6 Different Ways Minnesotans Say Thank You

Recently it was National Thank You Day, and I think if anyone knows how to say thank you best, it is us Minnesotans! How many ways can a Minnesotan say “Thank you” though? I got 6 different categories of "thank you"s here, but hey if you have any more feel free to let me know on our Facebook!

6 Different Ways Minnesotans Say Thank You:

Say thank you, but add multiple appreciations after.

With Minnesotans, it is never just “thank you.” It also seems to be followed by compliments and appreciation. For instance, “Thank you! You are always such a kind person, I swear you are beautiful inside and out!” Or “Thank you, man, for dog sitting! Can’t go wrong with having a neighbor like you, and you know, our dog loves you, and he doesn’t love a lot of humans.” And well, you get the point.

Return the favor by doing something similar.

I mean there is the classic “Hey thank you for snow plowing my driveway! Next snowfall I am returning the favor.” Or just replace it with mowing each other’s lawns, and boom, there you go!

Return the favor by doing something “bigger” and “better”.

If there is one thing Minnesotans love to do, it is to see how they can be the most generous and kindest ones when saying thank you and returning the favor. If you get someone a small thing (maybe let them borrow a book) then the next day they will get you a gift card to The Cheesecake Factory. Or a neighbor grabs your mail for you, and then you mow their crazy big lawn.

Give you a cold case of beer, a bottle of wine, or Starbucks.

This one is a classic, but Minnesotans love to do this and even find this as one of the things you must do to say thank you (this or the next one). Say a friend goes to an event with you or helps you move, you then say thank you through a cold case of beer (as my dad and many dads will always do), a bottle of wine, or a Starbucks gift card.

Give you a hand-baked or cooked dish.

Like the last one, Minnesotans say this is the true way to say thank you to a neighbor or friend. I mean it’s a classic that our Minnesotan parents would do, and so would their parents. You would borrow a cup of sugar to make cookies from a neighbor, and as a thank you, you give them a whole batch of those cookies. Say a neighbor shovels your driveway then you say thank you by baking them your tater tot hotdish from a family recipe.

Invite you over for a nice meal and a glass of wine (or beer).

And you can never go wrong with this one. When a friend runs an errand for you or your neighbor power washes your deck, you say “Hey, thanks, man! Say why don’t you come over soon? I’ll cook that steak you like and we can chat over a beer or two as a thank you.”