51 Inspirational Thanksgiving Quotes

Calvin Cheung -

Thanksgiving is a special time of the year where families and friends come together to purposefully express gratitude. We live in a busy world where it's pretty easy to find things to complain about. That's why it's becoming more important to take time out of your day to stop and reflect on all the good things. In fact, science has proven that there are even health benefits associated with practicing gratitude!

What better reason is there to be grateful, than spending time with loved ones over a delicious meal? Here are some happy Thanksgiving quotes from inspirational historical figures about the importance of having a thankful and grateful heart. You can find plenty of  Thanksgiving sayings here that resonates with you and share it when you gather with your loved ones this Thanksgiving season.

  1. “Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.” – Amy Grant
  2. “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” – Henry Van Dyke

  3. “I’ve always had fond memories of cooking Thanksgiving.” – Wylie Dufresne

  4. “Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.” – Nigel Hamilton

  5. “I think Thanksgiving is the perfect occasion to break open a buttery, oaky Chardonnay from California.” – Gavin Newsom

  6. “That’s one of the great things about Thanksgiving: Football’s on!” – Michael Strahan

  7. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank

  8. “I’m thankful for every moment.” – Al Green

  9. “Thanksgiving is a season that is very much in accord with the themes and teachings of Jesus Christ.” – John Clayton

10. “Christians were instructed to serve others, and the thanksgiving was for the grace of God and the fact that God offered a way for man to return to a positive relationship with Him.” – John Clayton

11. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite American traditions. I quickly picked it up when I moved to the U.S. from Sweden.” – Marcus Samuelsson

12. “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” – Harry Ironside

13. “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving.” – W.T. Purkiser

14. “Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday – it’s a day that’s American to the core and it’s a day that’s all about what and how we eat.” – Marcus Samuelsson

15. “There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” – O. Henry

16. “Over the Thanksgiving holiday I took time to reflect on what is most important to me and realized I need to find a way to put the fun back into racing.” – Kurt Busch

17. “Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside.” – Willard Scott

18. “Best of all is it to preserve everything in a pure, still heart, and let there be for every pulse a thanksgiving, and for every breath a song.” – Konrad von Gesner

19. “My fondest memories are generally the day after Thanksgiving. I get the total decorating Christmas itch.” – Katharine McPhee

20. “I think that is a better thing than thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will.” – Charles Spurgeon

21. “If you made a list of all the things you could be thankful for, the list would undoubtedly be longer than your misfortunes.” – Catherine Pulsifer

22. “The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” – William Blake

23. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey

24. “Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it.” – Franz Grillparzer

25. “Every Thanksgiving, we all write down three things we’re thankful for and put them in a hat. Then we pass the hat around the dinner table and everyone has to guess who wrote what!” – Debby Ryan


26. “To give thanks in solitude is enough. Thanksgiving has wings and goes where it must go. Your prayer knows much more about it than you do.” – Victor Hugo


27. “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward


28. “An attitude of gratitude brings great things.” – Yogi Bhajan


29. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward


30. “The Christian who walks with the Lord and keeps constant communion with Him will see many reason for rejoicing and thanksgiving all day long.” – Warren W. Wiersbe


31. “Thanksgiving is a time to give, a time to love, and a time to reflect on the things that matter most in life.” – Danielle Duckery


32. “There was a time, in the not so distant past, that if you didn’t have what you needed on Thanksgiving, you were pretty much going to have to wait until Friday. Not anymore!” – Monica Johnson


33. “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


34. “We are blessed in so many ways; many things we take for granted but we should stop and be thankful each and every day.” – Catherine Pulsifer


35. “I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” – Henry David Thoreau


36. “If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken.” – Ina Garten

38. “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – G.K. Chesterton


39. “Homemade stuffing is my favorite thing about Thanksgiving. I wish people served it more than just once a year.” – Troy Gentile


40. “God is glorified, not by our groans, but by our thanksgivings.” – Edwin Percy Whipple


41. “I give thanks to my Creator for this wonderful life where each of us has the opportunity to learn lessons we could not fully comprehend by any other means.” – Joseph B. Wirthlin


42. “At Thanksgiving, I always start at the top of my list and say I’m grateful for friends, family, and good health. Then I get more superficial… like being thankful for my Louboutins.” – Christie Brinkley


43. “An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” – Irv Kupcinet


44. “I’m not a big turkey fan, but my husband loves it. Thanksgiving is his favorite meal.” – Ruth Reichl


45. “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


46. “Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action.” – W.J. Cameron



47. “Often I’ll speak my thanksgiving aloud. Hearing the long list of good gifts God has given me is usually just what I need to restore my joy.” – Lori Hatcher



48. “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” – W. Clement Stone



49. “Over and over I marvel at the blessings of my life: Each year has grown better than the last.” – Lawrence Welk


50. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson


51. “Thanksgiving: giving Him thanks for what He has done and how He has revealed Himself to you.” – Tony Watson