Thanksgiving may only come once a year but we can count our blessings ever day. Give thanks to friends and family with these inspirational thanksgiving messages, poems and sayings.
Thanksgiving Messages, Poems and Sayings
The first ever Thanksgiving was celebrated by Pilgrims and Wampanoag Native Americans in Plymouth, America in November 1621. They gave thanks for the Autumn harvest and ate a feast of clams, lobster, ham, pumpkins, venison and waterfowl.
These days, a traditional Thanksgiving meal usually features turkey, cranberries, potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie. Families travel from far away to be together for this important occasion.
Thanks to the tireless campaigning of the writer Sarah Josepha Hale, Thanksgiving was established as a National Holiday. During the Civil War on October 3 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving.
It was originally celebrated on 26 November. There's also a Canadian Thanksgiving Day, on the second Monday in October each year.
In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill that established Thanksgiving Day as the fourth Thursday in the month of November each year.
Here are 50 of our favorite Thanksgiving greetings, messages and quotes. You can adapt quite a few of these to use them throughout the year.
Thanksgiving Messages
It doesn't really matter how you say thank you, the important thing is to do so. If you're stuck for inspiration, these Thanksgiving messages should certainly help! Check out these inspiring Fall quotes for more suggestions.
Be grateful for all that you have in life. Happy Thanksgiving Day!
For the bounty of the year; for the friends that we hold dear; for new blessings on the way, lets give thanks today
Happy Thanksgiving to my dear family and friends. I am blessed to have you in my life.
Here's hoping that your Thanksgiving and the days ahead are filled with joy.
Here's to sharing the company of close friends and family on this Thanksgiving day.
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I want to thank you for your friendship and kindness. Happy Thanksgiving.
Let's give thanks to our belts, which will work extra hard to keep our pants up today!
May this harvest remind us of the abundance of nature and how blessed we are to experience it. Happy Thanksgiving Day.
May the warm glow of Autumn surround you on Thanksgiving Day.
May your home be filled with joy and happiness on this special Thanksgiving Day.
Sincere thanks for your guidance, friendship and kindness. I'm thankful to have you in my life.
Thanksgiving is a time to reflect upon the lessons learnt throughout the year and to look forward to an amazing year ahead.
Thank you for always being there for me. Wishing you a joyous Thanksgiving.
Warm thoughts of appreciation for you on this Thanksgiving Day.
We gather today to give thanks for our family, friends and good health.
We wish you a harvest of blessings and a lifetime of happiness and health.
Wishing you a bountiful Thanksgiving and a healthy, happy year ahead.
Thanksgiving Poems
If you prefer Thanksgiving poems to quotations or sayings, these are some of the most uplifting ones.
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
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Over the river and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound,
For this is Thanksgiving-Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate!
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood;
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
Lydia Maria Child
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Take a turkey, stuff it fat,
Some of this and some of that.
Get some turnips, peel them well.
Cook a big squash in its shell.
Now potatoes, big and white,
Mash till they are soft and light.
Cranberries, so tart and sweet,
With the turkey we must eat.
Pickles-yes-and then, oh my!
For a dessert a pumpkin pie,
Golden brown and spicy sweet.
What a fine Thanksgiving treat!
Maude M. Grant
When all the leaves are off the boughs,
And nuts and apples gathered in,
And cornstalks waiting for the cows,
And pumpkins safe in barn and bin,
Then Mother says, “My children dear,
The fields are brown, and autumn flies;
Thanksgiving Day is very near,
And we must make thanksgiving pies!
Thanksgiving Sayings and Quotes
Enjoy these thought provoking sayings and quotes about Thanksgiving. Many of them work for greetings throughout the year.
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.
Eckhart Tolle
An attitude of gratitude brings great things.
Yogi Bhajan
Be thankful for what you have. Your life is someone else’s fairy tale.
Wale Ayeni
Forever on Thanksgiving the heart will find the pathway home.
Wilbur D. Nesbit
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.
Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.
William Arthur Ward
If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for what he's going to get.
Frank A. Clark
He who thanks but with the lips thanks but in part; the full, the true Thanksgiving comes from the heart.
J.A. Shedd
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Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.
I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.
Henry David Thoreau
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
Meister Eckhart
If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.
W. Clement Stone
It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.
David Steindl-Rast
It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy.
Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust
Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.
Theodore Roosevelt
Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first or the last time, then your time on earth will be filled with glory.
Betty Smith
Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.
Seneca
O Lord that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
William Shakespeare
Stand up, on this Thanksgiving Day, stand upon your feet. Believe in man. Soberly and with clear eyes, believe in your own time and place. There is not, and there never has been a better time, or a better place to live in.
Phillips Brooks
Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.
E.P. Powell
Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.
Robert Caspar Lintner
The more you practice the art of thankfulness, the more you have to be thankful for.
Norman Vincent Peale
The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.
We must find the time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.
John F. Kennedy
We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
Friedrich Koenig
What if today, we were just grateful for everything?
Charlie Brown
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
Maya Angelou
When you love what you have, you have everything you need.
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We hope that you've found this selection of Thanksgiving messages, poems and quotations useful. Which of these is your favorite? How do you celebrate Thanksgiving in your home?
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Super Sweet Happy Thanksgiving Messages
"Vegetables are a must on Thanksgiving. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie."
on October 1, 2022
Jay Leno hit the nail on the head when he said: "You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out." Guilty! Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and with pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing comes the food coma you’ve been waiting for. And while you’re lying on the couch feeling thankful for naps, you can get inspired with some emotional Thanksgiving messages and sayings just for you.
Showing and sharing gratitude is all a part of the holiday fun! Let these fun, inspiring, and heartfelt quotes guide your Thanksgiving wishes this year. If you’re stumped on what to write in your Thanksgiving card, these fall messages are perfect for you. We’ve got funny Thanksgiving messages to make you LOL, religious Thanksgiving messages to make you cry and so much more. Make sure the important people in your life know how grateful you are for them. Let the holidays begin!
Inspirational Thanksgiving Messages
"The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." —Dalai Lama
"Forever on Thanksgiving day the heart will find the pathway home." —Wilbur D. Nesbit
"Thanksgiving after all, is a word of action." —W.J. Cameron
"If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share." —W. Clement Stone
"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues." —Cicero
"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite—only a sense of existence." —Henry David Thoreau
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." —John F. Kennedy
"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." —Melody Beattie
Funny Thanksgiving Messages
"Vegetables are a must on Thanksgiving. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie." —Jim Davis
"Cooking tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out." —Nicole Hollander
"You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out." —Jay Leno
"May the turkey legs be yours this Thanksgiving." —Unknown
"May the wishbone snap in your favor this Thanksgiving." —Unknown
"After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations." —Oscar Wilde
"Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants." —Kevin James
Happy Thanksgiving Messages
"Thanksgiving is a blessing in disguise. With your friends and family near, make this day as special as you can and thank them with your heart. Happy Thanksgiving!" —Unknown
"You and I should count our blessings, but we should also make them count!" —Neal A. Maxwell
"Another time is here to think about all the special people in our lives and to be grateful for the times we have shared. Enjoy this Thanksgiving." —Unknown
"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." —G.K. Chesterton
"Happy Turkey Day. Wishing you a gobble, gobble, great holiday surrounded by family, friends & a delicious feast!" —Unknown
"Happy Thanksgiving. May the warm glow of autumn surround you as you celebrate the holiday with family & friends." —Unknown
"Happy Thanksgiving. Wishing you a day filled with joy and blessings, and a wonderful holiday season ahead!" —Unknown
"Happy Thanksgiving. Here’s hoping whatever you do today brings you delight from morning until night. May the holiday bring you nothing but wonderful things in abundance." —Unknown
Thanksgiving Messages for Friends and Family
"Gather yourself for a season filled with plentiful happiness. May you have your friends by your side and foods on your table. Happy Thanksgiving Day!" —Unknown
"May you enjoy this celebration with your family full of laughter and peace. Happy Thanksgiving greetings!" —Unknown
""A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues." Therefore, Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to give thanks for all the things we have and those that we are yet to receive. Have a blessed Thanksgiving." —Unknown
'Thanksgiving is a time to remember and embrace those who enrich our life. I may be thankful for a lot of things, but mostly, I am thankful to have you." —Unknown
"We might be a crazy family, but I would never ever wish for it to be any other way. I am so deeply thankful for you!" —Unknown
"Having somewhere to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having both is a blessing." —Unknown.
"However rare true love may be, true friendship is still rarer." —Francois VI
"You have been there for me through all the ups and downs. There is no amount of times I could write ‘Thank you’ that would fully encapsulate the amount of gratitude I have for you." —Unknown
Thanksgiving Messages for Business and Colleagues
"Here’s to all the great work we’ve done together this year, so far. I’m filled with gratitude to have such great, creative, hard working people on my team." —Unknown
"In this time of Thanksgiving, I want to express my appreciation for you. Working with you over years has been an amazing opportunity. I appreciate your high standards, persistence, and fine sense of humor." —Unknown
"May the good things of life be yours in abundance, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year." —Unknown
"One of the joys of Thanksgiving is wishing you a happy Holiday Season and a healthy and prosperous New Year." —Unknown
"Whatever is beautiful, whatever is meaningful, whatever brings you happiness… May it be yours this Holiday Season and throughout the coming year." —Unknown
"I wish you a happy thanksgiving season with warm gratitude in my heart for you. I hope you have a great holiday season ahead and enjoy it to the fullest." —Unknown
"You are my mentor in the office and have lighted up my path whenever faced with any problem. I wish you all the happiness in this thanksgiving. Hope you have a great year ahead." —Unknown
Religious Thanksgiving Messages
"Praying that God’s mercy, grace, and love fill your heart this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving!"
"We should be grateful everyday for what God has done for us. Take time this Thanksgiving to give Him thanks and praise!"
Blessings, blessings, and more blessings: that is my prayer for you. Happy Thanksgiving and may God greatly bless you!
"Happy Thanksgiving! ‘Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the father." —Colossians 3:17"
"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Happy Thanksgiving!"
"May you celebrate Thanksgiving day with love in your heart, prosperous vision in your mind, and gratitude in your being"
"So once in every year we throng, upon a day apart, To praise the Lord with feast and song, In thankfulness of heart." —Arthur Guiterman
"The Christian who walks with the Lord and keeps constant communion with Him will see many reasons for rejoicing and thanksgiving all day long." —Warren W. Wiersbe
"The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad." —Psalm 118:2
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever." —Psalm 136:1