150 Best Thanksgiving Quotes To Celebrate the Holiday

There’s something extra special about the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. Celebration is emphasized during those busy weeks, which leads to countless coffee dates finally being nailed down, “Friendsgiving” events on the books, and CIA-level strategic planning ahead of time to figure out how to drop by 12 different family members’ houses in just one or two days. Even with all of their chaos, the holidays keep us grounded in tradition and relationships. It’s the time of year to remember what really counts, and that’s why we’re so happy to share the greatest 150 Thanksgiving quotes that will make you feel #blessed!

With shifting seasons come changing perspectives, and it’s natural to feel self-reflective throughout the last two months of the calendar year. When this time of year comes around, you may be coming out of a period of difficulty and heartache and need the reminder that you are strong, resilient, and still have so much to be thankful for. No matter what your story, these 150 quotes will have you reaching across the Thanksgiving table for both cranberry sauce and inner contemplation!

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150 Thanksgiving Quotes

1. “The simple act of practicing gratitude, consistently, is your invitation to a new life. Accepting the invitation is now up to you.” — Josie Robinson

2. “Gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions. Once expressed, it changes attitude, brightens outlook, and broadens our perspective.” — Germany Kent

3. “To become a better you, remember to be grateful to people who have contributed to making you who you are today.” — Israelmore Ayivor

4. “Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it toward others.” — Etty Hillesum

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5. “No matter what the situation is…close your eyes and think of all the things in your life you could be grateful for right now.” — Deepak Chopra

6. “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

7. “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.” — Gertrude Stein

8. “Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” — John Wooden

9. “Gratitude is a feedback loop that will show you where you are thriving.” — Danielle LaPorte

10. “In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day—or to celebrate each special day.” — Rasheed Ogunlaru

11. “Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.” — Ann Voskamp

12. “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

13. “I’m a very positive thinker, and I think that is what helps me the most in difficult moments.” — Roger Federer

Thanksgiving Quotes That Show Gratitude

14. “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

15. “Thankfulness creates gratitude which generates contentment that causes peace.” — Todd Stocker

16. “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” — Albert Einstein

17. “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.” — Eric Hoffer

18. “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” — Thornton Wilder

19. “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” — Albert Schweitzer

20. “When I force myself to utter the awkward phrase, ‘I am grateful,’ I actually start to feel a bit more grateful…It’s basic cognitive behavioral therapy: Behave in a certain way, and your mind will eventually catch up with your actions.” — A.J. Jacobs

21. “All sanity depends on this: that it should be a delight to feel the roughness of a carpet under smooth soles, a delight to feel heat strike the skin, a delight to stand upright, knowing the bones are moving easily under the flesh.” — Doris Lessing

Quotes for a Happy Thanksgiving

22. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” — Denis Waitley

23. “When you are joyful, when you say yes to life and have fun and project positivity all around you, you become a sun in the center of every constellation, and people want to be near you.” — Shannon L. Alder

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

25. “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” — Eckhart Tolle

26. “Can you see the holiness in those things you take for granted—a paved road or a washing machine? If you concentrate on finding what is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” — Rabbi Harold Kushner

27. “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” — Oscar Wilde

28. “Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself.” — Walter Anderson

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

30. “I think that real friendship always makes us feel such sweet gratitude, because the world almost always seems like a very hard desert, and the flowers that grow there seem to grow against such high odds.” — Stephen King

Related: 50 Thankful Quotes

31. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” — John F. Kennedy

32. “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” — Maya Angelou

33. “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

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

35. “Too often, we forget to thank the people who are closest to us. They are easy to take for granted, and we can expend all our patience and niceties on strangers and have only leftovers to give our family.” — Kent Brantly

36. “Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.” — Robert Caspar Lintner

37. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero

38. “We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.” — Neal A. Maxwell

39. “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

40. “I am one of the happiest gals you know because I choose it every single day. I choose to practice gratitude; I choose to surround myself with things and people who support positivity.” — Rachel Hollis

41. “‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” — Alice Walker

42. “Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colors.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

43. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” — Helen Keller

44. “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

45. “The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.” — Amelia Earhart

46. “Live a life full of humility, gratitude, intellectual curiosity, and never stop learning.” — GZA

47. “Happiness already exists in your life. All you need to do is tune into it. And you can start doing that right now.” — Anthon St. Maarten

48. “You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

49. “If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we’d all be much happier.” — John Wooden

50. “Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” — William Wordsworth

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51. “When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.” — Dalai Lama

52. “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” — Maya Angelou

53. “If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.” — Robert Quillen

54. “Everything changed when I switched from saying ‘I have to do this’ to ‘I GET to do this.'” — Charlotte Eriksson

55. “Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” — Roy T. Bennett

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

57. “Happiness is a quality of the soul…not a function of one’s material circumstances.” — Aristotle

58. “An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.” — Brian Tracy

59. “Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.” — Ralph Marston.

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

61. “The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” — William Blake

62. “When you give and carry out acts of kindness, it’s as though something inside your body responds and says, ‘Yes, this is how I ought to feel.'” — Rabbi Harold Kushner

63. “There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” — Ralph H. Blum

64. “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

65. “Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” — Roy T. Bennett

66. “Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” — Epicurus

67. “The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.” — Seneca

68. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” — Epictetus

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69. “Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” — Steve Maraboli

70. “You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.” — Kahlil Gibran

Appreciation Thanksgiving Quotes

71. “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” — Voltaire

72. “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” — Brené Brown

73. “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” — Buddha

74. “Be thankful for your allotment in an imperfect world. Though better circumstances can be imagined, far worse are nearer misses than you probably care to realize.” — Richelle E. Goodrich

75. “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” — Germany Kent

76. “When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take thing for granted or take them with gratitude.” — G.K. Chesterton

77. “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” — Dalai Lama

78. “Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.” — John Ortberg

79. “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” — Henry Clay

80. “I have learned over a period of time to be almost unconsciously grateful — as a child is — for a sunny day, blue water, flowers in a vase, a tree turning red. I have learned to be glad at dawn and when the sky is dark. Only children and a few spiritually evolved people are born to feel gratitude as naturally as they breathe, without even thinking.” — Faith Baldwin

81. “Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” — Robert Brault

82. “Because gratitude is the key to happiness, anything that undermines gratitude must undermine happiness. And nothing undermines gratitude as much as expectations. There is an inverse relationship between expectations and gratitude: The more expectations you have, the less gratitude you will have.” — Dennis Prager

83. “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” — Maya Angelou

84. “Being in the habit of saying ‘Thank you,’ of making sure that people receive attention so they know you value them, of not presuming that people will always be there—this is a good habit, regardless…make sure to give virtual and actual high-fives to those who rock and rock hard.” — Sarah Wendell

85. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” — Charles Dickens

86. “Gratitude always comes into play; research shows that people are happier if they are grateful for the positive things in their lives, rather than worrying about what might be missing.” — Dan Buettner

87. “Superficial social niceties are far different from the deep emotion of thanksgiving.” — Alexandra Katehakis

88. “They do not love, that do not show their love.” — William Shakespeare

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89. “The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing.” — Hannah Whitall Smith

90. “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” — Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr

91. “Expectation has brought me disappointment. Disappointment has brought me wisdom. Acceptance, gratitude and appreciation have brought me joy and fulfillment.” — Rasheed Ogunlaru

92. “Embrace every new day with gratitude, hope and love.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

93. “Thanksgiving creates abundance.” — Ann Voskamp

94. “Got no checkbooks, got no banks. Still I’d like to express my thanks. I’ve got the sun in the mornin’ and the moon at night.” — Irving Berlin

95. “I only own something because someone somewhere sacrificed in order to create the situation where I have the opportunity to own it. And therefore, the more I own the more I owe.” — Craig D. Lounsbrough

96. “Every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen

97. “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” — A.A. Milne

98. “Summoning gratitude is a sure way to get our life back on track. Opening our eyes to affirm gratitude grows the garden of our inner abundance, just as standing close to a fire eventually warms our heart.” — Alexandra Katehakis

99. “If you think of all the people you know, you will not be able to name one who is ungrateful and happy. The two are mutually exclusive.” — Dennis Prager

100. “He who thanks but with the lips, thanks but in part; the full, the true Thanksgiving, comes from the heart.” — J.A. Shedd

101. “There are bound to be problems and life is not perfect but we can be grateful for all the pieces of life that are happy and harmonious. The other pieces will have their own way of falling into place.” — Donna Goddard

102. “When you drink from the stream remember the spring.” — Chinese proverb

103. “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” — Oscar Wilde

104. “Even the smallest shift in perspective can bring about the greatest healing.” — Joshua Kai

105. “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness—it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” — Brené Brown

106. “Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.” — Aesop

107. “I try to start every day and end every day by taking a moment to be grateful.” — Olivia Wilde

108. “‘Enough’ is a feast.” — Buddhist proverb

109. “In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

110. “It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness.” — Charles Spurgeon

111. “No matter what our circumstances, we can find a reason to be thankful.” — David Jeremiah

112. “It is one thing to be grateful. It’s another to give thanks. Gratitude is what you feel. Thanksgiving is what you do.” — Tim Keller

113. “I’m just thankful for everything, all the blessings in my life, trying to stay that way. I think that’s the best way to start your day and finish your day. It keeps everything in perspective.” — Tim Tebow

114. “Happiness isn’t something that depends on our surroundings…It’s something we make inside ourselves.” — Corrie Ten Boom

115. “If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” — Dolly Parton

116. “Appreciation can make a day—even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” — Margaret Cousins

117. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” — Mother Teresa

118. “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

119. “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” — Sharon Salzberg

120. “I’m thankful for the challenges early on in my life because now I have a perspective on the world and kind of know what’s important.” — America Ferrera

Quotes About Thanksgiving Blessings

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

122. “The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” — Jon Kabat-Zinn

123. “When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.” — Jack Kornfield

124. “So for tonight we pray for what we know can be. And on this day we hope for what we still can’t see. It’s up to us to be the change. And even though we all can still do more, there’s so much to be thankful for.” — Josh Groban

125. “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.” — Amit Ray

126. “I am grateful for what I am and have.
My thanksgiving is perpetual…
O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches.
No run on my bank can drain it
for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment.” — Henry David Thoreau

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

128. “Nature happens, but sometimes, if you’re not told just how special it is, you take it for granted. The same can be true with people.” — Julieanne O’Connor

129. “If you attain fame and fortune, and do not attain gratitude along with it, the chances are that you will not enjoy that fame or that fortune.” — Napoleon Hill

130. “Embrace life’s lessons with gratitude and appreciation and then move forward with an open heart and mind.” — Ron Baratono

131. “Grateful for each hand we hold, gathered round this table.” — Mary Chapin Carpenter

132. “The celebration of a life is recognizing all that we were blessed with, and feeling so very grateful.” — Ajahn Brahm

133. “It is through this practice of gratitude that I discovered something quite profound: shyness doesn’t survive when your cup is overflowing with gratitude. It doesn’t matter if you’re grateful for things that have happened or things that have yet to come to fruition, gratitude grows Quiet Confidence.” — Joel Annesley

134. “Gratitude tends to attract the things for which we are grateful in advance.” — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

135. “Stop counting your losses and start counting your blessings. Only then will you discover the losses are always easier to point out and count than blessings. And that your blessings will always outnumber your losses, for they are truly immeasurable.” — Suzy Kassem

136. “Count your blessings, not your problems. Count your own blessings, not someone else’s. Remember that jealousy is when you count someone else’s blessings instead of your own.” — Roy T. Bennett

137. “Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering.” — Steve Maraboli

138. “Every single time I gave gratitude, even for the littlest thing, I felt I touched a presence greater than myself.” — Josie Robinson

139. “When we lose one blessing, another is often most unexpectedly given in its place.” — C.S. Lewis

140. “You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

141. “Those born to wealth, and who have the means of gratifying every wish, know not what is the real happiness of life, just as those who have been tossed on the stormy waters of the ocean on a few frail planks can alone realize the blessings of fair weather.” — Alexandre Dumas

142. “Those blessings are sweetest that are won with prayer and worn with thanks.” — Thomas Goodwin

143. “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” — Marcel Proust

144. “Sometimes we focus so much on what we don’t have that we fail to see, appreciate, and use what we do have!” — Jeff Dixon

145. “Some people come in our life as blessings. Some come in your life as lessons.” — Mother Teresa

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146. “Count your blessings. Focus on what you’ve got. Spread the positive vibes.” — Jyoti Patel

147. “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller

148. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson

149. “Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.” — William James

150. “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” — Winston Churchill

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