will help you show your gratitude.