My niece and nephew very seldom sent thank you notes and for birthday's, I usually had to BEG them to cash the checks so they would clear my account - the check I sent my nephew in July for his birthday is still uncashed - several messages sent via FB - he won't be getting a Christmas check! He is in college and should know better.
My niece has said some incredibly ugly things this year so her family won't be receiving any gifts - my heart just isn't in it ... she said on FB that "some people" (meaning me) made it all about them ... this is the same child who had new clothes for school and even food on the table because of me when she was growing up - her mom (my sister) was a single mom and always struggled financially. As an adult, she has never acknowledged any contributions made by family to support them and it has hurt me a lot. I know I shouldn't let it bother me and it's not that she doesn't or hasn't said thanks, but she could at least be nice ... we have so little family left we should be nicer to each other.