Writing thank you notes

It's that time of year again - Christmas is over and now everyone who sent you a gift wants an essay in return about how it was just what you wanted and they couldn't have got you anything better. I've always hated writing these, but at least when I was little it was ok if I sounded stupid because pretty much everything you write or say when you're a child makes you cringe when you're older. But now it's so much harder because I feel I can't find the words that will make these people happy, and I hate it when I can't make people happy.

It all seems so fake. Last year my mum tried to tell me that when you send someone a thank you note they know you are grateful for what they sent. But that's a load of tosh. You'd still have to write one even if you hated the gift, and make out it was the best thing since sliced bread. So they still have no idea how you felt about it, but everyone seems to have convinced themselves that just because someone sends them a show-offy speech rather than just a plain 'thanks' that such a gift means the world to them.

And yet, as ridiculous as I think the whole business is, I get really anxious about coming up with something to say, even about the gifts that really are amazing. I have a list of email addresses so that I can email the few people I'm yet to thank, and I panic just looking at it. If I can't do it by the end of January, then it's probably too late, and then I'll feel like a really horrible person because I couldn't manage so much as a few sentences of gratitude. Since I'm 18, it's technically up to me whether I bother with them or not, but again, I'll hate myself if I don't, and these people will no doubt think me a spoilt, ungrateful brat. Part of me thinks it's not worth worrying about, but I also feel like I'm solely responsible for the happiness and wellbeing of everyone who sent me a gift.

Then there's the issue that I've already done a joint one with my sister to my nan, who has her heart set on disliking me and I feel like she deserves to be thanked least out of everyone. I did it for my sister's sake, not hers. On top of that there's the fuss my dad's family made about the fact that last year my mum made the decision to write a few of my thank you notes herself because I was getting too stressed. She didn't think anyone would know it wasn't my writing, but my nan did and we received an earful from my dad about it. The other people who got one of those notes might not have cared, but I still feel like they'll all hate me forever now.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, my birthday is fast approaching and I'll have to worry about it all again.